This reluctant guitarist/songwriter brought me to tears 😭

Tim's Playlist #9 --- JJ Cale

Driving down a dusty country road in Missouri, my email bings.

It’s Tim. ❤️

I pull over and this is what I heard:

I had to collect myself after hearing this. It might be the most beautiful 2 minutes and 38 seconds I’ve ever heard.

Look here we got a thing going on
Never fear we got a thing going on
Ain't nothing to it
Got to get down and do it
I tell you the truth
Ain't jivin' you

Lord, Lord, we got a thing going on

Something in this place
It's on every face
It's catching fever
You just can't leave her

Look here we got a thing going on
Never fear we got a thing going on

What we gonna do
We're gonna roll through
Do it right, keep it light

Lord, Lord, we got a thing going on
Look here we got a thing going on
Never fear we got a thing going on

As I’ve mentioned, Tim and I had a long distance relationship for a while and during the time we were apart, he would send me songs that would draw me even closer to him. JJ Cale is one of those artists.

John Weldon Cale was a reclusive, laid-back artist from Oklahoma, one of the architects of the ‘Tulsa Sound’. He never really wanted to be a rock star and wasn’t thrilled about public performances. (His first actual love was electronics and recording.) Read more about him here.

I’m embarrassed to admit this… I honestly didn’t know who JJ Cale was. (Please dont unsubscribe! 😂) But his influence was profound.

Eric Clapton loved playing with him. Check this out:

Cale was a helluva songwriter. He wrote ‘Cocaine’ and ‘After Midnight’, both songs that Clapton made famous.

This version for ‘After Midnight’ is my favorite.

In researching this essay, I learned a lot about JJ Cale. He wrote Magnolia, another one that Tim sent and now on my playlist:

JJ Cale died of heart attack at the age of only 74 in 2013. (Yeah, I said only.) What a loss to music.

Add him to your playlist.

Thanks, Tim.

And now…my Public Service Announcement:

Have you scheduled your colonoscopy yet? Tim died of colon cancer on May 7, 2021 and he NEVER GOT THE TEST. But you can. It’ll save your life. DO IT!