J.J. Cale – Crazy Mama

The thing that I’ve found about Cale is that his music isn’t in your face. It really sneaks up on you while you listen. I remember this getting played on AM radio when I was a kid, and this song introduced me to J.J. Cale. Yes I may have heard some of his songs that were covered by others, but I knew this by Cale and no one else. 

Oklahoma blues guitarist and songwriter J.J. Cale is best known for a number of songs that became radio favorites when covered by other artists. These include both After Midnight and Cocaine, which were written and recorded by Cale before Eric Clapton cut his versions. Also, Cale’s track Call Me The Breeze has been covered by numerous acts, most notably by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The record feels loose, almost casual, like you just stumbled across him jamming in a Tulsa roadhouse. Yet the track is locked in tight, every note exactly where it needs to be. Musicians took notice; countless guitarists, from Mark Knopfler to Neil Young, would later cite Cale’s minimalism as an influence.

He made this hit song without raising his voice or speeding up this song. Remember this was the era of bombast, arena rock, prog, and wall-to-wall sound. Cale proved that restraint could be just as powerful. It’s no surprise that Clapton and others gravitated to his songs; Cale had a way of making music that felt timeless and genuine. This song may have been his only chart hit, but it wasn’t his only masterpiece.

Crazy Mama is a song from Cale’s debut album, Naturally, and was his only Top 40 hit in the US. Naturally peaked at #51

This song peaked at #22 on the Billboard 100 in 1971.

Crazy Mama

Crazy mama, where you been so long?
Crazy mama, where you been so long?
You’ve been hiding out, I know that’s true
Crazy mama, I sure need you
Crazy mama, where you been so long?

Standing on the corner, looking for you, babe
Standing on the corner, looking for you, babe
Lord have mercy, can I see,
that crazy mama coming back to me?
Crazy mama, where you been so long?

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

41 thoughts on “J.J. Cale – Crazy Mama”

  2. Pingback: J.J. Cale – Crazy Mama – MobsterTiger

  5. Somebody I used to work with put this on a mix tape for me years ago. He had a great distinctive sound. Tom Petty also said he was a big influence. More great stuff.

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  6. Always loved this. The laid-back vocal, the understated slide guitar with wah wah or envelope filter just sounds like sitting on the back porch with crickets chirping in the background. I might have to pull that album out and put it on the turntable today.

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      1. might be. It was still a bit regional then. CAnada’s a big country obviously and even though Toronto is the biggest city and had the station with THE chart in the ’70s, there were still variations. For instance, several Toronto artists like Murray McLaughlin were bigger in their home city than the national charts show and some of the R&B or Soul ones like Bill Withers that actually didn’t seem to do well on the Canadian charts were big there like they are here in the US. Ergo, there must have also been some acts that were popular elsewhere in the land that got overlooked in my area

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      1. It’s funny because I heard Cale first and then the covers came. I thought it was cool that his music was being exposed but man did he shy away from the spotlight like no one else. As much as he covers sounded good. Cant beat JJ in original form. That album is a classic. I almost made a request to you for a Cale song.

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      2. It’s that word I use a lot but his versions are genuine…that is the best way I can describe it. No big window dressing just the song. I tell you CB…the next Cale thing I’ll do is this entire album. I should have done it this time.

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  11. It’s the kind of song that you want to hear on the way home after a nice full day of dealing with the joys of work. The sun is sliding down, the razzle-dazzle of the day is falling behind you, the slow ‘n’ easy guitar picking makes you smile; a nice mellow mood flows into your soul replacing the sour acid-reflux that you left the work car-park with. Thats what a good piece of music can do.

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  12. I was aware of Cale because of the Clapton connection (though I wasn’t wowed by the album they did together) I was introduced to JJ when my mom bought me the Troubadour album…a really laid back sound, but then I saw the guitar he used…if I remember correctly just an open backed acoustic stuffed full of electronics….I liked his sound at the time

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    1. Yeah, his guitar was definitely weird. Like Ry Cooder customizing his guitars, but way more so. A Harmony acoustic that had been damaged so he electrified it with a unique collection of pickups and left the back off to make it easy to work on.

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  14. Max, I really don’t recall this tune or this artist, but I am now playing “catch-up” in the comments and learning even more about him. Thanks for the education…and the music, of course!

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