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.
Super Blue
J.J. Cale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
By yourself
You sold your soul to someone else
Now you're paying,
Can't you see
You want to pass it back to me
Told you once,
Told you twice
When you're gone
Don't expect to come back
Things don't work out
Like I planned
'Cause you've got
Yourself another man
Danger signal, danger ahead
I know you'd be better
If you thought,
If you thought I was dead
I won't tell you,
I won't tell you no lie
I'll come back
And haunt you as another guy
Things don't work out
Like I planned them
'Cause you've got
Yourself another man
The song "Super Blue" by J.J. Cale is a warning to a woman who has sold her soul to someone else and is now paying the price. The days seem longer when she is alone, but her choices have consequences that cannot be undone. The man singing the song warns the woman that she cannot expect to come back to him after leaving for another man. He had told her twice before that things don't work out like he planned because she had chosen someone else. He warns her of danger ahead and encourages her to consider the consequences of her actions. The singer takes on a haunting tone, as he warns her that he will come back as another man to haunt her for the choices she has made.
The lyrics of "Super Blue" speak to the consequences of our choices in life. It's a warning against making rash decisions and not considering the consequences. The theme of the song is remorse, regret, and a desire to be the one who got away. The singer warns the woman that he won't tell a lie and that he is going to come back in another form to haunt her for the wrongs she has committed. The song captures the sadness and bitterness of a failed relationship, where the singer feels betrayed and left behind.
Line by Line Meaning
Days are longer
Time seems to have slowed down since you've been gone
By yourself
You're alone now, with nothing but your regrets
You sold your soul to someone else
You made a bad deal with someone and now you're paying for it
Now you're paying,
You're experiencing the consequences of your actions
Can't you see
Don't you realize what's happening?
You want to pass it back to me
You're trying to blame me for your problems
Told you once,
I warned you before
Told you twice
I tried to make you understand, but you didn't listen
When you're gone
If you leave me
Don't expect to come back
Don't think I'll take you back
Things don't work out
Life doesn't always go the way we want it to
Like I planned
As I hoped
'Cause you've got
Because you've found
Yourself another man
Someone else to replace me
Danger signal, danger ahead
You're heading towards trouble
I know you'd be better
You would have been happier
If you thought,
If you had considered
If you thought I was dead
If you had believed that I was no longer in your life
I won't tell you,
I won't deceive you
I won't tell you no lie
I won't lie to you
I'll come back
I'll return
And haunt you as another guy
But this time, I'll be the one who moves on and finds someone else
Things don't work out
Life doesn't always go the way we want it to
Like I planned them
As I had hoped them to go
'Cause you've got
Because you have found
Yourself another man
Someone else to replace me
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: J. J. CALE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind