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.
I'd Like To Love You Baby
J.J. Cale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And keep my other baby too
Put my arms around you,
That's all I want to do
If the sun don't shine tomorrow,
I know I've got you
I'd like to love you baby
Sometimes my baby's sleeping,
Sometimes she's not around
Sometimes I look to find her,
I know she'll put me down
Oh, won't you let me hold you,
Let me lean on you
I'd like to love you baby
And keep my other baby too
If the sun don't shine tomorrow,
I know I've got you
I'd like to love you baby
And keep my other baby too
The lyrics of "I'd Like To Love You Baby" by J.J. Cale encapsulate the conflicted feelings of a man who is torn between two lovers. He desires the physical and emotional intimacy of one woman, while also harboring feelings and obligations towards another. He wants to love and be with the first woman, but cannot bring himself to leave the second. This is reflected in the lines, "I'd like to love you baby and keep my other baby too."
He longs to hold and lean on the first woman, and implies that he finds her more reliable than the other woman when he says, "If the sun don't shine tomorrow, I know I've got you." However, he also admits that his other partner sometimes puts him down and is not always present. The singer's tone suggests that he is taking responsibility for the situation he finds himself in, and acknowledges the potential pain he may cause by trying to keep both women in his life.
The song captures the universal theme of human desire and the complexities of relationships. It highlights the tension between the security and comfort of familiar relationships and the passionate yearning for something new and exciting. Ultimately, the lyrics suggest that the singer is torn between two versions of himself, as much as he is torn between two women.
Line by Line Meaning
I'd like to love you baby
The singer expresses a desire to have a romantic relationship with the listener.
And keep my other baby too
The singer wants to have two romantic relationships simultaneously.
Put my arms around you,
The singer wants to physically hold the listener in a romantic embrace.
That's all I want to do
The artist's sole desire is to hold the listener romantically.
If the sun don't shine tomorrow,
The artist expresses a sense of uncertainty or anxiety about the future.
I know I've got you
The singer derives comfort from the fact that they have the listener in their life.
Sometimes my baby's sleeping,
The singer is referring to their other partner when they say 'my baby.'
Sometimes she's not around
The artist's other partner is sometimes absent from their life.
Sometimes I look to find her,
The artist is actively seeking out their other partner when they are absent.
I know she'll put me down
The artist expects their other partner to reject or disapprove of their desire to have two romantic relationships.
Oh, won't you let me hold you,
The singer is pleading with the listener to allow them to physically hold them in a romantic embrace.
Let me lean on you
The artist wants to rely on the listener for emotional support.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: J J CALE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind