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.
Cherry Street
J.J. Cale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All the girls are lookin'fine
Down on Cherry Street
Al the girls are lookin'fine.
When they put their hands in your pocket,
They ain't feelin'for no dime.
Down on Cherry Avenue
Down on Cherry Avenue
Things are lookin'nice
If you need some kinda lovin'boy
Don't think twice
Down on Cherry Avenue
Pickin'up and puttin'in
Down on Cherry Avenue
Pickin'up and puttin'in
That's where the ladies are
That's where the boys turn into men.
Down on Cherry Street
All the girls are lookin'fine
Down on Cherry Street
All the girls are lookin'fine
When they put their hands in your pocket,
They ain't feelin'for no dime
J.J. Cale's song, Cherry Street, is a tribute to an area in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The lyrics describe the women on Cherry Street as being enticing and suggestive. The street is depicted as a place of opportunity, where men can find the love they're looking for without hesitation. The line, "When they put their hands in your pocket, they ain't feelin' for no dime," implies that the women on Cherry Street are after something more than just a small tip. They're looking for bigger payouts, indicating that Cherry Street may have been a hub for prostitution at the time the song was written.
Despite the potentially seedy undertones, the lyrics also paint Cherry Street as a kind of paradise. The repetition of the phrase, "All the girls are lookin' fine" and "Things are lookin' nice," emphasizes a feeling of contentment and pleasure. The final lines, "That's where the boys turn into men," further reinforces the idea that Cherry Street was a place of transformation.
Overall, J.J. Cale's Cherry Street is a celebration of a certain type of urban environment, one that is both alluring and dangerous. It's a place where people can test their limits and discover themselves, for better or for worse.
Line by Line Meaning
Down on Cherry Street
The setting of the song is Cherry Street
All the girls are lookin'fine
The women on Cherry Street are attractive
When they put their hands in your pocket,
When these women touch you or take from you
They ain't feelin'for no dime.
It's not about money to them, they are searching for something else
Down on Cherry Avenue
Another mention of the setting
It'a paradise
It's a perfect place
Things are lookin'nice
Everything here is going well
If you need some kinda lovin'boy
If you want love or affection
Don't think twice
Don't hesitate, go for it
Pickin'up and puttin'in
Things happen quickly and easily here
That's where the ladies are
Cherry Avenue is where you can find the women
That's where the boys turn into men.
It's a place where young men can experience new things and grow
Contributed by Declan A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@paulspringett7600
Down on Cherry Street
All the girls are lookin' fine
Down on Cherry Street
Al the girls are lookin' fine.
When they put their hands in your pocket,
They ain't feelin' for no dime.
Down on Cherry Avenue
It's a paradise
Down on Cherry Avenue
Things are lookin' nice
If you need some kinda lovin'boy
Don't think twice
Down on Cherry Avenue
Take it out and put it in
Down on Cherry Avenue
Take it out and put it in
That's where the ladies are
That's where the boys
Turn into men.
@joshanderson9677
JJ Cale forever, been hopelessly addicted to his music since I was a child
@judyjohnson9603
Fantastic. I danced through the whole album. Loved it. Thanks
@lydiakroll6356
EXTRA. Perfekt. Simply Perfekt. 💓
@ianmorton4136
My fav JJC album
@veraluciapintorios5740
Sensacional!!!
@mardelste
best song of all time
@johnosullivancalsmso9462
Great voice tune and guitar playing. What more could you ask!
@blazingchris5048
Best music to relax and LISTEN ! A real master on the guitar and genius songwriter . I love him !
@michaelraywilson2629
😎👄💞💞❤️😹❤️💨💦🌟🌟🌟🌟
@michaelraywilson2629
I I'm IMPRESSED