General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums47 Years Ago Today; Musicians Jim Croce, Maury Muehleisen and 4 others die in plane crash
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>
DonaldsRump
(7,715 posts)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)The radio stations were endlessly playing "Time In A Bottle" to memorialize him. I grieved for his widow and his young son.
kentuck
(110,950 posts)I was just getting ready to post that.
no_hypocrisy
(45,786 posts)CaptYossarian
(6,448 posts)It seemed like a premonition set to music.
no_hypocrisy
(45,786 posts)"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.
CaptYossarian
(6,448 posts)Illumination
(2,458 posts)authored 3 cookbooks. Jim's son, A.J. Croce is a musician & well-known performer...
no_hypocrisy
(45,786 posts)bucolic_frolic
(42,681 posts)lamp_shade
(14,796 posts)my car radio kept playing one Croce song after another. Then I heard the news and was heartbroken. I LOVED his music.
yuiyoshida
(41,765 posts)livetohike
(22,084 posts)lastlib
(22,982 posts)Age:
"Ive traded love for pennies, sold my soul for less,
Lost my ideals in that long tunnel of time;
Ive 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)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)Jim was otherworldly. He united so many through his music.
RIP Jim
MyMission
(1,845 posts)I was only 12, but loved his music, still do.
Thanks for this thread.
Ron Obvious
(6,261 posts)Time in a Bottle is a favourite song of mine for a melancholy mood.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,064 posts)It saddened me very much. What a wonderful talent.
mahatmakanejeeves
(56,906 posts)I'll add a link to this thread.
Thanks.
chwaliszewski
(1,514 posts)Lucinda
(31,170 posts)CrispyQ
(36,235 posts)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)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)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.