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Dennis Donovan

(18,770 posts)
Sun Sep 20, 2020, 07:34 AM Sep 2020

47 Years Ago Today; Musicians Jim Croce, Maury Muehleisen and 4 others die in plane crash

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Croce


Musician Jim Croce, guitarist Maury Muehleisen on the Helen Reddy Show, 1973

James Joseph Croce (/ˈkroʊtʃi/; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and numerous singles. He was killed, along with five others, in a plane crash on September 20, 1973, at the height of his popularity.

His first two albums were commercially unsuccessful, failing to chart or produce any hit singles. During this period, Croce took a series of odd jobs to pay bills while he continued to write, record, and perform concerts. After forming a partnership with songwriter and guitarist Maury Muehleisen, his fortunes turned in the early 1970s. His breakthrough came in 1972; his third album You Don't Mess Around with Jim produced three charting singles, including "Time in a Bottle", which reached No. 1 after his death. The follow-up album, Life and Times contained the song "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", which was the only No. 1 hit he had during his lifetime.

The day before the lead single to his fifth album, I Got a Name, was released, Croce and Muehleisen were killed. Croce's music continued to chart throughout the 1970s following his death. His wife, Ingrid Croce, was his early songwriting partner and she continued to write and record after his death, and his son A. J. Croce himself became a singer-songwriter in the 1990s.

<snip>

Death
On September 20, 1973, during Croce's Life and Times tour and the day before his ABC single "I Got a Name" was released, Croce and all five others on board were killed when their chartered Beechcraft E18S crashed into a tree during takeoff from the Natchitoches Regional Airport in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Croce was 30 years old. Others killed in the crash were pilot Robert N. Elliott, Maury Muehleisen, comedian George Stevens, manager and booking agent Kenneth D. Cortese and road manager Dennis Rast. An hour before the crash, Croce had completed a concert at Northwestern State University's Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches; he was flying to Sherman, Texas for a concert at Austin College.

An investigation showed the twin-engine plane crashed after clipping a pecan tree at the end of the runway. The pilot had failed to gain sufficient altitude to clear the tree and had not tried to avoid it, even though it was the only tree in the area. It was well after sunset, but there was a clear sky, calm winds and over five miles of visibility with haze.

The report from the NTSB named the probable cause as the pilot's failure to see the obstruction due to physical impairment and because fog reduced his vision. The 57-year-old Elliott suffered from severe coronary artery disease and had run three miles to the airport from a motel. He had an ATP Certificate, 14,290 hours total flight time and 2,190 hours in the Beech 18 type airplane. A later investigation placed the sole blame on pilot error due to his downwind takeoff into a "black hole," severe darkness limiting his use of visual references.

Croce was buried at Haym Salomon Memorial Park in Frazer, Pennsylvania.

</snip>



26 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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47 Years Ago Today; Musicians Jim Croce, Maury Muehleisen and 4 others die in plane crash (Original Post) Dennis Donovan Sep 2020 OP
Just a wonderful singer and songwriter DonaldsRump Sep 2020 #1
God, I can't believe it's been 47 years! no_hypocrisy Sep 2020 #2
+100 kentuck Sep 2020 #3
I still get choked up about it. no_hypocrisy Sep 2020 #4
That was so haunting after his death. CaptYossarian Sep 2020 #19
Don't know if you remember this, but no_hypocrisy Sep 2020 #20
I don't remember the movie, but yeah, I remember the song being on before his passing. CaptYossarian Sep 2020 #21
Jim Croce's wife is Ingrid Croce. Has owned Croce's Restaurant & Jazz Bar. She also Illumination Sep 2020 #24
Thank you for this. I've always wondered what happened to them. no_hypocrisy Sep 2020 #26
Bigger than old King Kong bucolic_frolic Sep 2020 #5
I had just moved to Chicago the month before. I remember that I couldn't understand why lamp_shade Sep 2020 #6
Time in a bottle yuiyoshida Sep 2020 #7
Rest In Peace Jim livetohike Sep 2020 #8
Timeless and Ageless lastlib Sep 2020 #9
I still play his music occasionally. llmart Sep 2020 #10
'I Got a Name' was my personal HS theme song Tommymac Sep 2020 #11
I remember MyMission Sep 2020 #12
God, he wasn't even thirty yet... Ron Obvious Sep 2020 #13
Like with John Lennon, I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news Ferrets are Cool Sep 2020 #14
I just a minute ago reposted an earlier thread about that in Music Appreciation. mahatmakanejeeves Sep 2020 #15
So many great tunes. chwaliszewski Sep 2020 #16
❤️ ✿❧🌿❧✿ ❤️ Lucinda Sep 2020 #17
Wow, cosmic! CrispyQ Sep 2020 #18
When I heard the tragic news on the radio in the delivery van I was driving, I shouted "Oh No!" John1956PA Sep 2020 #22
I saw him at 2naSalit Sep 2020 #23
Remember when we had operators? That will make some of us feel like fine aged wine... Illumination Sep 2020 #25

DonaldsRump

(7,715 posts)
1. Just a wonderful singer and songwriter
Sun Sep 20, 2020, 07:55 AM
Sep 2020

He accomplished so much in such a short time.

