Induction Year: 2025
Birth Name: John Weldon Cale
Birth Date: 12-05-1938
Place of Birth: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Death Date: 07-26-2013
Place of Death: San Diego, California
Famed for his bluesy, rootsy, laid-back style, Oklahoma native John Weldon Cale moved to Nashville in 1959 and found work as a guitarist with touring Grand Ole Opry troupes.
After stints in Los Angeles and Tulsa, J.J. returned to Music City in 1970 to record his debut album. In 1972, he built his own studio in Nashville, where he continued to record and live part-time throughout the ’70s and early ’80s.
Both Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler have acknowledged J.J.’s influence as a guitarist, with the former making international hits of J.J.’s “After Midnight” and “Cocaine.”
Over the years J.J.’s various albums have yielded “Crazy Mama” (a Pop hit for him in 1972), “Call Me The Breeze” (turned into a Rock standard by Lynyrd Skynyrd), “Clyde” (a Top 10 Country hit for Waylon Jennings in 1980), “Any Way The Wind Blows” (Brother Phelps in 1995) and “The Sensitive Kind” (Santana in 1981), as well as the oft-covered “I Got The Same Old Blues,” “Magnolia,” and “Travelin’ Light.”
As an artist, J.J. released 16 albums, including the Grammy-winning collaboration with Clapton, The Road to Escondido (2006).
In 2014, after J.J.’s death, Clapton released the tribute album The Breeze: An Appreciation of J.J. Cale.
"After Midnight"
| Eric Clapton | 1970 | #18 Pop |
| Sergio Mendes & Brazil '77 | 1971 |
| JJ Cale | 1972 | #26 AC, #42 Pop |
| Chet Atkins | 1972 |
| Maggie Bell | 1974 |
| The Jerry Garcia Band | 1980 |
| The Seldom Scene | 1981 |
| Eric Clapton | 1988 | #4 Rock |
| Kenny Malone | 1999 |
| JJ Cale w/ Eric Clapton | 2004 |
| Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood | 2009 |
| Marc Cohn | 2010 |
| Phish | 2010 |
| Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real | 2012 |
| Marshall Chapman | 2020 |
| Damian Lewis | 2023 |
"Any Way The Wind Blows"
| JJ Cale | 1974 |
| Brother Phelps | 1995 | #54 Country |
| Bill Wyman & The Rhythm Kings | 1999 |
| JJ Cale w/ Eric Clapton | 2006 |
"Cajun Moon"
| JJ Cale | 1974 |
| Herbie Mann w/ Cissy Houston | 1975 | #94 R&B |
| Maria Muldaur | 1978 |
| Randy Crawford | 1995 | #65 R&B |
| Poco | 2005 |
| Eric Clapton | 2014 |
"Call Me The Breeze"
| Lynyrd Skynyrd | 1974 |
| JJ Cale | 1971 |
| Bobby Bare | 1981 |
| David Allan Coe | 1985 |
| Johnny Cash w/ June Carter Cash | 1988 |
| The Mavericks | 1994 |
| Artimus Pyle | 2000 |
| Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time | 2004 | #21 Bluegrass |
| JJ Cale w/ Eric Clapton | 2004 |
| James Otto | 2006 |
| Atlanta Rhythm Section | 2007 |
| Shooter Jennings | 2010 |
| Charlie Robison | 2013 |
| John Mayer | 2013 |
| Peter Frampton | 2015 |
| Lynyrd Skynyrd w/ Three Doors Down, Hank Williams Jr. & Bo Bice | 2018 |
| Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers | 2022 |
| Artimus Pyle Band w/ Billy Ray Cyrus | 2024 |
| Eric Clapton | 2014 |
"Call The Doctor"
| JJ Cale | 1971 |
"Clyde"
| JJ Cale | 1971 |
| Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show | 1978 |
| Waylon Jennings | 1980 | #7 Country |
"Cocaine"
| JJ Cale | 1976 |
| Eric Clapton | 1980 | #30 Pop |
| Nazareth | 1981 |
| Humble Pie | 1997 |
| Kenny Malone | 1999 |
| Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood | 2009 |
| Eric Clapton w/ JJ Cale | 2016 |
"Crazy Mama"
| JJ Cale | 1972 | #18 Adult Contemporary, #22 Pop |
| Johnny Rivers | 1972 |
| Larry Carlton | 1991 |
| Billy Ray Cyrus | 1996 |
| Mac Gayden | 1996 |
| The Band | 1996 |
| Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers | 2022 |
"Devil In Disguise"
| JJ Cale | 1982 |
| George Thorogood | 2003 |
"Don't Cry Sister"
| JJ Cale | 1979 |
"Don't Go To Strangers"
| JJ Cale | 1971 |
| Johnny Rivers | 1974 |
"Hey Baby"
| JJ Cale | 1976 |
"I Got The Same Old Blues"
| Captain Beefheart | 1974 |
| JJ Cale | 1974 | Country |
| Lynyrd Skynyrd | 1976 |
| Blood, Sweat And Tears | 1977 |
| Bobby Blue Bland | 1977 |
| Bryan Ferry | 1978 |
| Steve Young | 1978 |
| Eric Clapton w/ Tom Petty | 2014 |
"If You're Ever In Oklahoma (JJ Cale)"
| JJ Cale | 1973 |
| Front Porch String Band | 1992 |
| The Bluegrass Alliance | 2001 |
| The Yonder Mountain String Band | 2001 |
| Eric Church | 2018 |
"I’ll Make Love To You Anytime"
| Eric Clapton | 1978 |
| JJ Cale | 1979 |
"Lies"
| JJ Cale | 1973 | #33 Adult Contemporary, #42 Pop |
| Eric Clapton w/ John Mayer | 2014 |
"Magnolia"
| JJ Cale | 1971 |
| Jose Feliciano | 1972 |
| Poco | 1973 |
| Pat Travers | 1976 |
| Lucinda Williams | 2014 |
| Eric Clapton w/ John Mayer | 2014 |
"Mama Don't"
| JJ Cale | 1981 |
"Ride Me High"
| JJ Cale | 1976 |
| Widespread Panic | 2002 |
"The Sensitive Kind"
| JJ Cale | 1979 |
| Santana | 1981 | #56 Pop |
| The Spencer Davis Group | 1985 |
| John Mayall | 1990 |
| Eric Clapton w/ Don White | 2014 |
"Travelin' Light"
| JJ Cale | 1976 |
| Widespread Panic | 1988 |
| Eric Clapton | 2001 |
Induction Year: 2025
