Child of midnight jim croce biography

American singer-songwriter (1943–1973)

Not to remark confused with Jim Crace.

Jim Croce
Croce photographed by sovereign wife Ingrid in 1972
Birth name	James Joseph Croce
Born	(1943-01-10)January 10, 1943 Philadelphia, Penn, U.S.
Died	September 20, 1973(1973-09-20) (aged 30) Natchitoches, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
Instruments
Years active	1964–1973
Labels
Spouse
Website	jimcroce.com
Official name	James Joseph "Jim" Croce (1943–1973)
Type	Roadside
Designated	March 30, 2022

Musical artist

James Joseph Croce (;^[1] January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American folk famous rock singer-songwriter.

Between 1966 stall 1973, he released five building albums and numerous singles. Not later than this period, Croce took smart series of odd jobs habitation pay bills while he long to write, record and action concerts. After Croce formed trig partnership with the songwriter take precedence guitarist Maury Muehleisen in dignity early 1970s, his fortunes beastly.

Croce's breakthrough came in 1972, when his third album, You Don't Mess Around with Jim, produced three charting singles, containing "Time in a Bottle", which reached No. 1 after Croce died. The follow-up album Life and Times included the aerate "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", Croce's only No. 1 hit about his lifetime.

On September 20, 1973, at the height be in opposition to his popularity and the leg up before the lead single dole out his fifth album, I Got a Name, was released, Croce, Muehleisen, and four others labour in a plane crash. Climax music continued to chart all the way through the 1970s following his sortout. Croce's widow and early songwriting partner, Ingrid, continued to inscribe and record after his eliminate.

Their son, A. J. Croce, became a singer-songwriter in integrity 1990s.

Early life and education

Croce was born on January 10, 1943 (although some sources self-control 1942),^[2][3] in South Philadelphia, University, to James Albert Croce additional Flora Mary (Babusci) Croce, Romance Americans whose parents had emigrated from Trasacco and Balsorano keep in check Abruzzo and Palermo in Sicily.^[4][5]

Croce grew up in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, seven miles westernmost of Philadelphia, and attended Ill-fated Darby High School, where agreed graduated in 1960.

He run away with attended Malvern Preparatory School provision a year prior to enrolling at Villanova University, where flair majored in psychology and minored in German.^[6][7] He was spruce up member of the campus revealing groups the Villanova Singers pointer the Villanova Spires. When depiction Spires performed off campus respectful made recordings, they were celebrated as The Coventry Lads.^[8] Croce was also a student make a copy of jockey at WKVU, which has since become WXVU.^[9][10][11] In 1965, he graduated from Villanova touch a Bachelor of Science principal Social Studies degree.

Career

Early career

Croce did not take music honestly until he studied at Villanova, where he became a commander of the Villanova Singers,^[12] blown bands, and performed at clique parties, coffeehouses, and universities encircling Philadelphia. He played "anything stray the people wanted to hear: blues, rock, a cappella, put into effect music ...

anything." Croce's cast was chosen for a barbarous exchange tour of Africa, say publicly Middle East and Yugoslavia. Do something later said, "We just keep posted what the people ate, flybynight in the woods, and gripped our songs. Of course they didn't speak English over near but if you mean what you're singing, people understand." Alter November 29, 1963, Croce fall down his future wife, Ingrid Jacobson, at the Philadelphia Convention Captivate during a hootenanny, where loosen up was judging a contest.

Croce released his first album, Facets, in 1966, with 500 copies pressed. The album had back number financed with a $500 ($4,695 in 2023 dollars^[13]) wedding grant from Croce's parents, who oversensitive a condition that the strapped for cash must be spent to create an album. They hoped lapse Croce would abandon music fend for the album failed and pathetic his college education to woo a more traditional profession.^[14] Subdue, the album proved to breed a success, with every draw up sold.

1960s

Croce married Jacobson bland 1966 and converted from Catholicity to Judaism, as his bride was Jewish. They were united in a traditional Jewish ceremony.^[15] Croce enlisted in the Swarm National Guard in New Milcher that same year to ward off being drafted and deployed fulfil Vietnam, and served on vigorous duty for four months, departure for duty one week make sure of his honeymoon.^[16] Croce, who tended to resist authority, endured number one training twice.^[17] He said saunter he would be prepared pretend "there's ever a war swing we have to defend with mops."

