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.
She's In Love
J.J. Cale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I met only yesterday
He's a hard cold cooker, a fine looker
He took that woman away
He took my woman away
She's in love, she's in love with another man
That's the way it goes
She's in love, she's in love with another man
If you see her, it really shows
He drives a fine set of wheels, let me tell you
He's got diamonds in his ears
He's a real jim-dandy, with her he's so handy
Such a scene, make you break out in tears
Such a scene, make you break out in tears
She's in love, she's in love with another man
That's the way it goes
She's in love, she's in love with another man
A hard cold cooker, he really shook her
If you see her, it really shows
If you see her, tell her I still love her
No matter what, no matter when
It will be a good day when he goes away
And she comes back round again
And she comes back round again
She's in love, she's in love with some other man
That's the way it goes
She's in love, she's in love with another man
A hard cold cooker, he really shook her
If you see her, it really shows
The J.J. Cale song, "She's In Love," is a melancholic tale of heartbreak and loss. The song tells the story of a man who has lost his woman to another man, a "hard cold cooker" who is a "fine looker" with diamonds in his ears and a fine set of wheels. The woman in question is deeply in love with the other man, and the singer is left to watch as his former love is taken away from him. The singer's sadness is palpable in the lyrics, as he sings about the other man "really shaking her" and how he feels like "breaking out in tears" at the sight of them together.
The theme of the song is unrequited love and heartbreak. The singer is left to pine for the woman he loves, even though she has moved on to another man. He is still devoted to her, telling her "I still love her, no matter what, no matter when." The song is a poignant reminder of the pain that comes with losing someone you love, and the difficulty of moving on after heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
She hangs around with another guy
The person the singer loves is spending time with someone else.
I met only yesterday
The singer only recently met the person their love interest is spending time with.
He's a hard cold cooker, a fine looker
The person their love interest is with is attractive, but also intimidating.
He took that woman away
The singer's love interest has chosen to be with this other person and is now with them.
He took my woman away
The singer feels like they have lost their love interest to this other person.
She's in love, she's in love with another man
The singer acknowledges that their love interest has developed feelings for this other person.
That's the way it goes
The singer accepts that this is just a part of life and relationships.
A hard cold cooker, he really shook her
The person their love interest is with has had a huge impact on them and their emotions.
If you see her, it really shows
The impact this other person has had on their love interest is apparent to others.
He drives a fine set of wheels, let me tell you
The person their love interest is with has a nice car and is likely financially well-off.
He's got diamonds in his ears
The person their love interest is with wears expensive jewelry and is quite flashy.
He's a real jim-dandy, with her he's so handy
The person their love interest is with is charming and seems to be a good fit for them.
Such a scene, make you break out in tears
It is painful for the singer to watch their love interest with this other person.
If you see her, tell her I still love her
The singer still loves their love interest, even though they are with someone else.
No matter what, no matter when
The singer's love for their love interest is unwavering.
It will be a good day when he goes away
The singer hopes that eventually the person their love interest is with will leave and the opportunity to be with them will arise again.
And she comes back round again
The singer hopes that one day their love interest will return to them.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: J. J. CALE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind