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.
Cocaine
J.J. Cale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've got to take her out, cocaine
If you want to get down,
Get down on the ground, cocaine
She don't lie,
She don't lie,
She don't lie, cocaine
If you got bad news,
You want to kick them blues, cocaine
When your day is done
And you want to run, cocaine
She don't lie,
She don't lie,
She don't lie, cocaine
If your thing is gone
And you want to ride on, cocaine
Don't forget this fact,
You can't get it back, cocaine
She don't lie,
She don't lie,
She don't lie, cocaine
She don't lie,
She don't lie,
She don't lie, cocaine
J.J. Cale's song Cocaine is a straightforward and unapologetic homage to the drug of the same name. The lyrics suggest that if you want to "hang out" or "get down," you need to take cocaine. Additionally, the song indicates that cocaine is a reliable source of euphoria and escape from the blues or the bad news of life. However, the lyrics also warn that if you lose your "thing" (perhaps a reference to one's sense of self or identity), you can ride on cocaine, but you can't get it back. In other words, cocaine is a temporary fix, and its use comes at a cost.
The repetition of the phrase "She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie, cocaine" emphasizes the appeal of the drug to its users. The song suggests that there is a kind of truth or honesty to cocaine, insofar as it provides a reliable high. However, this notion is complicated by the fact that cocaine is also a known liar, leading to addiction, health problems, and social issues.
Overall, Cocaine is a complex and ambivalent song. It both celebrates and criticizes drug use, suggesting that there are both benefits and costs to cocaine. The song's ambiguity reflects the larger cultural conversation about drug use, addiction, and the need for escape in the face of life's challenges.
Line by Line Meaning
If you want to hang out,
If you're looking to spend time together,
You've got to take her out, cocaine
you'll have to use cocaine to do so.
If you want to get down,
If you wish to enjoy the night,
Get down on the ground, cocaine
the only way to achieve this is through the use of cocaine.
She don't lie,
Cocaine's reputation is not undeserved.
She don't lie,
It is precisely what it appears to be.
She don't lie, cocaine
Cocaine is always cocaine, devoid of deception.
If you got bad news,
If you receive unpleasant information,
You want to kick them blues, cocaine
cocaine will ease your pain.
When your day is done
When your work is complete,
And you want to run, cocaine
you'll need cocaine to help you relax.
If your thing is gone
if you've lost something important in your life,
And you want to ride on, cocaine
the use of cocaine can allow you to ride out the sadness and fill the void.
Don't forget this fact,
Remember this important fact,
You can't get it back, cocaine
unfortunately, cocaine will not be able to retrieve the thing you've lost.
She don't lie,
Cocaine's reputation is not undeserved.
She don't lie,
It is precisely what it appears to be.
She don't lie, cocaine
Cocaine is always cocaine, devoid of deception.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: J. J. Cale
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@kendrickmuller1
I'm 15 years old. My dad just introduced me to J.J. Cale's music and I fell in love with it. Greetings from Germany!
@massimilianobianchi2665
Grandissimo saluti da Milano
@mrpoltiano4343
Pozdrowienia z Poznania
@facekoter2176
Grüße zurück 🤌👋😎
@Altenurgy
Hat tip to your dad. Look for Paul Benjamin. Another Tulsa artist performing today who's doing a great job of building on the "Tulsa Sound".
@Retroscoop
But stick to the music only, not to the topic of the song....
@lasselippert3892
Clapton could never be as cool as J.J.
@kathrynhenderson375
This song always gets me going-J J Cale should be recognized for his talents-I’m 71 & still listening!
@LenapeSF
67 yo & still listening. Classic!
@lesbonnick5335
@@LenapeSF So am I friend. The only music