J. J. Cale, musician and...

...songwriter who inspired Eric Clapton and others, died at age 74. From his obit:

He is best known as the writer of “Cocaine” and “After Midnight,” songs made famous when they were recorded by his collaborator Eric Clapton. 

Mr. Cale recorded “After Midnight” in the mid-1960s, according to the biography, but had retreated to his native Tulsa, Okla., and “given up on the business part of the record business” by the time Mr. Clapton covered it in 1970. He heard it on the radio that year, he told NPR, “and I went: ‘Oh, boy, I’m a songwriter now. I’m not an engineer or an elevator operator.’ ”