Tulsa declares JJ Cale day in artist's home town, documentary now filming

LOS ANGELES (www.jjcale.com) - On the heels of his acclaimed new album To Tulsa And Back, J.J. Cale has just wrapped a rare tour of the United States (only his second tour since 1996) that played to sold out crowds across the country. In the course of the tour, Cale was accompanied by Eric Clapton, commemorated by his hometown of Tulsa, and began filming of a forthcoming documentary, details of which will be announced shortly.

One of Cale's inspirations for hitting the road in the first place was an invitation from Eric Clapton to participate in his Crossroads Festival in Dallas. That led to warmup dates on the West Coast which then headed east to Dallas. Clapton joined Cale for his entire set in Dallas which included such Cale originals as "Cocaine," "After Midnight" and "Travelin Light," all of which reached a wider audience via Clapton's versions of the songs. Clapton recently told Vanity Fair that J.J. Cale was the one living person he most admired.

With his new CD, To Tulsa And Back in stores just three days after Clapton's festival, Cale continued across the country in support of the new release as well as playing Toronto and Montreal (Montreal Jazz Festival).

Cale's return to Tulsa's historic Cain's Ballroom for only his second performance in the city in the past two decades, in addition to the civic pride inspired by the title of the new CD, prompted Mayor Bill LaFortune to proclaim July 5 as 'J.J. Cale Day' in Tulsa.

Kick Films, an award winning documentary film production company from Germany, also joined Cale in Tulsa. The crew followed Cale to his boyhood home, as well as a parking lot where Cale was filmed performing solo with his former high school as backdrop. They also filmed Cale revisiting the former Shelter Records studio where he had tracked his early albums, among various other local haunts. The crew covered the Tulsa show, which featured plenty of old friends joining Cale on stage at the sold out show and then became part of the entourage for the balance of the tour.

Cale has not played in Europe for ten years but the continent could be the next stop on the tour following a break at home for Cale.