His songs have been performed by a number of other musicians including "After Midnight" and "Cocaine" by Eric Clapton,"Cajun Moon" by Randy Crawford, "Clyde" and "Louisiana Women" by Waylon Jennings, "Magnolia" by Jai, "Bringing It Back" by Kansas, "Call Me the Breeze" and "I Got the Same Old Blues" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, "I'd Like to Love You, Baby" by Tom Petty, "Travelin' Light" and "Ride Me High" by Widespread Panic, "Tijuana" by Harry Manx, "Sensitive Kind" by Carlos Santana, "Cajun Moon" by Herbie Mann with Cissy Houston, and "Same Old Blues" by Captain Beefheart.
Cale was born on December 5, 1938, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was raised in Tulsa and graduated from Tulsa Central High School in 1956. Along with a number of other young Tulsa musicians, Cale moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s, where he first worked as a studio engineer.
The Leathercoated Minds was a 1966-67 psychedelic studio-based band masterminded largely by Snuff Garrett and J J Cale. The band produced one album, A Trip down the Sunset Strip, co-produced by Cale and Garrett
Finding little success as a recording artist, he later returned to Tulsa and was considering giving up the music business until Clapton recorded "After Midnight" in 1970. His first album, Naturally, established his style, described by Los Angeles Times writer Richard Cromelin as a "unique hybrid of blues, folk and jazz, marked by relaxed grooves and Cale's fluid guitar and laconic vocals. His early use of drum machines and his unconventional mixes lend a distinctive and timeless quality to his work and set him apart from the pack of Americana roots-music purists."
Some sources incorrectly give his real name as "Jean-Jacques Cale". In the 2006 documentary, To Tulsa and Back: On Tour with J.J. Cale, Cale talks about Elmer Valentine, co-owner of the Sunset Strip nightclub Whisky à GoGo, who employed him in the mid-1960s, being the one that came up with the "JJ" moniker to avoid confusion with the Velvet Underground's John Cale. Rocky Frisco tells the same version of the story mentioning the other John Cale but without further detail.
His biggest U.S. hit single, Crazy Mama, peaked at #22 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1972. During the 2006 documentary film To Tulsa and Back Cale recounts the story of being offered the opportunity to appear on Dick Clark's American Bandstand to promote the song, which would have moved the song higher on the charts. Cale declined when told he could not bring his band to the taping and would be required to lip-sync the words to the song.
Cale died on Friday, July 26, 2013, at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, California, after suffering a heart attack.
Carry On
J.J. Cale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Carry on, carry on
With darkness all about, you want to scream and shout
Carry on, carry on
Don't cry baby, look at where you've been
Everybody knows you just need a friend
Please, please, please, if you're down on your knees
Carry on, carry on
Carry on, carry on
Between the time it takes to make all those mistakes
Carry on, carry on
It don't matter what you say or do
It just seems to work out if you want it to
Let out all the slack, take it off your back
Carry on, carry on
Let me bend your ear, never shed a tear
Carry on, carry on
Carry on, carry on
J.J. Cale's "Carry On" is a song that speaks about the power of perseverance and resilience during tough times. Life is full of ups and downs, and when things seem to be falling apart, it's essential to keep moving forward. The song acknowledges that challenging moments can cause feelings of hopelessness, but it encourages listeners to push through regardless. When darkness is all around, and it feels like shouting and screaming are the only options, the song advises that one should carry on. Cale reminds us that life is not always easy and that we often make mistakes along the way, but it's crucial to keep going.
The lyrics suggest that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that we only need a friend to help us carry on. The song explicitly says, "Don't cry baby, look at where you've been/Everybody knows you just need a friend." This lyric captures the power of companionship and understanding during tough times. The song tells its listeners not to give up hope when we face difficult and uncertain times. Instead, we should take our minds off our problems and let go of any doubt. There's no need to shed tears, just take it off your back, and carry on.
Line by Line Meaning
If life's little downs they keep coming around
When life keeps getting difficult and unpleasant,
Carry on, carry on
Keep going and persist through the struggle.
