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.
Riot
J.J. Cale Lyrics
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You get on a boat and sail to Rio
The beaches and the sea
That's where I long to be
In Rio
But I'm workin' for the man every day up in the city
Got to get away on a boat around the corner
And it's waiting there for you and me
Dark eyed lady
Drive Mercedes everywhere
In Rio
She said, "Do you want to take a ride?"
So I jumped right in beside her
In Rio
But I'm workin' for the man every day up in the city
Got to get away on a boat around the corner
And it's waiting there for you and me
In Rio
When things get stale
You get on a boat and sail to Rio
The beaches and the sea
That's where I long to be
In Rio
But I'm workin' for the man every day up in the city
Got to get away on a boat around the corner
And it's waiting there for you and me
In Rio
The lyrics to J.J. Cale's song "Rio" speak to a longing for escape from the monotony of everyday life, and the desire for an idyllic paradise. Rio is portrayed as a place where everything is possible, a place where all your dreams can come true. The opening lines suggest that the singer has experienced a sense of stagnation, that his life has become dreary and unfulfilling. He therefore decides to escape to Rio, a place where he can leave behind the repetitive routines of his life.
The singer's idealized image of Rio revolves around the natural beauty of the beaches and the sea. This reflects the idea that nature has the power to heal the soul, and that sometimes, we need to escape from the stresses of everyday life and immerse ourselves in the beauty of the natural world. The line, "But I'm workin' for the man every day up in the city" suggests a sense of entrapment and servitude, and the desire to break free from this existence.
The second half of the song introduces a "dark-eyed lady" who offers the singer a ride. The lady is depicted as someone who is free and independent, and who is drawn to the freedom and adventure that Rio offers. She is also seen as someone who has material wealth, with her Mercedes, which offers a contrast to the singer's workaday existence. The repetition of the refrain, "But I'm workin' for the man every day up in the city/Got to get away on a boat around the corner/And it's waiting there for you and me/In Rio" emphasizes the singer's desire for escape and reinforces the idea that Rio represents a place where he can break free from the constraints of everyday life.
Line by Line Meaning
When things get stale
When life feels monotonous and unexciting
You get on a boat and sail to Rio
To seek adventure and escape from routine, one should travel to Rio
The beaches and the sea
Rio's coastline, with its beautiful beaches and ocean views
That's where I long to be
Rio is the place where the artist yearns to go
In Rio
The city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
But I'm workin' for the man every day up in the city
The singer is stuck in a boring job in the city, under someone else's authority
Got to get away on a boat around the corner
The singer feels the need to escape quickly and easily
And it's waiting there for you and me
The boat is nearby and accessible to anyone who wants to use it
Dark eyed lady
A woman with dark eyes
Drive Mercedes everywhere
The woman owns a Mercedes and drives it frequently
She said, "Do you want to take a ride?"
The woman offers the singer a ride in her car
So I jumped right in beside her
The artist eagerly accepts the offer and gets into the car
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JEFFREY ALLEN BAXTER, PAT SIMMONS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind