Congrats to the late guitarist J.J. Cale, a long time Escondido resident, who this month scores a Silver disc from the UK’s BPI, for his 1971 album, Naturally. The album is a treasure trove of hits for other artists, including such much covered classics as “Call Me The Breeze” (Lynyrd Skynrd), “After Midnight” (Wire), and “Crazy Mama” (The Band).
Meanwhile coincidentally, also this month, Encinitas based label, Surfdog Records recording artist Eric Clapton also scores a Gold single from the BPI for his cover of another J.J. Cale tune, “Cocaine.” Finally, Juno nominated Canadian singer, Matt Anderson, has just released a cover of Cale’s song, “Magnolia,” as the first single from his new album, The Hammer & The Rose.
Clapton long considered Cale to be one of his musical heroes, teaming up with him in 2006 for the release of the album, Road to Escondido. Cale subsequently joined Clapton onstage at Pechanga Arena on March 15, 2007, for a short set later released in 2016 as part of the album, Live In San Diego.
After Cale’s passing on July 26, 2013, Clapton put together a tribute album to his friend in 2014, The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale, also releasing a heartfelt video tribute of the album’s title track, featuring the British guitarist heading to Escondido to pay his respects.
Cale’s songs have been covered hundreds of times, here are a few notable versions:
“Clyde” (Dr. Hook)
“Sensitive Kind” (Santana)
“After Midnight” (Eric Clapton)
“Cajun Moon” (Dee C. Lee)
“Devil In Disguise” (George Thorogood & The Destroyers)
“Travelin’ Light” (Widespread Panic)
“Crazy Mama” (Johnny Rivers)
“Starbound” (Willie Nelson)
“Magnolia” (Pat Travers)
“Chasing You” (Amy Rigby)
“I Got the Same Old Blues” (Bryan Ferry)
“Everlovin’ Woman” (Georgie Fame)
“I’d Like To Love You Baby” (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)