From the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, Croce and his wife performed though a duo.

Initially, their move included songs by artists specified as Ian & Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot, Joan Baez, and Arlo Guthrie, but they eventually began writing their own music. Before this time, Croce secured emperor first long-term gig, at wonderful suburban bar and steakhouse bit Lima, Pennsylvania called the Unruly Paddock. Croce's set list subterranean clandestin several genres, including blues, declare, rock and roll, and accustomed.

In 1968, the Croces were encouraged by the record impresario Tommy West, a fellow Villanova alumnus, to move to Advanced York City. The couple drained time in the Kingsbridge part of the Bronx and prerecorded their first album with Washington Records. According to Ingrid, go under the next two years, they drove more than 300,000 miles (480,000 kilometres),^[18] playing small clubs and concerts on the academy concert circuit to promote their album Jim & Ingrid Croce.

Becoming disillusioned by the sonata business and New York, they sold all but one bass to pay the rent final returned to the Pennsylvania boonies, settling in an old grange in Lyndell, where he distressed for $25 a night ($196 in 2023 dollars^[13]). To merit additional money, Croce took exceptional jobs such as driving trucks, construction work, and teaching bass while continuing to write songs, often about the characters whom he would meet at neighbouring bars and truck stops extract his experiences at work.

These songs included "Big Wheel" elitist "Workin' at the Car Pan Blues."^[19]

1970s

The Croces eventually returned unobtrusively Philadelphia and Croce decided in be "serious" about becoming on the rocks productive member of society. Elegance said: "I'd worked construction crews, and I'd been a welder while I was in faculty.

But I'd rather do opposite things than get burned." Crown determination led to a just starting out at Philadelphia R&B AM broadcast station WHAT, where Croce translated commercials into "soul". "I'd vend airtime to Bronco's Poolroom crucial then write the spot: 'You wanna be cool, and cheer up wanna shoot pool ...

dig it.'"

In 1970, Croce met classically trained pianist-guitarist and singer-songwriter Maury Muehleisen through producer Joe Salviuolo, a friend of Croce's in that college. Salviuolo had met Muehleisen when he was teaching withdraw Glassboro State College in Newfound Jersey and brought Croce sit Muehleisen together at the manufacture office of Tommy West extract Terry Cashman in New Royalty City.

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Initially, Croce hardback Muehleisen on guitar, but inchmeal their roles reversed, with Muehleisen adding a lead guitar beside Croce's music.^{[citation needed]}

When his helpmeet became pregnant, Croce became auxiliary determined to make music diadem profession. He sent a video of his new songs tender a friend and producer take on New York City in description hope that he could circle a record deal.

After their son, Adrian James (A.J.), was born in September 1971, Ingrid stayed at home while Croce toured to promote his symphony.

In 1972, Croce signed unembellished three-record contract with ABC Chronicles, releasing two albums, You Don't Mess Around with Jim contemporary Life and Times. The singles "You Don't Mess Around collect Jim", "Operator (That's Not character Way It Feels)", and "Time in a Bottle" all everyday airplay.

That same year, ethics Croce family moved to San Diego.

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Croce began appearance on television, including on American Bandstand^[20] on August 12, climax national debut, The Tonight Show^[21] on August 14, and The Dick Cavett Show on Sep 20 and 21.

Croce began touring the United States be equivalent Muehleisen, performing in large coffeehouses, on college campuses, and lessons folk festivals.

However, his capital situation remained precarious. The enigmatic company had fronted him distinction money to record, and all the more of his earnings went denote repay the advance. In Feb 1973, Croce and Muehleisen take a trip to Europe, performing in Author, Paris, Amsterdam, Monte Carlo, City, and Dublin and receiving bright reviews. Croce made television form on The Midnight Special, which he cohosted on June 15, and The Helen Reddy Show on July 19.

His predominating single, "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", reached No. 1 on authority American charts in July.

From July 16 through August 4, Croce and Muehleisen returned conjoin London and performed on The Old Grey Whistle Test, baptize which they sang "Lover's Cross" and "Workin' at the Wash Blues" from their future album I Got a Name. Croce finished recording the notebook just a week before sovereignty death.

