Jim Croce

[Figarosmom]

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[hlthe2b]

1. Still love Croce... "Time in a Bottle" is still so meaningful to me.

We lost so many performers to plane crashes, car crashes (Harry Chapin), drugs, and other causes around the time of Croce's death. It was unnerving to me, as I was very young at the time.

for Jim

[2naSalit]

2. He was good...

He ended up in Sand Diego, or that's where his widow and son ended up. They opened a restaurant on south 5th Ave for some time. Don't know if it's still there.

His son, AJ, is also a very good musician, put out an album years ago, it was pretty good. Not sure what became of him as I haven't followed him, or anybody really.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. As Was His Partner Maury

He was a superb acoustic guitarist and his voice nicely paired with Jim's.
He died in the same plane crash. They weren't just bandmates, they were good friends.

[2naSalit]

5. That part I knew...

About them and was really upset when they died. I had seen them at a concert in downtown San Diego shortly prior to that. I liked their music a lot because of the intricate guitar parts, partially. There was a lot of talent in those two.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Funny Thing Is...

...I was listening to a completely different type of music when Croce was huge.
I found the songs nice, but didn't grab my ear.
Much later, after I added guitar to my repertoire (and got pretty good, so I knew what really good was) that I started hearing how good Maury was.
I started listening more carefully & realized how good those songs were and what good singers they were.
Operator is a masterpiece of songwriting & arranging.

[2naSalit]

7. Somehow...

In my horrid childhood I was blessed with access to all genres of music which became my escape. I always liked popular music, jazz and show tunes that the older people in our house listened to. When I was in second grade somebody figured out I could sing and I had a role in every school play and choir, sometimes both at the same time. Music and art were the only reason I went to school for all of my grade school years. But I also had a thing for classical styles and got into bell canto at eight. By the time I was nine I was in an all adult choir that my music teacher was in, the only kid. I was sight reading and all that, it was the top line, how hard is that? When I entered college I quickly joined the choir to anchor me in a routine that I was totally into... coming off a decade and a half on the road was a kind of culture shock and lifestyle change that was not easy to manage without something I could already relate to.

All along the way I have come to appreciate most music types, though I can do without most hiphop and heavy metal.

In my teens I was in a few garage bands and learned a lot about guitars and the playing of them... I never took it up myself. And in the past few years have spent some time with the bluegrass pickers around southern Montana and found some amazing talent that only comes out to play once in a while. Turns out, they're everywhere.

The first time I heard "Operator" I was instantly impressed. It's a sweet intertwining of two very skilled players and that they could do it on tour over and over again was also amazing.

[ProfessorGAC]

3. Very Nice!

Nice collection of his stuff.