JJ CALE NAMED SEVENTH MEMBER OF NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2025

Nashville, TN, September 11, 2025 – The late JJ Cale will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (NaSHOF) in October at the organization’s annual gala, according to an announcement made today by Rich Hallworth, chair of the organization’s board of directors.

Cale was elected in NaSHOF’s Legacy category, designed specifically to honor hall of fame-worthy candidates who are deceased.  He will be inducted posthumously alongside the previously announced members of the Class of 2025 – Steve Bogard, Don Cook, Emmylou Harris, Jim Lauderdale, Tony Martin and Brad Paisley – during the 55th Anniversary Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala on Monday, October 6, at the Music City Center.  The seven new electees will join the 247 existing members of the Hall, which was established in 1970.

“We are thrilled to have JJ Cale join this year’s class,” says Hallworth.  “With classics such as “After Midnight,” “Cocaine” and “Call Me The Breeze,” JJ’s work as both a songwriter and an artist will be remembered always.  He is richly deserving of our ultimate recognition.”

About JJ Cale  (1938-2013):

Famed for his bluesy, rootsy, laid-back style, Oklahoma native John Weldon Cale moved to Nashville in 1959 and found work as a guitarist with touring Grand Ole Opry troupes.  After stints in Los Angeles and Tulsa, JJ returned to Music City in 1970 to record his debut album.  In 1972, he built his own studio in Nashville, where he continued to record and live part-time throughout the ’70s and early ’80s.  Both Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler have acknowledged JJ’s influence as a guitarist, with the former making international hits of JJ’s “After Midnight” and “Cocaine.”  Over the years JJ’s various albums have yielded “Crazy Mama” (a Pop hit for him in 1972), “Call Me The Breeze” (turned into a Rock standard by Lynyrd Skynyrd), “Clyde” (a Top 10 Country hit for Waylon Jennings in 1980), “Any Way The Wind Blows” (Brother Phelps in 1995) and “The Sensitive Kind” (Santana in 1981), as well as the oft-covered “I Got The Same Old Blues,” “Magnolia,” and “Travelin’ Light.”  As an artist, JJ released 16 albums, including the Grammy-winning collaboration with Clapton, The Road to Escondido (2006).  In 2014, after JJ’s death, Clapton released the tribute album The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale.

About the NaSHOF Gala:

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala is one of the music industry’s premier annual events.  A fundraiser benefitting the nonprofit Nashville Songwriters Foundation, the star-studded evening honors each inductee through humorous, heartfelt tributes and unplugged performances by surprise guest artists.  In recent years artists such as John Anderson, Clint Black, Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, The Del McCoury Band, Brooks & Dunn, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Emmylou Harris, Jason Isbell, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Olivia Newton-John, Thomas Rhett, John Rich, Blake Shelton, Marty Stuart, Taylor Swift, The Isaacs, The Oak Ridge Boys, Josh Turner, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Trisha Yearwood have participated in the event.

About the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame:

Induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame is one of the nation’s most highly prized songwriting honors.  Since 1970, the Hall has enshrined 247 of the greatest writers from all genres of music ever to put words to music in Music City, including such luminaries as Bill Anderson, Bobby Braddock, Garth Brooks, Felice & Boudleaux Bryant, Johnny Cash, Don & Phil Everly, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Tom T. Hall, Harlan Howard, Alan Jackson, Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Bob McDill, Bill Monroe, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Paul Overstreet, Dolly Parton, Dottie Rambo, Jimmie Rodgers, Fred Rose, Don Schlitz, Ray Stevens, Keith Urban, Cindy Walker and Hank Williams.  Operated by the non-profit Nashville Songwriters Foundation, the Hall of Fame is dedicated to honoring Nashville’s rich legacy of songwriting excellence through preservation, celebration, and education.  More information is available at http://www.nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com.