RIP Jim, Maury and the others on another day the music died....

no_hypocrisy

(45,786 posts)
2. God, I can't believe it's been 47 years!
Sun Sep 20, 2020, 07:56 AM
Sep 2020

The radio stations were endlessly playing "Time In A Bottle" to memorialize him. I grieved for his widow and his young son.



no_hypocrisy

(45,786 posts)
20. Don't know if you remember this, but
Sun Sep 20, 2020, 10:16 AM
Sep 2020

"Time In A Bottle" was already playing on the radio stations before his death. The song was introduced during the opening credits of an ABC Movie of the Week, She Lives, starring Desi Arnaz Jr. It was about a young man who finds his love, only to discover she has cancer.

 

Illumination

(2,458 posts)
24. Jim Croce's wife is Ingrid Croce. Has owned Croce's Restaurant & Jazz Bar. She also
Sun Sep 20, 2020, 10:47 AM
Sep 2020

authored 3 cookbooks. Jim's son, A.J. Croce is a musician & well-known performer...

lamp_shade

(14,796 posts)
6. I had just moved to Chicago the month before. I remember that I couldn't understand why
Sun Sep 20, 2020, 08:08 AM
Sep 2020

my car radio kept playing one Croce song after another. Then I heard the news and was heartbroken. I LOVED his music.

lastlib

(22,982 posts)
9. Timeless and Ageless
Sun Sep 20, 2020, 08:42 AM
Sep 2020

Age:



"I’ve traded love for pennies, sold my soul for less,
Lost my ideals in that long tunnel of time;
I’ve turned inside out and ‘round about and back and then
Found myself right back where I started again."



RIP, Jim. Your music will always be treasured.

llmart

(15,503 posts)
10. I still play his music occasionally.
Sun Sep 20, 2020, 08:51 AM
Sep 2020

I loved his songs, but "Time in a Bottle" the most. I had his album.

Can't believe it's been that long since his death. Can't believe I'm not that young hippie chick any longer either.

Tommymac

(7,263 posts)
11. 'I Got a Name' was my personal HS theme song
Sun Sep 20, 2020, 09:25 AM
Sep 2020

Jim was otherworldly. He united so many through his music.

RIP Jim


Ferrets are Cool

(21,064 posts)
14. Like with John Lennon, I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news
Sun Sep 20, 2020, 09:34 AM
Sep 2020

It saddened me very much. What a wonderful talent.

mahatmakanejeeves

(56,906 posts)
15. I just a minute ago reposted an earlier thread about that in Music Appreciation.
Sun Sep 20, 2020, 09:38 AM
Sep 2020

I'll add a link to this thread.

Thanks.

CrispyQ

(36,235 posts)
18. Wow, cosmic!
Sun Sep 20, 2020, 10:10 AM
Sep 2020

Yesterday the song "Operator" popped into my head. It's been a long, long time since I've thought of a Jim Croce song. When I saw your thread, I thought, "Oh maybe someone will post the Operator vid," and here it is! I liked "Bad Bad Leroy Brown," too. Thanks for the walk down memory lane!

Jim was taken too soon!

John1956PA

(2,654 posts)
22. When I heard the tragic news on the radio in the delivery van I was driving, I shouted "Oh No!"
Sun Sep 20, 2020, 10:31 AM
Sep 2020

In the summer of 1973, pop radio stations amply played "Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown" featuring Jim Croce's strong vocals which instilled in me a portrait of a performer who was humorous, friendly and brilliant. To learn that such a talent was suddenly gone was a shock to my psyche.

2naSalit

(86,073 posts)
23. I saw him at
Sun Sep 20, 2020, 10:38 AM
Sep 2020

The Balboa Bowl in San Diego about a year before. His wife opened a bistro in San Diego sometime later, not sure if it's still there. I did find one of his son's albums, he's a good songwriter and talented guitar player too.


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