Similarly, throughout his career, Cale’s following was strongest in Europe. Cale felt this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity to play the legendary venue and making the deal that much sweeter was that it represented yet another chance to share the bill with his friends in The Band. That said, an offer to play Carnegie Hall on Mawas one that struck a special chord and got an enthusiastic green light. His philosophy allowed him to live more than comfortably on his own terms, avoiding so many of the superficial trappings of stardom and enabling him to focus on what really mattered to him - the music. He baffled many in the industry who weren’t accustomed to such a determination to stay grounded and real, disregarding the fame and fortune that most artists crave. JJ Cale had every opportunity to be a much bigger worldwide star but he was notorious for declining the greatest of those opportunities. And Rolling Stone (FR) stating that “ Stay Around features that unique sound and incredible guitar playing.” Stay Around - and the lead singles “Chasing You”, “Stay Around” and “Go Downtown” - has been met with worldwide critical acclaim with the Associated Press proclaiming, “ Stay Around feels vital and inviting” and Mojo (UK) declaring “ sound so fully-formed you feel they came from some earlier album you’d forgotten”. The only song not written by Cale is Christine’s “My Baby Blues,” the first song she and Cale cut as a four-piece combo in Bradley’s Barn studio in 1977, the year they met. The result is an album mixed and produced by Cale himself, left nearly untouched. In compiling Stay Around, Christine and Mike pored over songs, both studio and home recordings, that the public had never heard. The new collection of unreleased Cale songs was possible due to Cale’s modus operandi: often Cale would reserve outtakes from one album for later release on another. Stay Around (Because Music) was compiled by those closest to Cale - his widow, musician Christine Lakeland Cale, and friend and longtime manager, Mike Kappus. On Apten years after the release of his final solo album - a posthumous album of unreleased JJ Cale songs was released.

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