History Music / JimCroce

James Joseph Croce (January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American SingerSongwriter. His musical style contained elements of folk, country, pop, and blues, and was notable for its intricate fingerstyle acoustic guitar. 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".

** The titular "Big Bad Leroy Brown" was the toughest man in the south-side of UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} -- until he macked on the woman of an even meaner, tougher fella.

* DearJohnLetter: Croce claimed that "Operator (That's Not the Way it Feels)" was inspired by his time spent in the military, where he watched hundreds of men line up at the only phone on the base to call their significant others in response to receiving one of these.

He never got the chance. On September 20th, 1973, he and Meuhleisen 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.

James Joseph Croce (January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American SingerSongwriter. His musical style contained elements of folk, country, pop, and blues, and was notable for its intricate fingerstyle acoustic guitar. 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."

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 operates 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.

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: Croce mixed folk, country, blues, and pop, with the occasional bit of rock 'n' roll, bluegrass, or classical for good measure.

After Croce's death, the [[DeadArtistsAreBetter resulting publicity from the tragedy drew interest to his music]], which resulted in a string of hit songs that would have him hailed as one of the great singer-songwriters of the 1970s.

* ConvertingForLove: He converted to Judaism when he married Ingrid.

* DeadArtistsAreBetter: The majority of his success came after his death.

* NiceGuy

* PaperTiger: Leroy Brown was the most feared man in Southside Chicago, and while he certainly looked imposing (being 6'4" and carrying weapons on his person at all times,) the fact that he gets absolutely massacred in his fight with Doris' husband implies that he was nothing but a showoff.

* SpringtimeForHitler: 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.

* 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.
* 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.

* AnimatedMusicVideo: "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" has a music video, and it's animated like a Hanna-Barberra cartoon.

* ItIsPronouncedTroPay: "Croce," an Italian name meaning “cross,” is pronounced "CRO-chee."

* BadassMoustache

He finally got his big break in 1972, when he signed a three-album deal with ABC Records 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.

* NotEnoughToBury: While it's unknown if he actually died, Leroy Brown is described as looking "like a jigsaw puzzle with several pieces gone" by the time Doris' husband is done with him.

* BeatBag: In "Hard Time Losin' Man".
--> Well he sold me a dime of some super-fine
--> Dynamite from UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}}
--> Spent all night tryin' to get right
--> On an ounce of oregano

* JailBait: "Five Short Minutes" is about the singer ending up sentenced to jail for 20 years after agreeing to a girl's advances, implying that he's going to jail because the girl is a minor.

Born into a musical family in UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}}, Pennsylvania, Croce received his first instrument - an accordian - when he was five years old, though he didn't begin to take music seriously until college. While there, he became involved in the folk scene, and met his future wife Ingrid while judging a music competition. At the same time, he was beginning to collect the acquaintances and experiences that would later flavor his songs. He hung out with truckers and construction workers, and played gigs in dives and other rough venues.

* BullyingADragon: Both "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" warn against trying to tangle with either of the titular badasses - but then subverts it by mentioning their ''losing'' a fight against someone [[AlwaysABiggerFish even bigger and badder]].

** The titular "Big Bad Leroy Brown" was the toughest man in the south-side of Chicago. Until he macked on the woman of an even meaner, tougher fella.

* BeatBag: In "Hard Time Losin' Man"

--> Dynamite from Mexico

* CelebritiesHangOutInHeaven: "Rock and Roll Heaven" by the Righteous Brothers imagines [[CelebrityElegy Croce with several deceased other musicians]] -- including Music/JimiHendrix, Music/JanisJoplin, Music/OtisRedding, Music/JimMorrison, Music/JimCroce, and Music/BobbyDarin -- in Heaven together forming a hell of a band, band, band!

* OneManSong: ''Bad, Bad Leroy Brown''

* TelephoneSong: "Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)"
* UnreliableNarrator: How some interpret "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues". The premise of the song is that the narrator claims his intelligence is wasted working at the car wash and that he deserves greater success in life, calling himself "a genius" and "an undiscovered Howard Hughes". However, there is nothing in the song to back up his claims, so it's up to the listener's interpretation to decide if he's telling the truth and was just dealt a bad hand in life, or if he just has a massive ego and KnowNothingKnowItAll.

[[caption-width-right:350:"If you dig it, do it. If you really dig it, do it twice."]]

Born into a musical family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Croce received his first instrument - an accordian - when he was five years old, though he didn't begin to take music seriously until college. While there, he became involved in the folk scene, and met his future wife Ingrid while judging a music competition. At the same time, he was beginning to collect the acquaintances and experiences that would later flavor his songs. He hung out with truckers and construction workers, and played gigs in dives and other rough venues.

After his graduation, Jim and Ingrid married and went to New York to try to start a recording career. While there, he signed a series of contracts with agents and managers that would prove disastrous later on. They recorded an eponymous album for Capitol records, but failed to find any great success either there or on the road. Disillusioned, the Croces moved back to Pennsylvania, where Jim took various jobs and gigs (including a stint in the Army) to pay the bills. Their son, Adrian James - for whom "Time in a Bottle" was written - was born in 1971.

* AlwaysABiggerFish: The titular "Big Bad Leroy Brown" was the toughest man in the south-side of Chicago. Until he macked on the woman of an even meaner, tougher fella. Jim from "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" also counts, as he is taken out by a rival pool hustler named Slim.

* UnreliableNarrator: How some interpret "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues". The premise of the song is that the narrator claims his intelligence is wasted working at the car wash and that he deserves greater success in life, calling himself "a genius" and "an undiscovered Howard Hughes". However, there is nothing in the song to back up his claims, so it's up to the listener's interpretation to decide if he's telling the truth and was just dealt a bad hand in life, or if he just has a massive ego and really isn't as smart as he thinks he is.

After Croce's death, the [[DeadArtistsAreBetter resulting publicity from the tragedy drew interest to his music]], resulted in a string of hit songs that would have him hailed as one of the great singer-songwriters of the 1970s.

After Croce's death, the [[DeadArtistsAreBetter resulting publicity from the tragedy drew interest to his music]], resulting in a string of hit songs that would have him hailed as one of the great singer-songwriters of the 1970s.