Sad news from the weekend: Oklahoma City singer JJ Cale has passed away.

The Oklahoma native died on Friday night at La Jolla’s Scripps Green Hospital following a sudden heart attack. He was 74.

Raised and based in Oklahoma, John Cale – who went by JJ to avoid confusion with the Velvet Underground member of the same name – came up in rockabilly and country bands, and began operating as a solo recording artist following a move to Los Angeles in the late 1960s. After one of his most iconic tunes, ‘After Midnight’, was covered by Eric Clapton, Cale laid down debut LP, Naturally (1972) – a languid set boasting his most successful solo track, ‘Crazy Mama’.

Cale went on to record a trifecta of albums in the mid 1970s – 1973’s superchill Really, 1974’s Okie and 1976’s Troubadour – playing many of the instruments himself. These records synthesised country, boogie and blues into something eventually pegged as the Tulsa Sound – loose-limbed, shuffling roots music delivered in a laid-back drawl. Regular releases followed throughout the next two decades, and saw him consolidate and refine his instantly recognisable sound.

For all the merits of his solo work, Cale’s biggest successes came as a songwriter for others: ‘Cocaine’, ‘Low Down’ and ‘I’ll Make Love To You Anytime’ became essential parts of Clapton’s repertoire over the years, and Lyrnyrd Skynyrd covered his track ‘Call Me The Breeze’ in 1974. Cale’s last release was 2009’s Roll On, and his career was comprehensively surveyed in 2006 documentary To Tulsa And Back.