J.J. Cale

Cale has been an inspiration to Clapton for decades. In a collaboration ages in the making, the iconic guitarists recently released The Road to Escondido, a mix of rock, country, folk and blues which still retains the fingerprints of both musicians.

The songwriter behind Eric Clapton's "After Midnight" and "Cocaine" says he once thought of himself as a late bloomer at 30. Forty years later, he's still blooming. Cale tells Melissa Block about his new album, Roll On.

Since the mid-1960s, songwriter J.J. Cale has been writing southern-style rock hits for Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers. He talks with NPR's Liane Hansen about his first collection of new songs in eight years, To Tulsa and Back.