American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2013)

J. J. Cale

John Weldon "JJ" Cale was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Neil Young, Mark Knopfler, Waylon Jennings, and Eric Clapton, who described him as one of the most important artists in rock history. He is one of the originators of the Tulsa sound, a loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz. According to AllMusic, he was known for his "laconic delivery and shuffling boogie rhythm," as well as for his "laid-back rootsy style".

Born

1938

December 5

Died

Living

Era

1930s

Country

About

J., in brief

John Weldon "JJ" Cale was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Neil Young, Mark Knopfler, Waylon Jennings, and Eric Clapton, who described him as one of the most important artists in rock history. He is one of the originators of the Tulsa sound, a loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz. According to AllMusic, he was known for his "laconic delivery and shuffling boogie rhythm," as well as for his "laid-back rootsy style".

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

  1. 1938 Born

Also on December 5

What else happened on this day, through history

See all of December 5 →

The world in 1938

When J. arrived

Read the year 1938 →

Same-day contemporaries

Also born on December 5

See everything on December 5 →

Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1938

Read about the year 1938 →

Keep going

More to explore