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Iconic songwriter and musician J.J. Cale passed away at the age of 74 due to a heart attack. The Oklahoma City native was an prominent songwriter throughout his career. His songs have been performed by Eric Clapton, the Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Captain Beefheart, Tom Petty, Santana, Chet Atkins, and many, many others. Some familiar tunes you might remember include "After Midnight", "Cocaine", and "Call Me the Breeze".
"We've lost a great artist and a great person," Eric Clapton wrote on his Facebook page.
"JJ Cale was loved by fans worldwide for his completely unpretentious and beautiful music," said Mike Kappus, president of the Rosebud Agency. "He was loved even more dearly by all those he came in contact with as the most real and down-to-earth person we all knew."
"I'm so old, I can remember before rock 'n' roll come along," Cale told CNN back in 2009. "When I was a young fellow, I played guitar for other people, so I'd have to learn (cover tunes). ... So the guitar players on all those early recordings, I guess, influenced what I did. I never could get it exactly right the way they played it, and I guess that helped the style that evolved."
Here is the official announcement of Cale's death from his Facebook page:
"We've lost a great artist and a great person tonight. JJ Cale passed away at 8:00 pm on Friday July 26 at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, CA. He had suffered a heart attack. There are no immediate plans for services. His history is well documented at JJCale.com , https://www.rosebudus.com/cale/and in the documentary, To Tulsa And Back. Donations are not needed but he was a great lover of animals so, if you like, you can remember him with donations to your favorite local animal shelter."