With darkness all about, you want to scream and shout
When everything seems hopeless and scary,
Carry on, carry on
Keep moving forward and don't give up.
Don't cry baby, look at where you've been
Don't be upset, instead reflect on the past and how far you've come.
Everybody knows you just need a friend
Everyone needs a support system and someone to rely on.
Please, please, please, if you're down on your knees
When you're feeling helpless and desperate,
Carry on, carry on
Don't give up and keep persevering.
Your head is full of doubt, you can't figure it out
When you're unsure of what to do next and feel lost,
Carry on, carry on
Keep pushing forward, even in the uncertainty.
Between the time it takes to make all those mistakes
During the process of making and learning from mistakes,
Carry on, carry on
Don't stop and keep going in spite of the errors.
It don't matter what you say or do
No matter what you do or how hard you try,
It just seems to work out if you want it to
If you're determined and work hard, things have a way of working themselves out.
Let out all the slack, take it off your back
Release the stress and burden from your mind and body.
Carry on, carry on
Don't let the weight of life bring you down and keep moving forward.
Let me bend your ear, never shed a tear
Let me listen and provide support, and refrain from crying and negativity.
Carry on, carry on
Persist and persevere through every challenge.
Carry on, carry on
Concluding message to stay strong and continue in the face of adversity.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Dolores Mary O'Riordan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ulpana
He's been very open about wanting his first few records to sound like J.J. Cale records. "Steal" would be unfair. I only hear an occasional lift from a Cale track and that comes out so organically in Mark's overblown productions later on when he lost his drummer Pick Withers and brother on rhythm guitar and quite good songwriter in his own write that David Knopfler. Also, my knock on Knopfler is way he started loading up synthesizers and keyboards that absolutely undermined his rhythmic feel for groove. But hey, Knopfler wanted to stretch. Wait a few decades until the tapes surface of the night in small Northern California bar called The Sweetwater when Cale's combo band with Karstein and Christine Lakeland mebbe Spooner Oldham and Tim Drummond too were playing a 3-night weekend gig, 2-shows a night and after their big outdoor amphitheater show with Dire Straits the tour busses tried to turn onto tiny Mill Valley's Throckmorton Avenue and joined Cale onstage for a whale of a session.
That's all somewhere on the audio portion of a wide VHS tape in a VHS recorder that was rolling without camera hook-up from the soundboard by band-members. Knopfler and Cale and both bands and entourages not to mention crowd in crammed bar and out on street boogied and shuffled the night away with stuff Cale never released even though he recorded, like Percy Mayfield's "Hit the Road, Jack."
Of course my luck was that I was able to attend only the next night and heard drummer Karstein's funny stories about the surprise when Dire Straits busses pulled up outside and the band and entourage, including wardrobe director (that got a big laugh from very casual dressing Cale band) joined onstage.
Ciao,
Tio Mitchito
Mitch Ritter\Paradigm Sifters, Code Shifters, PsalmSong Chasers
Lay-Low Studios, Ore-Wa (Refuge of Atonement Seekers)
kennyj1958
One of the most thoughtful and influential songwriters of his time. Many who have made it in the blues and roots world over the last 40 years will say this guy is one of the best. We have lost a genius.
tínu
You're right at all
Do you know Astral Weeks by Van Morrison
Roland Kegel
Kennyj!
AGREE!
Jonatan Fernandez
Cuando tienes a Mark Knopfler todo es mejor!
ATEYDWTGFMDAI88
One of the best: his deep voice, meaningfull lyrics and these strings sound...Loved it the very first time I had the opportunity to hear him playing.....Just great: gets straight to your guts...
Baklei
direct aux entrailles, tellement vrai !
Lukas Sommer
I love this music so much.. It's truly unique.. Nobody can step in his footsteps. Greetings from Vienna Austria
Michael
Oh man
Cassey Eaton
😎
Lydia Kroll
Völlig richtig. He is unique