James Joseph "Jim" Croce ("crow-chee") January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973 was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11
singlesIn music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. His singles "
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" is the title of a song written by American folk rock singer Jim Croce. Released as part of his 1973 album Life and Times, the song was a Number One pop hit for him, spending two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1973...
" and "
Time in a Bottle"Time in a Bottle" is a posthumous Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart number-one hit for singer-songwriter Jim Croce. The song reached the top spot on the Billboard chart at the end of December 1973, three months after his death in a plane crash. It was the third posthumous number...
" were both number one hits on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
charts.
Early life
James Joseph Croce, better known as Jim Croce, was born in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 10, 1943, to Jim and Flora Croce, and grew up in a family of Italian background. Croce took a strong interest in music at a young age. At five, he learned to play his first song on the
accordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, "
Lady of Spain"Lady Of Spain" is a popular song, written in 1931 by Robert Hargreaves, Tolchard Evans, Stanley J. Damerell, and Henry Tilsley.-Performance:...
."
Croce attended
Upper Darby High SchoolUpper Darby High School is a four-year public high school located in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, United States, as part of the Upper Darby School District. UDHS is also the oldest high school in Delaware County, PA, having been established in 1895...
in
Drexel Hill, PennsylvaniaDrexel Hill is a census-designated place in Upper Darby Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel Hill is located southwest of Center City, Philadelphia and is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area...
. After his graduation in 1960, Croce went to Malvern Preparatory School for one year before deciding to enroll at
Villanova UniversityVillanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
in 1961. During his time as a student, Croce became a member of the Villanova Singers and the Spires. When the Spires performed off-campus gigs or made professional recordings, it was under the name The Coventry Lads. Jim was also a student disc jockey at
WKVUWKVU is a radio station broadcasting a Christian format. Licensed to Utica, New York, USA, the station serves the Utica-Rome area. The station is currently owned by Educational Media Foundation, and is an affiliate of the K-Love network....
.
Croce did not take music seriously other than as a hobby until his time at Villanova, where he formed various bands, performing at
fraternityFraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
parties, coffee houses, and at universities around Philadelphia, playing "anything that the people wanted to hear: blues, rock,
a cappellaA cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
, railroad music... anything." One of those bands was chosen for a
foreign exchangeA student exchange program generally could be defined as a program where students from secondary school or university choose to study abroad in partner institutions...
tour of Africa and the Middle East. Croce later said of the experience that "we just ate what the people ate, lived in the woods, and played our songs. Of course they didn't speak English over there but if you mean what you're singing, people understand."
Croce met his future wife
Ingrid JacobsonIngrid Croce is an American author, singer-songwriter and restaurateur. She is the widow of singer-songwriter Jim Croce and the mother of singer-songwriter A.J. Croce. Between 1964 and 1971, Ingrid and Jim Croce performed as a duo and wrote together. In 1969, Capitol Records released their album,...
at this time during a
hootenannyHootenanny is an Appalachian colloquialism that was used in early twentieth century America to refer to things whose names were forgotten or unknown. In this usage it was synonymous with thingamajig or whatchamacallit, as in "hand me that hootenanny." Hootenanny was also an old country word for...
at Philadelphia Convention Hall where he was judging a contest.
Early career
From the mid-1960s to early 1970s, Croce performed with his wife as a duo. At first, their performances included songs by artists such as
Ian and SylviaIan & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson, née Fricker. They began performing together in 1959, married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975.-Early lives:...
,
Gordon LightfootGordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
,
Joan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
, and
Woody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
, but in time, they began writing their own music. During this time, Croce got his first long-term gig at a rural bar and steak house in
Lima, PennsylvaniaLima is a census-designated place in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,225 at the 2000 census. It is pronounced "LYE-ma."-Geography:Lima is located at ....
, called
The Riddle Paddock. His set list included every genre from blues to country to rock 'n roll to folk.
In 1968, Jim and Ingrid Croce were encouraged by record producer
Tommy WestTommy West is an American record producer and singer-songwriter.-Early career:...
to move to New York City. The couple spent time in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx and recorded their first album with
Capitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
. During the next two years, they drove more than 300,000 miles playing small clubs and concerts on the college concert circuit promoting their album
Jim & Ingrid Croce-Personnel:*Jim Croce - guitar, keyboards, vocals, 12 string guitar*Ingrid Croce - vocals*Gary Chester - drums*Harry Katzman - violin*Ann Minogue - triangle*Gene Pistilli - guitar, keyboards*John Stockfish - bass*Eric Weissberg - mandolin...
