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.
Does Your Mama Like To Reggae
J.J. Cale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Does your mama like to reggae
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Does your mama like to reggae
You gotta come on home to the city
Down in Jamaica way
Better come home to the city
Down in Jamaica way
Does she dance it for you daily
Watch it, watch it
Does she dance it for you daily
When you want it
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Does your mama like to reggae
Does your mama like to reggae
The song "Does Your Mama Like To Reggae" by J.J. Cale explores the theme of maternal influence and the impact that a mother's likes and preferences can have on her children. The lyrics are focused on the question of whether the mama in question likes to reggae or not. The use of repetition of the same question throughout the song reflects the artist's incredulity or perhaps amusement on the subject. The song seems to be inviting the listener to consider how a parent's musical preferences can influence the tastes of their offspring. The line "Does she dance it for you daily; when you want it" suggests that the mother passes on her love of reggae to her child, and this becomes a daily ritual, a shared activity between mother and child.
The song is set against the backdrop of Jamaica, which is known for its vibrant, infectious reggae rhythms. The location adds to the sense of authenticity the artist is trying to convey, and it can be inferred that the mother in question is likely to have been introduced or exposed to Reggae during a visit to Jamaica. The song's upbeat, catchy tune, coupled with J.J. Cale's cool vocals, will get listeners tapping their feet and grooving along. The artist seems to be saying that musical genres and preferences transcend generations and that sometimes a parent's love of music can have a lasting impact on their offspring's musical tastes.
Line by Line Meaning
Does your mama like to reggae
Is your mother fond of listening to and dancing to reggae music
Does your mama like to reggae
Again, is your mother fond of listening to and dancing to reggae music
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
This is a repetition of the chorus, adding emphasis to the question being asked
Does your mama like to reggae
Once more, is your mother fond of listening to and dancing to reggae music
You gotta come on home to the city
You must return to the urban area (city) where you are originally from
Down in Jamaica way
This is encouraging the person to go back to Jamaica because that is where they belong
Better come home to the city
It is better for you to return to the city
Down in Jamaica way
This is still encouraging the person to return to Jamaica
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
This is another repetition of the chorus
Does she dance it for you daily
Is your mother's love for reggae music so deep that she dances to it on a daily basis
Watch it, watch it
This is asking the listener to pay attention and observe if the previous statement is true
Does she dance it for you daily
Again, questioning if your mother is dedicated to the reggae lifestyle
When you want it
If you desire to dance to reggae music, can your mother meet that need?
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
A final repetition of the chorus, ending the song with the same question it started with
Does your mama like to reggae
Concluding the song by asking the listener once more if their mother is passionate about reggae music
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: CHRISTINE LAKELAND, J. J. CALE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind