Tag: Jim Croce

A Conversation With, Entertainment, Interview, Medium, Music

‘By Request’: A.J. Croce Discusses Covers Album, Upcoming Performance At New Hope Winery
Photo: Joshua Black Wilkins

He may be the son of the legendary Jim Croce but for more than two decades A.J. Croce has been traveling his own musical road. The multi-talented pianist, singer/songwriter who was born in Bryn Mawr, PA, has had his soulful music appear on a variety of music charts, including the Top 40, Americana, College and Jazz.

The idea for Croce’s most recent album, By Request, came from his love of entertaining friends in his home. It’s an ubiquitous album which finds the Croce not only paying homage to some of his favorite musical memories from artists like Billy Preston, Faces, The Five Stairsteps and Tom Waits, but also celebrating friendship and camaraderie.

Fans will get to experience a multitude of songs from the artist’s work, including a few songs from his father’s catalog, on Friday, August 6, when Croce performs an intimate show at New Hope Winery in New Hope, PA.

I recently spoke with A.J. Croce about his upcoming performane in New Hope, his album, By Request, and more in this exclusive new interview.

What can fans expect from your upcoming performance at New Hope Winery?

Croce: It’s a duo concert and very intimate show. David Berard, who’s played bass with Dr. John for more than thirty years and with so many other artists, will be with me playing and singing. I usually hate sticking to a set list so it will be a lot of fun to have the flexibility to just pull things out of thin air and work with the feeling and the moment.

Does the area hold any kind of special meaning for you?

Croce: Absolutely. I was born in Bryn Mawr and have visited the area just about every year since I was born. My grandmother is in Philly, my godmother is in Phoenixville and I have aunts, uncles and cousins that live in the area as well.

Read the rest of my

Interview with A.J. Croce By Clicking Here

Childhood Memories, Life, Music, Thought and Opinion

Time In A Bottle – Remembering Jim Croce & Maury Muehleisen

Jim Croce - January 10, 1943 - September 20, 1973
Jim Croce : January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973

I can’t say that I remember it as if it were yesterday. Heck, I was just on the verge of turning four on September 20th, 1973 and about the only thing going through my mind at the time was probably wondering whether or not Sesame Street was coming on anytime soon. Although I have no personal recognition about that day in particular, I still feel as if I were somehow there.

It’s hard to believe that forty years have passed since the lives of Jim Croce, Maury Muehleisen and four others were tragically cut short when the twin-engine plane in which they were traveling crashed shortly after takeoff. Croce and Muehleisen had just finished performing a show in Natchitoches, Louisiana and were en route to another show in Sherman, Texas when the crash occurred.

As I look back now, I wonder if Jim and Maury were aware of the impact they were going to have. Because I can still remember the very first time I ever heard their music.

Maury Muehleisen: January 14, 1949–September 20, 1973
Maury Muehleisen : January 14, 1949 – September 20, 1973

It was sometime in the mid 1970′s when my father took me and my brother on our first overnight camping trip to a place called Camp Hugh Beaver.

At the time, I recall being extremely excited about going camping; that is until after we had actually arrived at the campsite and the realization of being away from home hit me like a ton of bricks. From that moment on, I immediately wanted to go home and let my father know it every chance I could, through both tantrum and tears.

Dad initially ignored my pleas, but by the next morning just couldn’t take it any longer and finally gave in to my childish demands. Shortly after breakfast, we packed up our things and began making the long drive home.

Why do I remember this you ask? No, it’s wasn’t because it was one of the many times I was being a spoiled brat (although I was). Rather, the real reason I remember this so vividly is because on the drive home the song “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” came on the car radio…and I was mesmerized. I distinctly remember asking my father who it was that was singing the greatest song any seven-year old had ever heard in his life and finding out all about Jim Croce.

Dad told me all about Jim and his other great songs like “Time In A Bottle” and “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim”. How Jim had appeared on television shows and how his songs and stories related to the “common man”.

