John Weldon Cale was born on 5 December 1938, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma USA, and was a singer, songwriter and guitarist, known as one of the most influential music figures in the history of rock – he originated the Tulsa Sound which draws from several genres. All of his efforts helped put his net worth to where it was prior to his passing in 2013.
How rich was JJ Cale? As of mid-2017, sources estimate a net worth that is at $15 million, earned through his success in the music industry. He wrote numerous songs recorded by himself and many other popular artists; he and Eric Clapton also won a Grammy Award for their joint album “The Road to Escondido”, but all of his achievements ensured the position of his wealth.
J.J. Cale Net Worth $15 million
JJ attended Tulsa Central High School and matriculated in 1956. As he was growing up, he studied playing the guitar as well as sound engineering, and later built his own recording studio. He was then drafted into military service and studied at the Air Force Air Training Command. In the 1960s, he moved to Los Angeles and found work as a studio engineer. He created the demo single called “After Midnight” and then found regular work at Whisky a Go Go, but found very little success as a recording artist and eventually returned to Tulsa to join a band.
In 1970, Eric Clapton then recorded a cover of “After Midnight” for this debut album, and this led Cale to create his own album called “Naturally”, which found a lot of popularity and critical praise, plus his guitar skills were also praised by other artists. He found his biggest hit in the single “Crazy Mama” which was released in 1972 – his net worth started to increase significantly In the early ‘80s he became somewhat reclusive, and the release of his album “#8” found little popularity, being poorly received and he then asked to be released from his recording contract. Documentaries were later made about Cale, including “To Tulsa and Back” in which he recounts the time he started promoting “Crazy Mama”. Later on, his catalogue would be published by Fairwood Music (UK).
While JJ found little success as a recording artist, a lot of his songs would eventually find success as they were covered by many other musicians, including “Cocaine” by Eric Clapton, “Call Me the Breeze” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and “The Sensitive Kind” by Santana; artists such as Phish, Johnny Rivers, and The Band also covered his songs. In 2014, the tribute album entitled “The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale” was released by a collaboration called Eric Clapton & Friends, in which JJ’s songs were covered by Clapton and other artists. His contributions to music and for other artists overall certainly helped increase his net worth even further.
For his personal life, it is known that Cale was married to Christine Lakeland until his death, but their date of marriage is unknown. He credited his musical style to being able to make music himself, including with technology that is used by a lot of people now. He passed away in 2013 at the age of 74 after suffering a heart attack while living in La Jolla, California.
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