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.
You Got Me On So Bad
J.J. Cale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I think that you're the
Wickedless woman that I ever had
Sometimes you make me feel so complete
You take away my troubles, put my mind at ease
Baby, you're up to your old tricks
I've got something wrong right here
And I know that you can fix
Sometimes you treat me like
I was your natural man
I come down here to you, babe,
Every chance I can
Baby, you feel so good to me
I do believe that you take away my misery
Sometimes I wonder if you understand
The way you handle yourself,
Woman, has got me on again
The lyrics to J.J. Cale's song, "You Got Me On So Bad," are about a man who is deeply in love with a woman who has a certain edge that he finds irresistible. He believes that she is the most wickedless (i.e., coolest or most badass) woman that he has ever had, and he enjoys the way that she makes him feel alive and whole. He says that she takes away his troubles and puts his mind at ease, and that he comes to her whenever he needs to feel complete.
The man acknowledges that the woman has a tendency to play games with him, but he accepts this as part of her allure. He says that he has something "wrong" with him that he knows only she can fix, and that sometimes she treats him like he is her natural man (i.e., her perfect match or soulmate). The man is clearly deeply enamoured with the woman, and is willing to put up with whatever she dishes out in order to be with her.
In the final verse of the song, the man admits that he sometimes wonders if the woman truly understands the power that she holds over him. He is swept away by her commanding presence and the way that she handles herself, and is once again completely under her spell. Overall, the lyrics to "You Got Me On So Bad" are about the intense attraction and inexplicable hold that one person can have over another, even in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh Baby, you got me on so bad
The woman has a strong hold over the singer and is making him feel powerless.
I think that you're the Wickedless woman that I ever had
The woman is cunning and skilled at manipulating the singer.
Sometimes you make me feel so complete
The singer feels content and satisfied when he is with the woman.
You take away my troubles, put my mind at ease
The woman helps the artist forget his problems and relax.
Baby, you're up to your old tricks
The woman is playing games with the artist and has done so in the past.
I've got something wrong right here And I know that you can fix
The singer has a problem that he believes only the woman can solve.
Sometimes you treat me like I was your natural man
The woman treats the singer as if they are meant to be together.
I come down here to you, babe, Every chance I can
The artist seeks out the woman often and is drawn to her.
Baby, you feel so good to me
The artist enjoys being with the woman and finds her physically and emotionally satisfying.
I do believe that you take away my misery
The woman helps the artist forget his problems and makes him feel happy.
Sometimes I wonder if you understand The way you handle yourself, Woman, has got me on again
The singer is intrigued and captivated by the woman's behavior and wonders if she is aware of the effect she has on him.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: J. J. CALE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind