"I don't think there is a Tulsa sound as such. It's just individuals," he says. "But I know what you mean. In western Oklahoma you've got a lot of country music. Then, in eastern Oklahoma, it's closer to the Mississippi and you've got more blues musicians. In Tulsa we were influenced by both and there was some jazz in there too. So I guess that's what made my sound."

One review described his music thus: "JJ.'s music is definitely very laid back, but he, himself, is not. He even referred to himself, in a radio interview, as "a very nervous jerk". But whatever the case may be, the man turns out some of the most innovative, soulful music around today. Cale is a seductive, exciting songwriter; and one of the best qualities of his songwriting is that it is restricted. Rather than hook you from the start, JJ's tunes "creep up from behind", as more than one reviewer has put it.

Cale prefers laid back, deep grooves, that tantalize the listener. His voice is usually a second thought; it seems to be somewhere there in the mix, which just makes the music all the more enticing. For me, JJ Cale is pure musical honesty." The Cale sound has profoundly influenced artists such as Eric Clapton and Dire Straits, and his songs have been covered by everyone from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Deep Purple, and the Allman Brothers, to Johnny Cash, The Band, Santana, Captain Beefheart, and Bryan Ferry.

Born in Oklahoma City in 1938 but raised in Tulsa, OK, Cale played in a variety of bands before moving to Los Angeles, in 1964, with Leon Russell and Carl Radle. In 1965, he cut the first version of "After Midnight", which would become his most famous song. Deciding that he wouldn't be able to forge a career in Los Angeles, Cale returned to Tulsa in 1967.

In 1970, Eric Clapton recorded "After Midnight", taking it to the American Top 20, thereby providing Cale with needed exposure and royalties. In December of 1971, Cale released his debut album, "Naturally", on Shelter Records; the album featured the Top 40 hit "Crazy Mama", as well as a re-recorded version of "After Midnight" and "Call Me the Breeze". Cale followed "Naturally" with "Really", which featured the minor hit "Lies", later that same year.

Clapton's lavish praise, expressed in every interview he gave, soon thrust the modest and self-effacing Cale into the glare of a spotlight he never really sought or desired. Cale was grateful for the recognition but was always put off by the notion of celebrity.

"I'm a guitarist and a songwriter and I got lucky when Eric Clapton heard one of my songs," he says. "I'm not a showbiz kind of guy. I had the passion to do music as much as anybody. But I never wanted to be the patsy up front. And I still don't want to be famous."

Clapton continues to be an enthusiastic champion and when Mojo Magazine asked recently which other musician he would most like to be, he answered, "Cale," calling him "one of the masters of the last three decades of music". JJ Cale has released various albums, with long intervals between them; then, in 2002, he returned to the road after a long lay-off.

"I hadn't played live for a while and so I started getting back into it slowly, by going out solo," he recalls. "Then I added a drummer and then another guitar player. And by the end, all my friends were there and the band needed two tour buses."

Cale also found himself garnering a new generation of fans when Widespread Panic and other jam bands covered some of his songs. He says of the jam band experience:

"Those guys make a three minute number last 15 minutes and everybody does a solo. But they still need songs. How they discovered mine, I don't know but they did. Then, through the songs, a whole new generation discovered me," he added, with some bemusement. After the tour, it seemed like a good idea to make a record. "To Tulsa And Back" was the 2001 result and it was classic Cale.

"Yeah, they told me it was eight years since the last studio album but it doesn't seem that long," he says, scratching his head and wondering where the time went.

"I write songs when I've nothing else to do and I file them away. So I had plenty of 'em hanging around over the years … We spent a week tracking in the studio, but it was like a social thing, with barbecues and stuff, as much as a recording session … I played with some of these guys 40 years ago and I tell you, I don't think there's anyone on this record who's under 60 years old."

Timeless, enduring, and fresh, J.J. Cale is sounding as real as ever, not that his music ever went away. After all, what's eight years between old friends?

