While J.J. Cale has always been grateful for the recognition his songs have received, particularly when performed by other artists, he has remained somewhat of a recluse. Eight years after his last studio album, and two years since his last tour, Cale returns with To Tulsa and Back, another timeless, enduring recording from the man that Eric Clapton has called, “One of the masters of the last three decades of music.”

When Clapton recorded “After Midnight,” which Cale had written in the mid-sixties, in 1970, this Tulsa native, who began performing in the fifties, emerged from relative obscurity and, suddenly, became known as a profound influence on some of the biggest names in the business. In addition to Clapton (who has also make recorded versions of Cale’s “Cocaine,” “Travelin’ Light,” and “I’ll Make Love To You Anytime”), artists such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Deep Purple, Johnny Cash, The Band and Santana began covering his tunes. (more…)