Sunday, June 29, 2025
Time: 12:32 PM
Song: After Midnight
Artist: Eric Clapton
Mode of Consumption: Listening to quiz question on 94.3 FM while running errands.
Link to song: https://open.spotify.com/track/27mdmXNcO0gNpXlrWi9DPZ?si=bc0139e0719e4acd
The question was what artists were famous for recording the J.J. Cale songs “After Midnight,” “Cocaine,” and “Call Me the Breeze.”
I thought the harder question would have been who penned those three songs.
Eric Clapton had popular versions of “After Midnight” and “Cocaine.” Lynyrd Skynyrd did “Call Me the Breeze.”
We were driving around so I wasn’t really researching Cale. In my head, I had him confused with John Cale, who was part of the Velvet Underground. I thought it strange he went on to write such standard Pop-Rock songs after being such an underground, alternative rock group.
Looking it up now, I find that I have it wrong. J.J. Cale and John Cale are two different people. In fact, J.J. Cale’s first name is also John, but he went by J.J. to avoid confusion. I guess it didn’t work in my case.
I didn’t know that Clapton and Skynyrd hadn’t penned any of these songs. Then again, I don’t think I had ever looked.
It’s not that rare of a thing though. The music industry is built on great songwriters, many of whom never are heard from on their own. It’s not a bad life I suppose. They might not get the big money of the artists, but they probably do OK, and can still live a pretty normal life.
We just saw one perform a month ago or so in Don Schlitz at the Grand Ole Opry. He did a great job, and while having great success as a songwriter, he joked that at least he could still go to a grocery store.
Other songwriters started behind the scenes, but eventually take the lead and become stars themselves. Think Willie Nelson or Carole King.
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