The shy engineer whose songs made other people famous

JJ Cale never chased fame, and fame mostly arrived through other people’s records. Born in Oklahoma City in 1938 and raised in Tulsa, he learned guitar and taught himself the principles of sound engineering, even building a recording studio of his own while still living with his parents. Later he joined the Air Force and took technical training in electronics, knowledge that shaped the distinctive sound of his studio albums.

In late 1964 he moved to Los Angeles with a group of young Tulsa musicians, working as a studio engineer and playing bars and clubs. In March 1965 he landed a regular gig at the Whisky a Go Go, where club co-owner Elmer Valentine rechristened him J. J. Cale to avoid confusion with John Cale of the Velvet Underground. Singer Mel McDaniel scored a regional hit with his song “Lazy Me”, and in 1966 Cale cut a demo single of “After Midnight” for Liberty Records, handing copies to his Tulsa friends in LA.

Success as a recording artist still eluded him. Unable to earn enough as an engineer, he sold his guitar and went back to Tulsa in late 1967. Then in 1970 he discovered, along with everyone else, that Eric Clapton had recorded “After Midnight” on his debut album and that it was a radio hit. Cale was broke and in his thirties, and he said he was very happy about the money. His own version differs greatly from Clapton’s frenetic one, which is itself based on Cale’s arrangement.

Cale became one of the originators of the Tulsa sound, a loose mix of blues, rockabilly, country and jazz, known for a laconic delivery and shuffling boogie rhythm. Neil Young, Mark Knopfler, Waylon Jennings and Clapton have all acknowledged his influence, and in 2008 Cale and Clapton won a Grammy for The Road to Escondido. Tracks like “Cajun Moon” show the style he rarely abandoned: relaxed, rootsy and in no hurry at all.