1 Call me the Breeze
They call me the breeze, I keep blowing down the road
They call me the breeze, I keep blowing down the road
I ain’t got me nobody, I ain’t carrying me no load
Ain’t no change in the weather, ain’t no change in me
Ain’t no change in the weather, ain’t no change in me
I ain’t hidin’ from nobody, ain’t nobody hidin’ from me
I got that green light, babe, I got to keep moving on
I got that green light, babe, I got to keep moving on
I might go out to California, might go down to Georgia, might stay home

2 Mississippi River
Mississippi River railroad track
Want to go to Memphis get my baby back
Get me a motorcycle take off tomorrow
If it don't run I'll get me a car
Fill that car with gasoline
Do anything just to see her again
Mississippi River railroad track
Want to go to Memphis get my baby back
Walking down the highway
Thumbing down the road
Got to get there
How I don't know
Uphill, downhill, just around the bend
Got to go to Memphis see my baby again
Leaving in the morning
I cannot wait
Got to go to Memphis
See my baby today
Get me a ticket fly on a cloud
Airplane, airplane help me out
Mississippi River railroad track
Want to go to Memphis get my baby back

3 Downtown L.A.
Downtown L.A. is a depressing place
You can see young men with deep lines in their face
They could all be something if somebody cared
But nobody knows they’re even down there
Old woman walking with a sack on her back
Picking up the garbage people put out back
Men down there trying to walk the line
Trading their soul for a bottle of wine
In the inner city it ain’t no good
It’s a long, long way from Hollywood
Bad kind of people got a hold of the street
Ain’t got something that the poor people need
At two in the morning they bust your head
Fat chance walking you’ll end up dead
It’ the law of the jungle with a gun and a knife
If you stay long enough you can lose your life
Man down there he couldn’t be lying
He was sleeping in the street and he couldn’t keep from crying
Said he’d been there for twenty one years
Through the bars and the brawls and the blues and the tears
Prop up the front the back falls down
All around the canyons of L.A. town
Asked me for a dollar I looked him in his face
Downtown L.A. is a depressing place

4 Woman I love
Woman I love ain’t much more than skin and bone
Woman I love ain’t much more than skin and bone
If she ain’t round the house - out of the door, ain’t no more
Woman I love ain’t much more than skin and bone
Treat me right, what no, can’t complain
Treat me right, what no, can’t complain
She got to be nice, she got me hypnotised
Treat me right, what no, can’t complain

5 The Woman That Got Away
Well, I've been down on the street since yesterday
Been looking for the woman that got away
A long-legged thing with a red dress on
The kind of woman you can't leave alone
Listen, if you see her, send her my way
Looking for the woman that got away
The last time I seen her she was looking good
I had a feeling that she understood
She slipped through my fingers in the middle of the night
Gotta find my woman and treat her right
Listen, if you see her, send her my way
Looking for the woman that got away
If I ever get my hands on that woman again
I'm gonna lock my door and keep her in
She won't do no travelling, running around all night
I'm gonna keep my woman and leave town
Listen, if you see her, send her my way
Looking for the woman that got away

6 Lies
You told me this, you told me that
You’re trying to tell me, tell me where it's at
You said you loved me, I can see through that
Lies, lies, lies
You left me hangin', hangin' from a limb
You said you loved me, then you left with him
Lord, you did it to me, I see it in your eyes
Lies, lies, lies
Tell me baby, why you take my time
You get a thrill off playing with my mind
Lord, you did it too, I see it in your eyes
Lies, lies, lies

7 Everlovin’ Woman
I’ve got a woman, I love her, Lordy Lord
She cooks my breakfast on Sunday, just like my ma
I hang my hat in her house, she don’t charge a dime
Love me, trust me, never cuss me, you know she’s mine
I’m talking ’bout, I’m talking ’bout, I’m talking in rhyme
I’m talking ’bout that everlovin’ woman of mine
Oh, when I’m gone you know she don’t hang around
And when I’m gone you know she don’t follow me down
She keeps the night-light burning, lord, she waits for me
Taking care of business, lord, she’s taking care of me
I’m talking ’bout, I’m talking ’bout, I’m talking in rhyme
I’m talking ’bout that everlovin’ woman of mine
She’d have me do it if I’d do it at all
You know I love her, do I love her, Lordy-Lord
I hang my hat in her house, honey, she don’t charge a dime
Taking care of business, she’s taking care of business of mine
I’m talking ’bout, I’m talking in rhyme
I’m talking ’bout that everlovin’ woman of mine

8 You Got Something
You don't look like my baby
And you don't feel quite the same
You don't touch quite like my woman
But you got something
I can't explain
The way you wear your clothes drives me crazy
The way you walk around, just hanging 'round
I can't stand it, what you're doing
You got something
I can't live without
The way you wear your clothes drives me crazy
The way you walk around, just hanging out
I can't stand it, what you're doing
You got something
I can't live without
I can't stand it, just what you're doing
You got something
I can't live without

9 Lou-Easy-Ann
Lou-Easy-Ann, I hear you calling back to me
Lou-Easy-Ann, I hear you calling back to me
Lord, I’m going back to New Orleans
Lou-Easy-Ann has set me free
Bourbon street mama, you’ve never seen in your life
Bourbon street mama, you keep it clean out of sight
Lord, I’m going back to New Orleans
Lou-Easy-Ann, you’ve got it right
Lou-Easy-Ann, ain’t no woman quite like you
Lou-Easy-Ann, the way you do the things you do
Lord, I’m coming back to New Orleans
Lou-Easy-Ann, you’ve got me hooked on you

