After having Eric Clapton take his composition "After Midnight" to the Top 20 in 1970, Cale scored another windfall when Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded "Call Me the Breeze" for their 1974 LP Second Helping. Although Cale would not have the success with his music that others would, the royalties from artists covering his songs would allow him to record and tour as it suited him. As he put it in 2013, "I knew if I became too well known, my life would change drastically. On the other hand, getting some money doesn't change things too much, except you no longer have to go to work."
Like his previous album Really, Okie was recorded in several different studios with producer Audie Ashworth. Okie is the first album where Cale layers his vocal tracks, something that would become one of the hallmarks of his sound. Cale later explained:
That goes back to the fact I never considered myself a good singer. I often sang off-key, and when you layer the vocals, the more times you put your voice on there, the more it becomes in tune. That's why when you hear a large group of people singing, the pitch always sounds right. Les Paul was the first person to do that, with Mary Ford. It makes the vocals more pleasing to the ear.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okie_(J._J._Cale_album))