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JJ Cale and Eric Clapton won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album for The Road to Escondido at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony. In spite of a long history of influential recordings, this is Cales first Grammy Award. Cale's songs, most notably "After Midnight" and "Cocaine" among many others, have driven sales for major recording artists for decades but this was also JJ Cales first certified Gold record, selling over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone and achieving Gold and Platinum status in a number of other countries around the world. Cale wrote 11 of the 14 songs and co-produced the 2006 hit album with Eric Clapton. Grammy Nominations For J J Cale, Bettye LaVette and Meshell Ndegeocello - Just Announced The 2008 Grammy Award Nominations were released today (December 6, 2007), with Bettye LaVette and JJ Cale each honored with their first Grammy nod and Meshell Ndegeocello grabbing her 10th nomination. Both Bettye LaVette and JJ Cale are up for Best Contemporary Blues Album, for LaVettes The Scene Of The Crime and JJ Cale & Eric Claptons The Road To Escondido. Ndegeocellos 10th nomination is in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category for Fantasy from the compilation album, Interpretations: Celebrating The Music Of Earth, Wind & Fire (Stax). The Grammy Awards will be held on February 10, 2008 in Los Angeles.
J.J. Cales After Midnight and Cocaine are both featured on Claptons new career retrospective, Complete Clapton, in addition to Cales Ride the River, which the pair recorded for last years collaborative effort, The Road To Escondido. In addition, Clapton also praises Cale highly in his just published autobiography stating that In my humble opinion, he is one of the most important artists in the history of rock, quietly representing the greatest asset his country has ever had... Clapton: The Autobiography and Complete Clapton are now available in stores, along with Cales own recent release, Rewind: Unreleased Recordings.
A new collection of never-before-heard J.J. Cale work, titled Rewind: Unreleased Recordings, is set for release October 2 in North America and October 8 worldwide. The album comprises fourteen songs recorded between 1973 and 1983 by Cale with longtime producer Audie Ashworth. Cale is accompanied on the recordings by an impressive array of musicians including guitarist Richard Thompson, bassist Tim Drummond, pianist Glen D. Hardin, keyboardist Spooner Oldham and drummer Jim Keltner. The collection features eight Cale originals and a rare number of covers, including tunes by Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, Waylon Jennings and Randy Newman. The recordings, which were unearthed with the help of Ashworths widow, Bonnie, offer a fascinating new view of Cales influential sound and style. "Hearing them took me back to what I was doing then and where I was when I was doing it," Cale said. "It's like looking at old family photographs." Cale currently has no tour plans, but if that changes, any new dates will be posted on this site. PRESS RELEASE >> LINER NOTES >>
Bill Frisell was named Best Guitarist for the fourth year in a row (and seventh in 10 years) in Downbeat's Critics Poll. Several frequent Frisell collaborators were also honored: Sam Yahel was on top in the Rising Star Organ category and Jenny Scheinman was named #1 Rising Star Violin, while producer (and Frisell manager) Lee Townsend, drummers Brian Blade and Joey Baron, and violinist Eyvind Kang were among the honorees in their respective categories. Bettye LaVette and Charlie Musselwhite both placed in the top 10 for Blues Artist/Group, and Tommy Castro was among the Rising Star Blues Artist/Group honorees. The Blues Album category included J.J. Cale & Eric Claptons "The Road To Escondido" as well as Musselwhites "Delta Hardware". Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaints "The River In Reverse" and Richard Thompsons "The Life And Music Of Richard Thompson" were honored in the Beyond Album category. Congratulations to all the honorees!