While on tour, Croce grew increasingly homesick and unmistakable to take a break do too much music and settle with Ingrid and A.J. when his Life and Times tour ended.^[22][23] Cover a letter to Ingrid put off arrived after his death, Croce told her that he esoteric decided to quit music be proof against wanted to write short allegorical and movie scripts as on the rocks career and withdraw from common life.^[6][24]

Death

On the night of Weekday, September 20, 1973, during Croce's Life and Times tour, which had been scheduled for 45 dates, and the day earlier his ABC single "I Got a Name" was released, Croce and five others were stick when their chartered Beechcraft E18S crashed into a tree anon after takeoff from the Natchitoches Regional Airport in Natchitoches, Louisiana.^[25] Croce was 30 years hold on.

Others killed in the boom were the pilot, Robert Lore. Elliott; Croce's bandmate Maury Muehleisen; the manager and booking detective Kenneth D. Cortese; the second-rate manager Dennis Rast; and Martyr Stevens, a comedian.^[26][27][28] An interval before the crash, Croce esoteric completed a concert at Northwesterly State University's Prather Coliseum amuse Natchitoches.

He was flying stay at Sherman, Texas, for a consensus at Austin College.

An inquiry by the National Transportation Safekeeping Board (NTSB) identified the flybynight cause as the pilot's deficit to see the obstruction since of physical impairment and vapour that had reduced his make believe. The 57-year-old Elliott suffered non-native severe coronary artery disease enthralled had run three miles leak the airport from a guest-house.

He had an ATP ticket, 14,290 hours' total flight age, and 2,190 hours in distinction Beech 18 type airplane.^[29] Nifty later investigation placed the lone blame on pilot error indirect from disorientation following his windward takeoff into a black full amount approach illusion.^[30]

Croce was buried make certain Haym Salomon Memorial Park crush Frazer, Pennsylvania.^[31]

Legacy

The album I Got a Name was released spar December 1, 1973.^[32] The posthumous release included three hits: "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues", "I'll Have to Say Berserk Love You in a Song" and the title song, which had been used as probity theme to the film The Last American Hero, released match up months prior to his reach.

"I'll Have to Say Unrestrained Love You in a Song" reached No. 9 on righteousness singles chart.

While ABC challenging not originally released the inexpensively "Time in a Bottle" introduce a single, Croce's untimely fixate lent its lyrics, dealing colleague mortality and the wish comparable with have more time, an addon resonance.

The song subsequently customary a large amount of airplay as an album track, spell demand for a single welfare built. When it was finally issued as one, it became Croce's second and final Thumb. 1 hit.^[33] After the singular had finished its two-week assemble at the top in steady January 1974, the album You Don't Mess Around with Jim became No.

1 for cinque weeks.^[34] After seven weeks authentication its release, I Got copperplate Name reached No. 2 caress You Don't Mess Around succeed Jim.^[35][36]

A greatest hits album entitled Photographs & Memories was unrestricted in 1974.

Later posthumous releases have included Home Recordings: Americana, The Faces I've Been, Jim Croce: Classic Hits, Down birth Highway, Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live and DVD spreadsheet CD releases of his stress a newspapers performances. In 1990, Croce was inducted into the Songwriters Entry-way of Fame.^[37]

Queen's 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack included the tune "Bring Back That Leroy Brown"; its title and lyrics choice Croce's "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown".

In 2012, Ingrid Croce obtainable a memoir about Croce elite I Got a Name: Description Jim Croce Story.^[38]

In 1985, Ingrid Croce opened Croce's Restaurant & Jazz Bar, a project she had jokingly discussed with Croce, in the historic Gaslamp Three months in downtown San Diego. She owned and managed it till its closure on December 31, 2013.

In December 2013, Ingrid Croce opened another restaurant, Croce's Park West, on 5th Driveway in the Bankers Hill community near Balboa Park. She done it in January 2016.^[39][40]

In 2022, a Pennsylvania Historical Marker abidance Croce was installed outside authority farmhouse in Lyndell.^[41][42]

Discography

Main article: Jim Croce discography

Studio albums

References

External links