A biography for J. J. Calehasn’t been written yet.
“When you get successful, the money comes in and pretty soon you've got to hire an accountant, you've got to get up early, and then you've got a day job.”
“I make my living writing songs and, you know, I'm not a show biz kind of guy.”
“Oh, I'm not a very good singer, and that's 'cause I was always embarrassed about my singing.”
“I'm always doing something that ain't happening, and I'm always happening when there ain't nothing going on.”
“What's really nice is when you get a check in the mail.”
“There are entertainers and there are musicians, and I never was an entertainer.”
“I was a late bloomer in the music business.”
“I cut all my early records in Nashville, so I guess that makes me country. I call it country pop, but my love of the blues is in there, too.”
“I've always enjoyed playing. If all it meant were to just stand there and play my axe and sing, I could have gone on forever.”
“I guess if I'd have more of a producer attitude, maybe I'd sell more records. But I'm basically a songwriter.”
“I stopped a lot of people who wanted to shove me into the real big time. Your ego wants to say, 'Hey, I'm somebody, man,' but I knew there were many days when I just wanted to be John Cale.”
“I consider myself a songwriter... I guess the business end is my songs and the fun part is playing the guitar.”
“I was an engineer for a long time. I was a sideman guitar player.”
“Makin' records is one art form and playin' live is another. It's like the difference between makin' a movie and doin' theatre.”
“Widespread Panic discovered a couple of my songs and started doin' 'em on the gigs. They'd take a song and expand it and everybody plays a long time and people really like that. But I made my living as a songwriter so I try to get to singin' and get it over with.”
“I generally, you know, I don't - I don't really scat. I'm - I'm basically a songwriter so you need a little lyrics that rhyme and stuff.”
“I remember when I made my first album, I was 32 or 33 years old and I thought I was way too old then.”
“We used to say when we were 20 years old, that when you reach 30, you gotta hang up your guitar and get a real job.”
“I ain't got much to say.”