J J Cale made a rare concert appearance March 15 at the ipay One Center in San Diego with Eric Clapton. In the wake of their collaborative hit CD, The Road To Escondido, Eric invited Cale on stage to perform five of his songs (including, of course, After Midnight and Cocaine and three songs off the new CD) with Eric's band during a special segment in the middle of Eric's set. The entire concert was filmed for an as yet undetermined use. J J Cale had not appeared on stage since his 2004 tour and, in fact, that tour was initially instigated by Eric's invitation to join him at his Crossroads Guitar Festival. Cale still has no touring plans but, if that changes, dates will be posted on this site. For more on the San Diego event, see the links below. EC Official: J.J. Cale Joins Clapton On Stage In San Diego >>
Amazon.com has released their annual picks for Best Music of the Year and Rosebud artists Allen Toussaint, J.J. Cale, Ann Savoy, Charlie Musselwhite and Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars are among those honored. Allen Toussaint's CD The River In Reverse with Elvis Costello was recognized in the Top 100 Editor's Picks list. J.J. Cale & Eric Clapton's The Road To Escondido appears as #37 on the Customer's Top 100 list. Charlie Musselwhite's Delta Hardware was recognized as the #1 CD of the year in the Blues category, while Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars debut CD Living Like A Refugee was selected as the #4 CD of the year in the International category. Ann Savoy of The Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band appears twice in both the Customer's Top 100 list and #3 in the Folk category for her CD Adieu False Heart with Linda Ronstadt. Congratulations to all. For more information and to purchase CDs, please visit Amazon's Best Music of 2006 >>.
J.J. Cale's, Collected, has just achieved gold sales status in The Netherlands. The 3 disc compilation features studio and live tracks from throughout Cale's career as well as never before released tracks from a radio session taped in Holland on his last tour there in 1994. The album is currently only available in The Netherlands where it reached #1 in August and is still enjoying a spot in the Top 10. J.J. Cale's latest project is a full CD collaboration with Eric Clapton entitled The Road To Escondido which will be available worldwide on November 7. The first single from the CD, "Ride The River", is now available as a download on iTunes.
J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton have joined forces on their new CD, The Road to Escondido, to be released November 7. In a true collaboration, Cale and Clapton jointly produced and recorded the album's 14 tracks, 11 of which are J.J. Cale compositions. The project came about when, after joining Cale on stage for his set at Clapton's Crossroads festival, Clapton asked Cale to consider producing an upcoming album for him and the depth of the collaboration grew from there. In addition to veterans of Cale's touring band, guest musicians on the album include Taj Majal, John Mayer, Derek Trucks, Albert Lee, Doyle Bramhall II, Steve Jordan, Willie Weeks, Pino Palladino, Nathan East and Billy Preston to whom the project is dedicated along with Clapton's late friend Brian Roylance.
J.J. Cale's new compilation album, Collected is #1 on Netherlands Pop CD Charts. The 3 disc album, currently only available in The Netherlands, features 60 tracks from throughout Cale's career. The album includes both studio and live versions of his hits "Cocaine," "After Midnight" and "Call Me The Breeze" as well as other classic and lesser known tracks. Watch for more exciting news from J.J. Cale coming soon.
J.J. Cale's music will be featured in three soon to be released projects. First off, on May 23 Eric Clapton will release a remastered and expanded
The J.J. Cale and Refugee All Stars documentaries continue to be featured at film festivals worldwide. "The Refugee All Stars" film has won 7 major awards at various festivals including AFI International Film Festival, SXSW Film Festival, Miami International Film Festival and Nashville Film Festival. The J.J. Cale documentary, "To Tulsa And Back - On Tour with J.J. Cale", has played at IDFA Amsterdam, Hof International Film Festival, DOK.Fest in Munich, Docaviv Israel and Nashville Film Festival. "To Tulsa And Back" will be released on DVD by Time Life on June 13 in the US. Both films will be featured at the upcoming Seattle International Film Festival with Refugee All Stars screening Sat, June 10 and Tues, June 13 and To Tulsa and Back screening Wed, June 14 and Sun, June 18.
JJ Cale and Refugee All Stars documentaries will, coincidentally, be featured in consecutive screenings at the upcoming Nashville Film Festival on April 24. The award-winning Refugee All Stars documentary chronicles the journey of a group of musicians who came together in the refugee camps of Guinea after fleeing the civil war in Sierra Leone. To Tulsa And Back, the JJ Cale documentary, follows the legendary musician and songwriter on his most recent tour including a visit to his childhood home and high school and interviews with many of his long time friends and associates. Watch for the Cale documentary to be available on DVD in North America in late June. For more information on the Nashville Film Festival, please go to Nashville Film Festival >>
J.J. Cale is featured more prominently than anyone else on a new all star album called Mad Dogs and Okies. The project, produced by Jamie Oldaker (renowned drummer - Eric Clapton, Bob Seger, Freddie King, Phil Collins), focuses on artists, musicians and writers with a distinctive Oklahoma sound. J.J. Cale sings two songs on the album, "Daylight" and "Motormouth," the latter a duet with Willie Nelson. A third Cale song, "Magnolia" is covered by Tony Joe White. Other major artists on the album include Eric Clapton, Taj Mahal, Vince Gill and Peter Frampton.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's classic cover of J.J. Cale's Call Me The Breeze is featured in the big screen version of the 1970s television favorite, The Dukes of Hazzard, starring Jessica Simpson, Willie Nelson, and Burt Reynolds. The song is also included on the soundtrack CD.
