J.J. Cale: After Midnight

Well howdy, all you music freaks!

How’s the summer heat treating you? Here in SoCal, it’s just starting to feel warm, and summer is right in our laps. I’m cruising on highs of 75 with an afternoon breeze—you know, they call me The Breeze.

If you know anything about J.J. Cale, he’s the breeze of the Tulsa Sound. But first, how the hell did I get here?

One hot summer night, I was digging through old funk and stumbled on “After Midnight” by Merl Saunders and Friends. The groove caught me—soft, bold, and tender. After playing it on repeat, I shared it with a close fellow music obsessor, Quin, and said, “This guy sounds just like Jerry Garcia.” He laughed and replied, “That’s because it is Jerry Garcia.”

Turns out Jerry's name was right there on the album cover. Classic me, not reading the fine print. Leave it to the writer to not read. I’m a big Dead fan by the way, but that’s a song for another broadcast.

Luckily for me, I got the dirty low down on J.J. Cale right then and there: the low-key songwriter behind those laid-back jams that influenced legends like Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Neil Young, and more.

He also shared J.J. Cale Live: 2001—which kicks off with the crowd roaring for J.J., the energy alive and buzzing. That in-the-room-with-you feeling is one of my favorite parts of live music recordings.

Your Favorite Guitar Player's, Favorite Guitar Player

Born in Oklahoma City, raised in Tulsa, J.J. Cale avoided the spotlight. Sunglasses on, guitar in hand, he laid down smooth grooves that barely touched the ground.

Disc Live 2001 — JJ Cale

In the ’70s, he wrote “After Midnight” and “Cocaine”—made famous by Eric Clapton, who credits Cale for his whole solo career.

The Tulsa Sound? Bluesy, country-fried, sleepy but sharp—like a cold beer on the porch, after say... midnight...

J.J.’s influences ran deep — from the laid-back swing of jazz greats like Nat King Cole to the gritty blues of Lightnin’ Hopkins and the shuffling country rhythms of Bob Wills. He carved his own path, playing small clubs and dive bars rather than big arenas, letting his understated style work its magic in intimate rooms filled with true music lovers.

J.J. kept it humble—recording in home studios, mumbling vocals like whispered secrets, letting the groove do the talking. Oddly enough, I’d call him the “George Carlin of the blues”—raw, honest, unfiltered, and straight to the point. May they both rest in hell, “baking pies... without an oven.” (If you haven’t seen It’s Bad For Ya, go watch it. Okay, okay—get out of my head, this is a music blog, not a comedy special.)

Let It All Hang Out: After Midnight (Live 2001)

To be honest, I wasn’t sure whether to keep this section just about “After Midnight,” or talk about all the tracks I love from the live record. But hey—I’m doing all the work here. Go pick your own favorite songs!

No band. No frills. Just J.J. alone with his guitar, playing it like an afterthought and meaning every note more because of it. He half-mumbles the words, as if he’s telling them to the night air rather than an audience. And somehow, that makes you lean in closer. His seemingly carefully crafted range of dynamics is frankly... out of this damn world.

The groove isn’t held up by bass or drums — it’s hanging by his right hand alone, swaying like a porch swing that’s been there longer than you’ve been alive. There’s no urgency, no big solo waiting to save the day. It just is — stubbornly, beautifully.

Clapton polished it up and sold it to the world, but J.J. keeps it dirty. Small-room dirty. Barstool dirty. It sounds less like a hit single and more like something you’d mutter to yourself while lighting a cigarette at 2 a.m., contemplating your life's decisions. And seriously, I gotta know what he means when he says that after midnight he's gonna shake my tambourine.

No chorus of backing singers, no crash of cymbals — just a shrug into the dark by a voice that might as well be a guitar playing croaking toad that can carry a tune, and it is f**king great. I would highly recommend this a listen immediately. Turn off the lights, spark up a schmag, hit that repeat button, let the vibe take you away.

Anyway, that’s J.J. Cale — your favorite guitar player’s favorite guitar player. The guy who kept it small, raw, and unbothered by the spotlight, yet somehow made it sound bigger than anything on the radio.

He gave us more than just “After Midnight.” Think “Call Me the Breeze,” “Cocaine,” and a catalog of tunes that quietly shaped rock and blues without ever shouting for credit.

The Tulsa Sound doesn’t demand your attention. It sneaks in slow, like a warm breeze through an open window on a quiet night. You might not even notice it at first — but stick around, and you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.

Go listen. Let it find you. From all of...just me, Stay Tuned Audiophiles! -DJ BerlyD

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Listen to "After Midnight: Live 2001" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKKqzmeYonE