History Music / JimCroce

*** Played with in that the latter two were both taken down at the end of the song, Leroy by an angry husband and Jim by a country boy who Jim had hustled his money away.

!!The life and music of JimCroce provide examples of these tropes:

** "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" - "You don't tug on {{Superman}}'s cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask of the ol' [[TheLoneRanger Lone Ranger]], and you don't mess around with Jim."

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His first album, ''Facets'', is a collection of [[FolkMusic folk]] covers, has heavy reverb on just about everything, and lacks the intricate guitar sound that Meuhleisen contributed to his later work.
* EvilRoy: "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" and "Rapid Roy".

* YoungFutureFamousPeople: Jim often brought other struggling musicians home for dinner, and invited them to parties. Among others, they included Music/JimmyBuffett, Music/JamesTaylor, Arlo Guthrie, Music/BonnieRaitt, and Music/RandyNewman.

* YoungFutureFamousPeople: Jim often brought other struggling musicians home for dinner, and invited them to parties. Among others, they included JimmyBuffett, James Taylor, Arlo Guthrie, Bonnie Raitt, and RandyNewman.

He finally got his big break in 1972, when he signed a three-record deal with CBS and went back out on the road. The tour was exhausting for Jim and his friend and lead guitarist Maury Meuhleisen, and financially disastrous for the Croces. Despite having multiple songs on the charts, and playing more than 300 shows per year, Jim was only bringing home $200 per week - a result of the contracts he had signed years earlier. After more than a year of this, he decided the strain on his health and marriage wasn't worth it, and resolved to leave the music business for good.

He never got the chance. On September 20th, 1973, he and Maury played a gig in Natchitoches, Louisiana that had been postponed a year earlier. As their plane took off after the show, it hit a row of pecan trees and crashed, killing everyone aboard. Croce was 30, Meuhleisen 24.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His first album, "Facets," is a collection of folk covers, has heavy reverb on just about everything, and lacks the intricate guitar sound that Meuhleisen contributed to his later work.

* GoneHorriblyWrong: As a wedding gift, Jim's parents gave him $500, with the stipulation that it be used to record an album. Their reasoning was that it would fail, and that he would be persuaded to give up on the idea of being a professional musician. The album, ''Facets'', ended up being quite popular, and sold out its entire run in less than a week.

* SomethingBlues: "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues."

* GoneHorriblyWrong: As a wedding gift, Jim's parents gave him $500, with the stipulation that it be used to record an album. Their reasoning was that it would fail, and that he would be persuaded to give up on the idea of being a professional musician. The album, "Facets," ended up being quite popular, and sold out its entire run in less than a week.

* SerialNumbersFiledOff: Though it's ok because both are by the same artist, "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" and "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" are very similar in narrative.

** "Roller Derby Queen" - "She might be nasty, she might be fat, but I never met a person who would tell her that."

* EvilRoy: "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" and "

* MemeticBadass:
** You don't tug on {{Superman}}'s cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off [[TheLoneRanger the ol' Lone Ranger]], and you don't mess around with Jim.
** Leroy Brown is badder than old KingKong, and meaner than a junkyard dog.

* BadassMoustsche

** "The Hard Way Every Time" (Provides the page quote.)

He finally got his big break in 1972, when he signed a three-record deal with CBS and went back out on the road. The tour was exhausting for Jim and his friend and lead guitarist Maury Meuhleisen, and financially disastrous for the Croces. Despite having multiple songs on the charts, and playing more than 300 shows per year, Jim was only bringing home $200 per week - a result of the contracts he had signed years earlier. After more than a year of this, he decided the strain on his health and marriage wasn't worth it, and decided to leave the music business for good.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His first album, "Facets," is a collection of folk covers, has heavy reverb on just about everything, and lacks the intricate guitar work that Meuhleisen contributed to his later work.

Jim Croce (1943-1973) was an american SingerSongwriter. His musical style contained elements of folk, country, and blues, and was notable for its intricate fingerstyle acoustic guitar parts. His hits included "You Don't Mess Around With Jim," "Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)," "Time In a Bottle," "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," and "I Got a Name."

Jim Croce (1943-1973) was an american singer-songwriter. His musical style contained elements of folk, country, and blues, and was notable for its intricate fingerstyle acoustic guitar parts. His hits included "You Don't Mess Around With Jim," "Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)," "Time In a Bottle," "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," and "I Got a Name."

* RefrainFromAssuming:

* YoungerThanTheyLook: In most of his later photos, he has a tired, worn look, and could easily pass for 40. He was 30 when he died.

After his death, Ingrid engaged in a lengthy legal battle to resecure the rights to her husband's songs - a fight that lasted into the '90s, but was ultimately successful. She also owns and operated a successful restaurant, Croce's, in San Diego. Their son (who goes by A.J.) has followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a well-regarded singer and songwriter himself.