.
Becoming disillusioned by the music business specifically and New York City in general, they sold all but one guitar to pay the rent and returned to the Pennsylvania countryside where Jim got a job
driving trucksA truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...
and doing
constructionA construction worker or builder is a professional, tradesman, or labourer who directly participates in the physical construction of infrastructure.-Construction trades:...
to pay the bills while continuing to write songs, often about the characters he would meet at the local bars and
truck stopA truck stop is a commercial facility predicated on providing fuel, parking, and often food and other services to motorists and truck drivers...
s.
The couple returned to Philadelphia and Jim decided to be "serious" about becoming a productive member of society. But it was hard to make a living playing in a band and his previous employment experiences had lost their appeal. "I'd worked construction crews, and I'd been a welder while I was in college. But I'd rather do other things than get burned," he would later say. His determination to be "serious" led to a job at a Philadelphia R&B AM radio station, WHAT, where he translated commercials into
soul. "I'd sell airtime to Bronco's Poolroom and then write the spot: "You wanna be cool, and you wanna shoot pool...
dig it." Increasingly frustrated, he quit to teach guitar at a summer camp and enlisted in the U.S. Army. He did not have a very illustrious military career but said he would be prepared if "there's ever a war where we have to defend ourselves with mops".
Success
In 1970, Croce met the classically trained pianist/guitarist and singer-songwriter
Maury MuehleisenMaury Muehleisen was an American-born musician, songwriter, and artist best known for his studio work, live accompaniment, and impact on the music of Jim Croce. His unassuming style and exquisite guitar skills were a perfect balance to Croce’s seemingly rough-hewn experiences, stage presence, and...
from
Trenton, New JerseyTrenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
through producer Joe Salviuolo (aka Sal Joseph). Salviuolo had been friends with Croce when they attended Villanova University together, and Salviuolo later discovered Muehleisen when he was teaching at
Glassboro State CollegeRowan University is a public university in Glassboro, New Jersey, USA with a satellite campus in Camden, New Jersey. The school was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a twenty-five acre tract of land donated by the town...
in New Jersey. Salviuolo brought the Croce and Muehleisen duo together at the
production officeA film Production Office is the administrative office responsible for managing a film production. The office is responsible to the Film Producer and includes the Production Manager, Assistant Director and one or more Production Assistants...
of Tommy West and
Terry CashmanTerry Cashman is a record producer and singer-songwriter, best known for his 1981 hit, "Talkin' Baseball." While the song is well recognized today, it was all but ignored by typical Top 40 radio during its chart life, making only the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.Cashman was the lead singer...
in New York City. Initially, Croce backed Muehleisen on guitar at his gigs but in time their roles reversed, with Muehleisen adding lead guitar to Croce's down-to-earth music.
In 1972, Croce signed to a three-
record dealA recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with
ABC RecordsABC Records was an American record label, founded in New York City in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records. It originated as the main popular music label operated the Am-Par Record Corporation, the music subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company . ABC-Paramount Records' first president was Samuel H....
and released two albums,
You Don't Mess Around with Jim-Notes:-Notes:-Notes:*A Tracks 1-12 correspond to the original 1972 album-Personnel:*Jim Croce - guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals, background vocals*Maury Muehleisen - guitar, vocals*The Briggs - background vocals...
and
Life and Times that same year. The singles "
You Don't Mess Around with Jim"You Don't Mess Around with Jim" is a 1972 single by Jim Croce from his album of the same name. The song was also Croce's debut single when it was released in July 1972...
", "
Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)"Operator " is a 1972 single written and recorded by Jim Croce. It was released August 23 1972 and was the second single released from his album You Don't Mess Around with Jim...
", and "
Time in a Bottle"Time in a Bottle" is a posthumous Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart number-one hit for singer-songwriter Jim Croce. The song reached the top spot on the Billboard chart at the end of December 1973, three months after his death in a plane crash. It was the third posthumous number...
