J. J. Cale was a musician.
John Weldon `` J. J. '' Cale ( December 5 , 1938 -- July 26 , 2013 ) was an American guitarist , singer , and songwriter . Though he deliberately avoided the limelight ( being temperamentally averse to celebrity ) his influence as a musical artist has been widely acknowledged by figures such as Mark Knopfler , Neil Young , and Eric Clapton , who described him as `` one of the most important artists in the history of rock '' . In 2008 he , along with Clapton , received a Grammy Award for their album , The Road to Escondido .