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.
Digital Blues
J.J. Cale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My soul is just another number
I got the digital blues,
My soul is just another number
You check it out, we're all the same
You check it out, we're one again
I got the digital blues,
My soul is just another number
Three forty-four point six, you're kidding me
How did we get into the shape we're in
I check it out, I'm one again
I got the digital blues,
My soul is just another number
In the year thirty-two thirty-two,
How will they remember me
In the year thirty-two thirty-two,
How will they remember me
My appetite will be a digital code
Information in the new code
I got the digital blues,
My soul is just another number
I got the digital blues,
My soul is just another number
The lyrics of J.J. Cale's song "Digital Blues" reflect the fear and anxiety of losing one's individuality in a world that is becoming increasingly digitized. The opening line of the song, "I got the digital blues, my soul is just another number," expresses this idea of feeling like a mere data point in a vast technological network. The repetition of the line throughout the song emphasizes the singer's sense of hopelessness and frustration.
The next lines, "You check it out, we're all the same/You check it out, we're one again," highlight the dangers of a society that relies too heavily on technology. When everyone is reduced to the same digital identity, what happens to individuality, freedom, and creativity? The singer's distrust and wariness of technology is further highlighted in the lines, "Three forty-four point six, is that really me/Three forty-four point six, you're kidding me." The singer is incredulous that they can be reduced to a soulless number, and that their essence can be condensed into a series of digits.
The final lines of the song, "In the year thirty-two thirty-two, how will they remember me/My appetite will be a digital code/Information in the new code," paint a bleak future for humanity. The singer imagines a world where even our basic needs and desires are reduced to digital programs, and where the distinction between the physical and digital worlds has all but disappeared. The haunting repetition of "I got the digital blues, my soul is just another number" reinforces the bleakness of this imagined future.
Line by Line Meaning
I got the digital blues,
Feeling down due to the impersonality of technology
My soul is just another number
Feeling dehumanized by the increasing prevalence of digitization
You check it out, we're all the same
Despite our differences, technology reduces us to a uniform standard
You check it out, we're one again
Digitization creates a sense of unity while also undermining individuality
Three forty-four point six, is that really me
Questioning the accuracy and authenticity of one's digital identity
Three forty-four point six, you're kidding me
Expressing disbelief at the narrowness of digitization's portrayal of oneself
How did we get into the shape we're in
Reflecting on how technology has shaped society into its current state
I check it out, I'm one again
Taking control of one's digital identity to reaffirm individuality
In the year thirty-two thirty-two,
Looking to the distant future
How will they remember me
Questioning the legacy of one's digital footprint
My appetite will be a digital code
Speculating on the potential for technology to transform human needs and desires
Information in the new code
Recognizing the transformative power of digitization on society
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: J. J. CALE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind