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.
Devil's Nurse
J.J. Cale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a south kind of bay
There was a young woman,
Walked the beach every day
She had long dark hair
And a high heeled size
She was full in the bosom,
With dark brown eyes
With the devil's curse
Satan's lady
She was the devil's nurse
Fortune-teller sister
Long and bred
Lay down next to you
And stroke your head
She had a way about her,
It's hard to explain
Brings chills to your body
And blood to your veins
A devil's woman
With the devil's curse
Satan's lady
She was the devil's nurse
She can make the sun rise
And the sun set
And the blues go away
Turn light into darkness
And night into day
She was from a casualty sector,
Lost in the night
A bonafide spiritual lady,
A congo's delight
A devil's woman
With the devil's curse
Satans' lady
She was the Devil's nurse
The lyrics of J.J. Cale's song Devil's Nurse describe a mysterious and alluring woman, who is believed to be under the devil's curse. She is introduced as a young woman who walks the beach every day, with long dark hair and a curvaceous figure. The devil's woman is said to possess a supernatural ability to bring about changes in the environment, such as making the sun rise and set or changing the light and darkness of a place. She is also described as having an enigmatic personality that causes chills and excitement in people's bodies.
The song also mentions the devil's woman's sister, who is a fortune-teller and has a soothing effect on people. She can lay down beside someone and stroke their head, bringing peace and comfort. The devil's woman, on the other hand, has a more dramatic effect on people due to her mysterious aura and possibly, sinister intentions. She is compared to a voodoo priestess or a spiritual lady from the Congo, who possesses supernatural powers that are beyond comprehension.
Line by Line Meaning
Down along the palm trees,
Starting near the palm trees,
In a south kind of bay
In a bay located down south,
There was a young woman,
A young woman was present,
Walked the beach every day
Who would walk along the beach every day
She had long dark hair
Her hair was long and dark
And a high heeled size
She wore high heeled shoes
She was full in the bosom,
She had a voluptuous figure,
With dark brown eyes
And she had dark brown eyes
A devil's woman
She had an evil presence,
With the devil's curse
And was cursed by the devil
Satan's lady
She was associated with Satan
She was the devil's nurse
And functioned as the nurse of the devil
Fortune-teller sister
Her sister was a fortune teller
Long and bred
She was tall and well-built
Lay down next to you
She would lie down next to you
And stroke your head
And caress your head
She had a way about her,
She had a unique personality,
It's hard to explain
That is difficult to describe
Brings chills to your body
But it would give you chills all over your body
And blood to your veins
And make your blood flow faster
A devil's woman
Her evil presence was undeniable,
With the devil's curse
As she was cursed by the devil
Satans' lady
She was associated with Satan
She was the Devil's nurse
And worked as a caretaker for the devil
She can make the sun rise
She had mystical powers that could make the sun rise,
And the sun set
And make it set.
And the blues go away
She could chase away sadness and depression.
Turn light into darkness
She could turn light into darkness
And night into day
Or night into day.
She was from a casualty sector,
She came from a place of loss and death,
Lost in the night
And appeared lost in the darkness
A bonafide spiritual lady,
But was also a true spiritual leader
A congo's delight
And brought joy to the Congolese people
A devil's woman
She had a presence that seemed connected to the devil,
With the devil's curse
And was cursed by the devil
Satans' lady
Her association with Satan continued
She was the Devil's nurse
As she continued to work as the devil's nurse
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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