" (written for his then-unborn son,
A. J. CroceAdrian James "A.J." Croce is an American singer-songwriter. He is the son of singer-songwriter Jim Croce and Ingrid Croce.-Early life and family:...
) all received airplay. Croce's biggest single, "
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" is the title of a song written by American folk rock singer Jim Croce. Released as part of his 1973 album Life and Times, the song was a Number One pop hit for him, spending two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1973...
", hit No. 1 on the American charts in July 1973.
Death
On September 20, 1973, the day that his ABC single, "
I Got a Name-Songwriting:Croce's wife Ingrid Croce has an autobiographical cookbook, Thyme In A Bottle, in which she writes interesting anecdotes about Jim. What she wrote about "I'll Have To Say 'I Love You' in a Song" is this....
", was released, Croce, Muehleisen, and four others were killed in the crash of a chartered
Beechcraft E18SThe Beechcraft Model 18, or "Twin Beech", as it is better known, is a 6-11 seat, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft that was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas...
upon takeoff from the
Natchitoches Regional AirportNatchitoches Regional Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles south of the central business district of Natchitoches, a city in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States.Although most U.S...
in
Natchitoches, LouisianaNatchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...
. Croce had just completed a concert at
Northwestern State UniversityNorthwestern State University, known as NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.NSU was founded in 1884 as...
's
Prather ColiseumPrather Coliseum is a 3,900-seat multi-purpose arena in Natchitoches, Louisiana. It opened in 1964 and is home to the Northwestern State University Demons basketball team. The arena was named in honor of the school's most successful basketball and football coach, H. Lee Prather, who served from the...
in Natchitoches and was flying to
Sherman, TexasSherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's estimated population as of 2009 was 38,407. It is also one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, for a concert at
Austin CollegeAustin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated by covenant relationship with the Presbyterian Church and located in Sherman, Texas, about 60 miles North of Dallas....
, when the plane crashed about an hour after the end of the concert.
According to results of an investigation, upon takeoff the plane did not gain enough altitude to clear, and the pilot did not maneuver to avoid a
pecanThe pecan , Carya illinoinensis, is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana east to western Kentucky, southwestern Ohio, North Carolina, South...
tree at the end of the runway, which investigators said was the only tree for hundreds of yards. The flight conditions were reported as dark, clear sky, calm winds, and over five miles of visibility with haze. The official report from the NTSB lists the probable cause as pilot failure to see and avoid objects or obstructions with factors of pilot physical impairment and fog obstructing vision. The report remarks that the 57-year-old charter pilot had just run about three miles to the airport from a motel and suffered a heart attack. The pilot had an ATP Certificate, 14,290 hours total flight time and 2,190 hours in the Beech 18 type. A later investigation, source unknown, placed sole blame for the accident on
pilot errorPilot error is a term used to describe the cause of an accident involving an airworthy aircraft where the pilot is considered to be principally or partially responsible...
due to his downwind takeoff into a "black hole".
Croce is buried at Haym Salomon Cemetery in
Malvern, PennsylvaniaMalvern is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,998 at the 2010 census. The main road through the borough is King Street, although the borough is also bordered by Paoli Pike on the south, and is near US 30 on the north. The primary cross street is Warren...
. Muehleisen is buried at Saint Mary's Cemetery in
Trenton, New JerseyTrenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
.
Legacy
The album
I Got a Name-Songwriting:Croce's wife Ingrid Croce has an autobiographical cookbook, Thyme In A Bottle, in which she writes interesting anecdotes about Jim. What she wrote about "I'll Have To Say 'I Love You' in a Song" is this....
was released on December 1, 1973. Croce had just finished recording the album barely over a week before his death. The posthumous release included three hits: "
Workin' at the Car Wash Blues"Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" is a 1974 single written and recorded by Jim Croce. It was the second single released from his album Life and Times. It reached a peak of #32 in July 1974 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also the third single released after Jim Croce's passing in September...
", "
I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song"I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" is the title of a posthumously released single by the American singer-songwriter Jim Croce. The song was written by Croce and was originally found on his album I Got a Name....
", and the title song, which had been used as the theme to the film
The Last American HeroThe Last American Hero is a 1973 sports drama film based on the true story of American NASCAR driver Junior Johnson...
which was released two months prior his death. The album reached No. 2 in the US Pop Albums chart, and "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" reached No. 9 in the U.S. singles chart.