Then he told me about the plane crash and how Jim and his lead guitarist, Maury had both died. In the naivety of youth, I didn’t really understand what he was saying to me at the time. I thought Dad telling me that Jim and Maury “died” just meant that they went away and would eventually be back. Sadly, it wouldn’t be long until I discovered what death really meant and realized that we (the world) had lost two of the greats.

Less than two months after Jim and Maury’s untimely deaths, Croce’s “I Got A Name” album was released. Songs like the title cut (which still gives me chills listening to it to this day), “Workin’ at the Carwash Blues” and “I’ll Have to Say I Love You in a Song” only remind me of what could have been.

“I Got A Name” is also an apropos title, considering the names Jim Croce & Maury Muehleisen won’t soon be forgotten. Sure, it may have been the last album from two guys whose careers were only beginning to take off, but here I am still thinking about them and their music, forty years later.

Jim Croce * Maury Muehleisen

A Conversation With, Interview, Music

Time In A Bottle: Maury Muehleisen’s Sister Discusses Her Brother’s Music, Time with Jim Croce

Maury Muehleisen in 1973
Maury Muehleisen in 1973

It’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years since the lives of Jim Croce, Maury Muehleisen and four others were cut short when the twin-engine plane in which they were traveling crashed shortly after takeoff on September 20, 1973.

In the years since the accident, Muehleisen’s sister Mary has been keeping her brother’s memory alive. In 2006, she re-released Maury’s only album, Gingerbreadd, on CD. She also released early recordings made by her brother, whose guitar arrangements are synonymous with the classic Jim Croce sound.

On September 21, Mary Muehleisen will be in attendance for Time in a Bottle: A Tribute to Jim Croce, an event taking place at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, to remember the lives and music of Croce and her brother.

Because Croce graduated from Upper Darby, proceeds will go to the Upper Darby Arts and Education Foundation for a scholarship fund in Croce’s name. In addition to Croce song performances, the evening will feature the music of Maury Muehleisen as well as stories from the people who knew them best.

Maury Muehleisen & Jim Croce
Maury Muehleisen & Jim Croce

I spoke with Mary about the 40th anniversary tribute as well as her brother’s music and his legacy. You can read the rest of my Guitar World Interview with Mary Muehleisen By Clicking Here!

For more information on the Tribute To Jim Croce Click Here!

For more on Maury Muehleisen or to order a CD Visit: www.maurymuehleisen.com/

Books, Guitar World Interviews, Interview, Music

Guitar World Interview – Ingrid Croce Discusses New Book on The Life of Husband, Jim Croce

IGotaNameNearly forty years after his death Jim Croce, the man whose hits include “Time In A Bottle”, “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” and “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” continues to inspire generations of fans with his music.

Having been the victim of bad record deals over the course of his career, Croce never saw the fortune that went along with his fame. Relegated instead to earning a few dollars a week writing songs while at the same time shopping for clothes in thrift stores. But Jim never lost his passion for music, his wife Ingrid or his son, Adrian James “A.J.” Croce.

Croce, who would have turned 70 on January 10th, 2013, died in a plane crash shortly after a show in September of 1973. In the years since his death, Ingrid Croce has received several requests to help tell the story of the working man’s singer, but all were ultimately shelved when attempts were made to embellish the real story behind Jim’s life and times.

Fortunately, Ingrid (along with current husband Jimmy Rock) has finally released the real story of her late husband’s life and career. The book, “I Got A Name: The Jim Croce Story” is an inspiring and intimate look into the lives of Jim and Ingrid Croce, both of who were working folk musicians in the late 1960’s. From Jim’s early years performing while barely making ends meet, to the partnership and love he shared with Ingrid, to the ill-fated flight that abruptly ended his life, “I Got A Name: The Jim Croce Story”  is an honest, accurate portrayal of one of the greatest story tellers of our time, told by the one person who knew him best.

You can read the rest of my article on the Guitar World or Guitar Aficionado Websites!