This week's tune is a bit on the bittersweet side for me personally, as Jim Croce was one of the few modern (at that time) artists that my Dad really loved, and the song is in some ways about the name that family members carry together, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse...though in our case, for the most part, it's been for the better.
Jim Croce was born in Philadelphia in 1943, got interested in music while attending Villanova University, and began trying to make a career of it after he graduated in 1965. Croce spent a number of years performing with his girlfriend (and later wife) Ingrid before becoming a solo artist in the early 70's. Croce toured and worked odd jobs to support his family until his third album became a hit, which started his career in full force. Sadly, Croce and members of his entourage were killed in a plane crash on September 20, 1973 in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He would have a number of posthumous hits through the seventies, and would eventually be inducted into the Songwriters Hell of Fame. For his career, Croce released five studio albums of which he had one #1, a #2, and a #7; after his death, three live albums and twenty-one (!) compilations were released. Croce also released twelve singles, with two #1's and three more that reached the top ten. In addition to his wife, Croce left behind a two-year-old son--who himself would later go on to become a musician (A.J. Croce).
(Not so) Fun Fact: Shortly after his death, Croce's wife Ingrid received a letter he had written before the plane crash that took his life in which he told her that he was tired of life on the road and was going to give up the music business and try to make a living writing short stories and movie screenplays so he could spend more time at home.
"I Got a Name" was released the day after his death, and his final studio album, also entitled I Got a Name, followed two months later. The single reached #10 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album would peak at #2 on the Billboard 200.
In "I Got a Name" (one of the few songs he performed that he didn't pen), Croce tells the story of a man who's at peace with himself, his life, and his journey--and he does it with carefree vocals and a catchy as all hell melody throughout. Croce made a career out of writing clever pop songs about characters he'd met during his brief time on earth, but he uses that experience a touch more subtly in this one and it allows us to follow the narrator's dream as if it were our own. A nice piece of seventies pop from a man that fate took from us all too soon.
Lyric Sheet: "I've got a dream, I've got a dream/Well, I know I can share it if you want me to/If you're going my way, I'll go with you..."
Enjoy:
Republican = Racist
Peace,
emaycee
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