JJ Cale was born John Weldon Cale in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on December 5, 1938. Cale moved to Tulsa with his family as a boy where he graduated from Tulsa Central High School. He was an active musician throughout his youth and moved to Los Angeles shortly after graduating high school to work as an audio engineer. He returned to Tulsa shortly after as he found little success launching a career as a recording artist. He didn’t gain recognition until later in life when Eric Clapton recorded his famed cover of Cale’s track “After Midnight.” JJ spoke on the track with Mojo, noting success couldn’t have come at a better time:"I was dirt poor, not making enough to eat and I wasn't a young man. I was in my thirties, so I was very happy. It was nice to make some money."