J.J. Cales classic, Cocaine, is back in the movies in the just released Bad News Bears with Billy Bob Thornton. Eric Clapton's version of "Cocaine" is in the film and on the soundtrack CD. In the meantime, J.J. Cale has been working on a few major projects. Watch for announcements coming soon. Eric Claptons Crossroads Guitar Festival DVD Features J.J. Cale and Robert Cray plus Duke Robillard
Buy "Crossroads Guitar Festival" DVD from Amazon.com >>
J.J. Cale is featured on the October/November Blues Revue cover with an extensive and entertaining interview. Cale is also featured in an extensive interview in the November issue Vintage Guitar Magazine and in a full page feature in the current Fader Magazine. Watch for Cale's appearance in the DVD and PBS film of Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival featuring Eric performing with Cale throughout his set at the all-star event. Order "Crossroads Guitar Festival" DVD from Amazon.com >> Eric Clapton Joins J.J. Cale in Dallas
Cale is in the midst of a US tour in support of his new CD, To Tulsa And Back. Rosebuds Gather For Clapton Benefit
J.J. Cale's First Studio CD In 8 Years & On Tour Now
J.J. CALE COMPLETES FIRST STUDIO ALBUM IN EIGHT YEARS, To Tulsa And Back is J.J. Cales first new studio album since 1996s Guitar Man. But as he says, It doesnt seem that long. You just cant rush the good things in life and that includes Cale, who, for his Sanctuary Records debut, went back to his hometown of Tulsa to record. Set for a street date of June 8, the album is at once different than albums before it while reassuringly retaining the trademark sound that has made Cale an American music legend for more than 30 years. Cale is best known for his compositions -- some of them hits for Eric Clapton and others for himself -- including After Midnight, Cocaine, Call Me The Breeze, and Crazy Mama. His songs have been covered by everyone from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Deep Purple, the Allman Brothers Band, Johnny Cash, The Band and Santana to Captain Beefheart and Bryan Ferry. Beyond the songs, his style profoundly influenced Dire Straits, Clapton and many others. Eric Clapton Covers J. J. Cales Cocaine Once Again
E Town Airs Rosebuds J.J. Cale, The Blind Boys of Alabama, and Mike Kappus
J.J. Cale Live DVD, "The Lost Session", Due August 27 From Classic Pictures
J.J. Cale, Randall Bramblett Perform with Widespread Panic
J. J. Cale Adds First Live Shows In Over Five Years J. J. Cale has set tour dates for the first time in over five years. The new dates are solo performances but watch for special guests to show up on a reqular basis. More dates are being added regularly so watch for Cale to cover much of the US before the summer is over... tour date >> J J Cale's Long Way Home in Bandits
Four Rosebud Artists Honored with W. C. Handy Award Nominations
Eric Clapton Covers J.J. Cale On New Reptile CD, Cale Live CD Upcoming Eric Clapton on J J Cale in September Mojo Magazine
Rosebud Artists Featured on Fish, Tree, Water Blues - Environmental Project to benefit Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund
J.J. Cale's "Slower Baby" featured on Palmetto soundtrack
J.J. Cale track in Howard Stern movie
Syndicated Cale
J.J. Cale's Guitar Man Tour
J.J. Cale continues streak of famous covers
In addition to the track in Phenomenon, his music is also currently covered by several other artists: On the current CD by Gatemouth Brown ("Don't Cry Sister"), the Randy Crawford R&B hit single ("Cajun Moon"), the latest record by The Band ("Crazy Mama"), and Eric Clapton's Crossroads 2 box set ("Cocaine"). Cale will be making a limited number of live appearances this Fall. Please watch the tour dates listings on this site for updates. |