The song "
Time in a Bottle"Time in a Bottle" is a posthumous Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart number-one hit for singer-songwriter Jim Croce. The song reached the top spot on the Billboard chart at the end of December 1973, three months after his death in a plane crash. It was the third posthumous number...
" had been featured over the opening and closing credits and during a scene in which Desi Arnaz Jr. is opening the 'Don't Mess Around With Jim' album in the
ABCABC Network may refer to any of the following:*American Broadcasting Company, a private television network in the United States.*Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, regional radio and television broadcaster in Japan....
made-for-television movie
She Lives!She Lives! is a 1973 made-for-television movie about a young couple, Andy and Pam who meet after Andy places a singles ad in his college newspaper. Pam advises him to put a response to her letter in the "Who's Next" album at a local record store. He does and they meet...
, which aired in April 1973, That appearance had generated significant interest in Croce and his music in the week just prior to the plane crash. That, combined with the news of the death of the singer, sparked a renewed interest in Croce's previous albums. Consequently, three months later, "Time in a Bottle", originally released on Croce's
first album-Notes:-Notes:-Notes:*A Tracks 1-12 correspond to the original 1972 album-Personnel:*Jim Croce - guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals, background vocals*Maury Muehleisen - guitar, vocals*The Briggs - background vocals...
the year before, hit number-one on December 29, 1973, the third posthumous chart-topping song of the rock era following
Otis ReddingOtis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
's "
(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" The Dock of the Bay" is a song co-written by soul singer Otis Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper. It was first recorded by Otis Redding in 1967, just days before his death. It was released posthumously on Stax Records' Volt label in 1968, becoming the first posthumous number-one single in U.S...
" and
Janis JoplinJanis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
's recording of "
Me and Bobby McGee"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster, originally performed by Roger Miller. Others performed the song later, including Kristofferson himself, and Janis Joplin who topped the U.S. singles chart with the song in 1971 after her death, making the song the second...
".
A
greatest hitsA greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
package entitled
Photographs & MemoriesPhotographs & Memories - His Greatest Hits is a 1974 compilation album by Jim Croce, originally released on ABC Records. The album was released following Croce's 1973 death in an airplane crash. The inner photo jacket includes a tributatory essay on one side and a photo of Jim's son A.J. on the...
, released in 1974, proved to be extraordinarily popular. Later posthumous releases have included
Home Recordings: Americana,
Facets,
Jim Croce: Classic Hits,
Down the HighwayDown the Highway is an album by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, released in 1975. .-Track listing:All tracks composed by Jim Croce; except where indicated#"I Got a Name" - 3:12...
, and DVD and CD releases of Croce's television performances,
Have You Heard: Jim Croce LiveHave You Heard: Jim Croce Live is a live album by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, released in 2006, over thirty years after his death. The album is a companion to a DVD released previously in 2003 of Jim Croce's performances. The recordings were taken from different television programs that...
.
Croce's catalog became a staple of radio play for years, and still receives significant airplay on a variety of radio formats into the second decade of the 20th century. In 1990, Croce was inducted into the
Songwriters Hall of FameThe Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
.
Jim and
Ingrid CroceIngrid Croce is an American author, singer-songwriter and restaurateur. She is the widow of singer-songwriter Jim Croce and the mother of singer-songwriter A.J. Croce. Between 1964 and 1971, Ingrid and Jim Croce performed as a duo and wrote together. In 1969, Capitol Records released their album,...
's son Adrian James Croce was born September 28, 1971, and is now an accomplished singer-songwriter, musician, and pianist, performing under the name A.J. Croce, as well as serving as the owner/operator of his own record label, Seedling Records.
Ingrid CroceIngrid Croce is an American author, singer-songwriter and restaurateur. She is the widow of singer-songwriter Jim Croce and the mother of singer-songwriter A.J. Croce. Between 1964 and 1971, Ingrid and Jim Croce performed as a duo and wrote together. In 1969, Capitol Records released their album,...
owns and manages
Croce's Restaurant & Jazz Bar, a project she and Jim had jokingly discussed a decade earlier, located in the historic Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego, California. She opened the business in 1985.
External links
- US NTSB Report on plane crash - A.J. Croce's Record Label