John Weldon Cale (5 December 1938 – 26 July 2013), known as JJ Cale or J.… Read Full Bio ↴John Weldon Cale (5 December 1938 – 26 July 2013), known as JJ Cale or J.J. Cale, was a Grammy Award-winning American singer, musician, and songwriter. Cale was one of the originators of the Tulsa Sound, a loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz influences. Cale's personal style has often been described as "laid back".

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.

Passion
J.J. Cale Lyrics

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Whatever happened to ole what's-her-name
She used to be the big part of my game
Now she's gone,
But her passion is still in me
I still remember the way she wore her hair
Man, we used to go most everywhere
Now she's gone,
But her passion still lies in me

Some call her a shady lady,
Others around her
All I know,
Is I'm sure glad I found her
Even though she's gone,
Her passion still is in me
They say she drifted on to another place
You know I just can't forget her face

Even though she's gone,
Her passion still lies in me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of J.J. Cale's song "Passion" tell a story of a man who has lost a significant other, referred to as "ole what's-her-name," but still feels the intensity of the relationship they shared. He holds onto the memories of the way she wore her hair and how they used to go everywhere together. Although she's been labeled a "shady lady" by some, the singer is fond of her and grateful to have found her. He can't forget her face, even though she's "drifted on to another place."

The song speaks to the theme of lasting passion and the impact that past relationships can have on our current selves. Despite the fact that "ole what's-her-name" is no longer physically present, she still influences the way the singer lives his life and feels about things. Her passion lives on within him, a testament to the depth of feeling that can be found in human connections.

Overall, "Passion" is a poignant reflection on love and loss, with an emphasis on how the strong emotions that come with those experiences can continue to shape us long after the initial connection has ended.

Line by Line Meaning

Whatever happened to ole what's-her-name
I wonder what happened to the woman whose name I can't recall

She used to be the big part of my game
She used to be a major player in my life

Now she's gone,
Now she's no longer in my life

But her passion is still in me
But I still feel the powerful emotions she instilled in me

I still remember the way she wore her hair
I can still recall the details of her appearance

Man, we used to go most everywhere
We used to travel to many different places together

Now she's gone,
But now she's no longer around

But her passion still lies in me
But the strong feelings she aroused in me still persist

Some call her a shady lady,
Some people refer to her as immoral or suspicious

Others around her
Others who were associated with her

All I know,
But all that I'm sure of