From there Cale moved to California and worked at Leon Russell's home studio as a chief engineer and began performing at places like the Whisky a Go Go.

Cale recalled to Mojo magazine that when he heard Clapton's version playing on his radio, "I was dirt poor, not making enough to eat and I wasn't a young man.

The ingredients that went into that project, with subtle drum rhythms, murky vocals sung in a narrow range, and a guitar style that merged country, blues and jazz, established the template for the "Tulsa sound".

Cale explained to Dan Forte of Vintage Guitar in 2004, "When we did the first album, most people didn't realize that was an electric drum machine – or that there even was such a thing.

The album showcased Cale's distinctive, understated style, and it successfully established his solo recording career, which continued until his death in 2013.

While "Crazy Mama" nearly cracked the Top 20, Cale was unimpressed with fame right from the beginning, telling Steve Newton of The Georgia Straight in 1990: The first album was a collection of tunes I'd been working on for about 32 years.

"Crazy Mama" was actually the B-side of the single, "Magnolia", but a DJ in Little Rock, Arkansas played it in preference to the A-side, facilitating its success.

Reviewing the LP for Rolling Stone in 1972, Jon Landau said, "This quiet and leisurely album from an excellent guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter is a charmer.

J.J. Cale has a unique approach to funk, blues, and country and all it involves is taking things at just as relaxed and mellow a pace as the human metabolism will allow.