10 Mona
Mona, she comes in the morning
She brings me a bottle of wine
She comes to my bed, soothes up my head
Makes me feel alright
Makes me feel alright
Mona, she comes on a Friday
She stays into the night
Mona, she comes to my bedroom
To keep my spirits high
To keep my spirits high
Mona, she brings me no money
She brings me no food
All she brings is her sweet, sweet love
Makes my afternoon
Makes my afternoon
When the daylight falls from my window
Another night's come and gone
I always know 'cause I'm feeling so low
Mona, you know she has gone
Mona, you know she has gone

11 New Orleans
Have you ever been down to New Orleans
Lor Lord, them crazy queens
Crying the blues is what they do down there
Fortune teller, he knows your name
Fortune teller, he'll tell you your game
Crying the blues, that's what they do down there
Money dripping from a willow tree
He never wanted me
Lazy bones, I ain't got a dime
Just biding my time
If I find a way to choose
New Orleans, where they're crying the blues
Drinking bourbon from a dixie cup
Hanging out till the sun comes up
Crying the blues is what they do down there
French women, all I need
Up and down old Bourbon Street
Crying the blues is what they do down there
If I find a way to choose
New Orleans, where they're singing the blues

12 Mama Don't
Yeah, Mama don't allow no guitar playing 'round here
Yeah, Mama don't allow no guitar playing 'round here
I don't care what mama don't allow I'll play my guitar anyhow
Mama don't allow no guitar playing 'round here
Hey, Mama don't allow no bass in this place
Yeah, Mama don't allow no bass in this place
I don't care what mama don't allow I'll play my bass anyhow
Mama don't allow no bass in this place
Yeah, Mama don't allow no drumming going on
Yeah, Mama don't allow no drumming going on
I don't care what mama don't allow
Gonna play my drums anyhow
Mama don't allow no drumming going on
Yeah, Mama don't allow no piano players in here
Mama don't allow no piano players in here
I don't care what mama don't allow
Gonna play my piano anyhow
Mama don't allow no piano players in here
Yeah, Mama don't allow no reefer-smoking round about
Yeah, Mama don't allow no reefer-smoking round about
Yeah, I don't care what mama don't allow I'm gonna smoke my reefer anyhow
Mama don't allow no reefer in here
Mama don't allow us all playing at the same time
Mama don't allow us all playing at the same time
I don't care what mama don't allow
We're all gonna play all at the same time anyhow
Mama don't allow us all playing at the same time

13 City Girls
City girls they're all right
They just want you for the night
But when the morning comes at dawn
City girls they all gone
You know the daylight can be sad
When you feel that you've been had
Only night time brings the price
City girl she thinks it's right
What's a poor boy going to do
If he wants a girl like you
Can't afford no diamond rings
Or all those other fancy things
Only one thing I can give
A song down where you live
I'll sing to you hear the sound
City girl please stay around

14 Wish I Had Not Said That
You don't come here too often
You make my day when you come around
You know I love you something awful
You're a diamond I have found
Wish I had not said that, baby
If I could only close you out of my mind
Sunset passes oh so sweetly
Gives a man just time to think
Frees the image of your body
Fantasy is just a blink
Wish I had not said that, baby
If I could only close you out of my mind
It don't matter what you're into
If I could taste you once again
Feel the pain and the pleasure
We could make it to the end
Wish I had not said that, baby
If I could only close you out of my mind

15 Sensitive Kind
Don't take her for granted, she has a hard time
Don't misunderstand her or play with her mind
Treat her so gently, it will pay you in time
You've got to know she's the sensitive kind
Tell her you love her, each and every night
And you will discover she will treat you right
If you believe, I know you will find
There ain't nothing like the sensitive kind
She gets lonely waiting for you
You are the only thing to help her through
Don't take her for granted, she has a hard time
You've got to know she's the sensitive kind

16 Rose In The Garden
I'll find my way back to the rose in the garden
I'll find my way back to her sweet arms
I'll find my way back to the rose in the garden
I'll find my way back to her little charms
Wasting my life, just dreaming away
No never again will I ever stray
I'll find my way back to the rose in the garden
I'll find my way back to her sweet arms
Wasting my life, just dreaming away
No never again will I ever stray
I'll find my way back to the rose in the garden
I'll find my way back to her sweet arms