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.
Hold On
J.J. Cale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You had come undone for someone mistreated you
The ringing in your ears, the salt in your tears
Yes, I know I would feel sick at a dirty deal, yes I do
Some bright morning, the sun will shine again
Some bright morning, start all over again
Hold on, you've got to hold on
If nothing is real, I know how it feels, yes I do
Hold on, when everything is gone
I know how it feels to get a dirty deal, I do
In J.J. Cale's song "Hold On", the singer is addressing a person who has been mistreated and feels lost and damaged. From the very first time he saw this person, he knew that something was wrong and that they had experienced a "dirty deal". The ringing in their ears and the salt in their tears is evidence of this. The singer empathizes with this person's pain and says that he knows how it feels to experience such a deal. He encourages them to hold on and not give up, because someday the sun will shine again and they can start over. He reassures them that he understands how hard it is to believe that anything is real when life has been so tough.
The underlying message of the song is one of hope and resilience. Even though life can be tough and unfair, there are always better days ahead if you hold on to hope and keep believing in yourself. It's a message that is as relevant today as it was when the song was written, and it has resonated with audiences for decades.
Line by Line Meaning
First time I seen you, I knew
The moment I laid eyes on you, I could sense that you were broken and hurt due to someone's mistreatment.
You had come undone for someone mistreated you
I could tell that you had become unhinged and emotionally disturbed due to the mistreatment of someone else.
The ringing in your ears, the salt in your tears
I can sense the constant pain and heartache you are going through, as if you can feel it physically in your ears and in the saltiness of your tears.
Yes, I know I would feel sick at a dirty deal, yes I do
I empathize with your situation and understand how it feels to be wronged unfairly, it makes me feel sick just thinking about it.
Some bright morning, the sun will shine again
There will come a day when things start looking brighter and more hopeful again, and the sun will shine once more.
Some bright morning, start all over again
You will be able to start anew and rebuild your life, when that bright morning comes.
Hold on, you've got to hold on
You must remain strong and persevere through these difficult times, even when it feels impossible.
If nothing is real, I know how it feels, yes I do
If everything around you feels fake or surreal, I can relate to that feeling and understand how it can be overwhelming.
Hold on, when everything is gone
Even when it feels like you've lost everything and have nothing left, you must still hold on and keep pushing through.
I know how it feels to get a dirty deal, I do
I understand what it's like to be treated unfairly and receive a bad hand in life, and I can empathize with your situation.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: J. Cale
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind