September 20: On This Day in World History … briefly

1973:  Singer Jim Croce, songwiter and musician dies in a plane crash

James Joseph Croce was an American folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and numerous singles. He was killed, along with five others, in a plane crash on September 20, 1973, at the height of his popularity. His first two albums were commercially unsuccessful, failing to chart or produce any hit singles. During this period, Croce took a series of odd jobs to pay bills while he continued to write, record, and perform concerts.

After forming a partnership with songwriter and guitarist Maury Muehleisen, his fortunes turned in the early 1970s. His breakthrough came in 1972; his third album You Don’t Mess Around with Jim produced three charting singles, including ‘Time in a Bottle’, which reached No. 1 after his death. The follow-up album, Life and Times contained the song ‘Bad, Bad Leroy Brown’, which was the only No. 1 hit he had during his lifetime. The day before the lead single to his fifth album, I Got a Name, was released, Croce and Muehleisen were killed. Croce’s music continued to chart throughout the 1970s following his death. His wife, Ingrid Croce, was his early songwriting partner and she continued to write and record after his death, and his son AJ Croce himself became a singer-songwriter in the 1990s.

Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.

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