Exclusive Eric Clapton and Friends’ The Breeze Behind The Scenes Mini-Documentary to Premiere on Amazon

 

By FW Staff 

 

To honor the legacy of the great JJ Cale, Eric Clapton and friends have come together for Eric Clapton & Friends: The Breeze, An Appreciation of JJ Cale, which will be released July 29. The teaser for the mini-documentary is available for viewing here. Additionally, beginning July 19, fans can watch the mini-documentary behind the album exclusively at Amazon here.

 

The album is available for pre-order now and you can enjoy the music video for the first single, “Call Me The Breeze,” here. A deluxe edition CD Box Set and Special Edition 4-LP Set are also available here and here, respectively.

 

Eric Clapton has often stated that JJ Cale is one of the single most important figures in rock history, a sentiment echoed by many of his fellow musicians.  Cale’s influence on Clapton was profound, and his influence on many more of today’s artists cannot be overstated.   To honor JJ’s legacy a year after his passing, Clapton gathered a group of like-minded friends and musicians for Eric Clapton & Friends: The Breeze, An Appreciation of JJ Cale.  With performances by Clapton, Mark Knopfler, John Mayer, Willie Nelson, Tom Petty, Derek Trucks and Don White, the album features 16 beloved JJ Cale songs and is named for the 1972 single “Call Me The Breeze.”

 

“I would like people to tap into what JJ Cale did ~ that’s the point. I’m just the messenger; I’ve always felt that that’s my job. I try to interpret things so that the public at large, or at least the people who listen to what I do, will become intrigued about where I got it from,” said Clapton.

 

After years admiring JJ Cale’s work and covering what many people don’t realize were JJ’s songs, including hits “After Midnight” and “Cocaine,” Clapton finally collaborated with Cale for the first time in his career on the 2006 original album Road to Escondido.  At the time, Clapton shared, “This is the realization of what may have been my last ambition, to work with the man whose music has inspired me for as long as I can remember.” 

 

Cale grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and cited Chet Atkins, Les Paul and Chuck Berry as some of his earliest influences.  He was often quoted as saying, “In trying to imitate them, I missed it.  And I came up with my own kinda thing.” 

And so, Cale began playing the local Tulsa club scene in the early 1950s, surrounded by other natives like David Gates (Bread) and Leon Russell.  JJ Cale’s music consistently defied being pigeon-holed into any one category, instead incorporating a broad spectrum of blues, rock, country and folk, resulting in a hybrid sound that has influenced a long list of artists.  He was known for being reclusive, letting his music speak for itself, and by his own choice never became famous in the conventional terms of the word.  Instead, he preferred to shun the spotlight for a simpler existence based on his musical creations. Ironically, doing just that, and focusing on music, turned him into a guitar legend. After moving to Los Angeles in the mid-60s, he recorded the now iconic song “After Midnight.” 

Already an accomplished guitarist as a member of legendary bands including the Yardbirds, Cream and Blind Faith, Clapton ventured to a solo career with the release of his 1970 self-titled Eric Clapton album.   Mutual friend Delaney Bramlett had given him a copy of “After Midnight” and Clapton decided to cover the song, which became the first single from the album ~ and a chart-topping success.  Clapton was quick to offer praise for Cale’s work while promoting the album, and although Cale had been told of the cover, he admitted to not paying much attention until he heard the track on the radio in Tulsa.

 

Years later, in April of 1976, Cale was performing at London’s Hammersmith Odeon in support of his Troubadour album release. Clapton sat in on the performance and later during that same trip surprised Cale in the studio with a version of “Cocaine” that would ultimately appear on his 1977 Slowhand release and become yet another chart-topping success.

 

In 2004, Clapton organized a guitar festival called Crossroads Guitar Festival, a 3-day event featuring the world’s most elite guitarists.  Clapton invited Cale to perform at the inaugural event and Cale agreed to attend the event; Clapton proudly sat in as a member of his band.

 

Cale’s entire 40-plus year career produced only 15 albums, but lauded by his peers (and critics truly interested in music, not just “names”) and completely unfazed by musical fads, JJ Cale is an American icon, a craftsman like no other.

 

Clapton’s career, also spanning more than 50 years, has resulted in 18 Grammy Awards and the distinct honor of being the only triple inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

 

Destiny brought these two greats together many, many years ago, and the friendship, collaborations, and mutual respect that formed as time passed brings them together again now.

 

 

The Breeze will be available to the public on July 29 ~ but we’ll have the review of our advance copy of the album for you this week, so stay tuned for that!

 

THE BREEZE TRACK LISTING

1. Call Me The Breeze (Vocals Eric Clapton)
2. Rock And Roll Records (Vocals Eric Clapton & Tom Petty)
3. Someday (Vocals Mark Knopfler)
4. Lies (Vocals John Mayer & Eric Clapton)
5. Sensitive Kind (Vocals Don White)
6. Cajun Moon (Vocals Eric Clapton)
7. Magnolia (Vocals John Mayer)
8. I Got The Same Old Blues (Vocals Tom Petty & Eric Clapton)
9. Songbird (Vocals Willie Nelson & Eric Clapton)
10. Since You Said Goodbye (Vocals Eric Clapton)
11. I’ll Be There (If You Ever Want Me) (Vocals Don White & Eric Clapton)
12. The Old Man And Me (Vocals Tom Petty)
13. Train To Nowhere (Vocals Mark Knopfler, Don White & Eric Clapton)
14. Starbound (Vocals Willie Nelson)
15. Don’t Wait (Vocals Eric Clapton & John Mayer)
16. Crying Eyes (Vocals Eric Clapton & Christine Lakeland)

 

MUSICIAN CREDITS

Keys ~ Hammond Organ, Piano & Wurlitzer  Walt Richmond & Simon Climie 

Drum Programming & Percussion  Simon Climie 

Bass Nathan East 

Drums Jim Keltner 

Guitars

Eric Clapton (All tracks)

Mark Knopfler (Tracks 3 & 13)

John Mayer (Tracks 4, 7 & 15)

Willie Nelson (Tracks 9 & 14)

Don White (Tracks 3, 5 & 13)

Reggie Young (Tracks 2, 6 & 8)

Derek Trucks (Tracks 14 & 16)

Albert Lee (Tracks 1 & 11)

David Lindley (Tracks 9 & 16)

Don Preston (Track 3 & 13)

Christine Lakeland (Track 3)

Doyle Bramhall II (Track 10)

Pedal Steel Guitar  Greg Leisz (Track 12 & 14)

Dobro  Eric Clapton (Track 11)

Harmonica

Jimmy Markham (Track 13)

Mickey Raphael (Tracks 3, 9 & 14)

Backing Vocals

Michelle John (Tracks 4, 5, 9 & 13)

Sharon White(Tracks 4, 5, 9 & 13)

Christine Lakeland (Tracks 13 & 15)

Simon Climie (Track 9)

Additional Drums

James Cruce

Jim Karstein

Jamie Oldaker

David Teegarden

Satnam Ramgotra (Tablas)

The album was produced by Eric Clapton and Simon Climie.

 

 

 For additional information, please visit www.ericclapton.com.