Father and son: A.J. Croce performs Jim Croce's music

ABC Sunday Morning ^ | 6/19/22

[OneVike]

This is a good interview of Jim Croce's son, A.J. Croce. If your from an older generation you may remember Tham man who died just before his best album hit the charts. He was climbing and not quite there yet, but then he died in a plane crash. I was big fan of his. He only had a few songs that were hit, but nothing big yet. I was 17, stationed in Germany awaiting his next album when I heard he died in a plane crash. Cut down at the very dawn of his career. I still listen to his album from time to time, like yesterday while working on a project in my shop.

My favorite song? "Operator", and "Time in a Bottle", and of course "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown". His music is timeless, and I know that had he survived he would have been one of the all time best. If you have a CD by him, pop it in and relax to some great music.

(below is an excerpt I edited as bit)

In this video you will see an interview of the singer-songwriter who lost his dad in a plane crash before he turned two. He temporarily lost his sight when he was 4 because his stepfather beat him silly. (probably jealous). Years later he would lose his wife to a heart condition. Now 50, he is himself a musician and songwriter. A.J., is turning to the music that his father, Jim Croce, had made famous, and in the process is embracing his father's legacy – and his own.

(Excerpt) Read more at ABC ...

[11th_VA]

If memory serves me correctly, it was October 1973 … we had just come in from high school football practice… word spread thru the locker room, he died in a plane crash …

[bigbob]

Hope he’s good cuz you don’t mess around with Jim.

[Jane Long]

I wish AJ Croce all the best!

[11th_VA]

September 1973 … I was close

[Glennb51]

I remember Jim Croce’s music well and it reminds of that time in my life. I was madly in love and finally got my dream job.

I lost the girl, but kept the job.

I saw him perform o Johnny Carson. Prior to his performance, Glen Campbell performed a song with lots of special effects.

The camera panned to Jim. He was siting on a wooden stool and sang “Time in a Bottle”.

Glen remarked on the differences in the performances and said he was very impressed with Jim’s style.

[G Larry]

I didn't see any mention of his restaurant in San Diego?

It's been about 20 years since I've been there, but it was nice.

[Dr. Sivana]

He was still up and coming and the best of kind at his time. In 1975, he was ranked by Billboard as the #6 act of the '70s (after The Carpenters, Jackson 5, Three Dog Night, Stevie Wonder, Wings; ahead of Elton John at #7), but he was still on his way up.

He might have headed an alternate strain of pop music in contrast to Disco in the late '70s if he hadn't died. I don't think hew would have tried to assimilate to Disco as almost everyone else had.

[cdcdawg]

That greatest hits album is one one of the best of all time. The reaction of both of my parents to his death was odd. They did not like that sort of music at all, but they both thought that Jim Croce’s death was a tragedy, and they both seemed to like his music. There is a timeless quality to it.

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

Bookmark

[DannyTN]

The world needs more Croce.

Thanks for posting that.
I didn’t realize he had a son.

[texas booster]

I used to hold business meetings at Croce's widow's restaurant in downtown San Diego when it was by the convention center. Yes the music was loud - but it made for memorable meetings by our group of older AV roadies when there.

I haven't made it to her new location outside of SD, and the restaurant might have already closed down for good.

His last flight was to another small town gig in Sherman TX, the last of that tour. A last minute call to the pilot that they wanted to leave that night. The pilot walked/ran to the airport, not realizing that there were no Yellow Cabs in Natchitoches LA late at night.

Good article of the remembrance of the crash:

Jim Croce: The night the music died in Natchitoches, Louisiana on Sept. 20, 1973

[Jamestown1630]

LOL! My husband named our two cats after characters in Croce songs. We have Big Jim (who’s actually the smaller of the two, but the meanest) and Leroy, after Bad, Bad Leroy Brown. (Leroy doesn’t actually live up to his name :-)

Croce was a wonderful story teller in song.

[lurk]

Operator, well, let’s forget about this call
There’s no one there I really wanted to talk to
Thank you for your time
Oh, you’ve been so much more than kind
You can keep the dime

[nwrep]

Nice article. Thanks.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Time in a Bottle is one of the great sad love songs of our era. Ranks along with Chad and Jeremy’s “Yesterday’s Gone” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” by the Platters. I’ll throw in Pat Boone’s “Love letters in the Sand”.

Millennial, eat your hearts out. We had great music, words and singers. You’ve got noise!

[OneVike]

Wow, thanks. I’ll check it out

[Jamestown1630]

"We had great music, words and singers. You’ve got noise!"

Exactly.

[Jemian]

I agree with you. I also throw John Denver’s Annie’s Song into the mix, too.

[married21]

My hubby and I saw AJ in concert just a few weeks before COVID shut everything down. It was a good evening. AJ is basically legally blind and self taught musically.