J.J. Cale
Stay Around

John Weldon Cale, born in 1938. He left this world 9 years ago.

Don't make that face as if to say you have no idea who he is.

You, debaseriota user, sent him several checks, no, not you personally, of course, but the publishing house that paid him the royalties for the records you purchased. Thanks to you, he ate every day, managed to stay in the shadows, and write what he wanted.

Am I wrong? Aren't you the one who loves music? Really, you don't know him? Are you telling me you don't have a copy of "One More From the Road" from that band whose name you couldn't even pronounce, that crashed at the peak of their career in a plane crash? Oh, don't tell me you don't own "Slowhand," you know the first track on side A was written by him?

You know, he even had to change his name because when he performed at the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, he was too often confused with John Cale of the Velvet, with whom he never had anything to do. Thus the name J.J. Cale was born. A shy and reserved character (he lived for years without a phone) but lauded by the best musicians of the time, considered the best electric guitarist by uncle Nello Giovane who places him first among the greatest electric guitarists of all time alongside Jimi, of course (Shakey, 2002), and at that time Neil still had good ears…

Never mind if you've never listened to one of his records, but honestly, you don't know what you're missing… You know he lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a city that gave the name to the genre (Tulsa sound) and should be its…

Hey, I'm talking to you… Tulsa … Oh, debaseriota user!

Oklahoma… I remember the mythical Oklahoma gun! My parents never wanted to buy it for me, so one day during the Christmas holidays, I forced my little sister to collaborate. Through long investigations, I found out that Luigi wanted to get rid of the mythical gun, imagine he wasn't interested anymore (incredible!), while he was starting to look at girls (even more incredible!).

I elaborated a plan. My sister was crucial, I would propose a swap, just for a few hours, of course. I had already bought the yellow pellets, identified the enemy…

But who's yelling?

User!!!! Are you listening to me? I still have to tell you about JJ's new album. I still have to tell you that after the half misstep of The Road to Escondido, in collaboration with Clapton, this new album is comparable to the masterpieces of the '70s, that his wife took care of the production and song selection, that it's a posthumous album from 2019… Boh, he's gone.

The memory of my little sister brings many tears to my eyes, I walk away. Words define the world; if it weren't for words, we wouldn't be able to talk about anything. But the world turns, and the words stand still, the words wear out, age, lose meaning, and we all continue to use them without realizing we're talking about nothing. (G. G.)