Singer-songwriter JJ Cale died Friday after suffering a heart attack. He was 74. A native Oklahoman who infused dusty twang and languid blues into indelible songs that were rendered successfully by Eric Clapton—including "Cocaine" and "After Midnight"—as well as numerous other artists, Cale also enjoyed a long and respected solo career that stretched from his early singles as a '50s rockabilly hopeful to being a credited co-writer on Spiritualized's Lazer Guided Melodies.
A guitarist's guitarist who nonetheless gave off an effortlessly genial and accessible air, Cale developed his understated, deceptively simple style while struggling in the L.A. studio scene throughout the '60s. A name change from Johnny Cale to JJ Cale (in order to avoid confusion with another rising musician from that decade, The Velvet Underground's John Cale) augured a fresh chapter in his career.
Clapton covered Cale's "After Midnight" in 1970, which became the latter's first hit as a songwriter. Cale didn't know about the rendition of "After Midnight" until he heard it on the radio, but it kicked off a close association with Clapton that would lead to further covers like 1977's "Cocaine," a song that's become synonymous with Clapton. The two continued collaborating, on and off, through 2006, when their joint release The Road To Escondido came out, going on to win a 2008 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album.