46 Years Ago Today; Musicians Jim Croce, Maury Muehleisen and 4 others die in plane crash

[Dennis Donovan]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Croce


Musician Jim Croce, guitarist Maury Muehleisen on the Helen Reddy Show, 1973

James Joseph Croce (/ˈkroʊtʃi/; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) 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 A. J. Croce himself became a singer-songwriter in the 1990s.

<snip>

Death
On September 20, 1973, during Croce's Life and Times tour and the day before his ABC single "I Got a Name" was released, Croce and all five others on board were killed when their chartered Beechcraft E18S crashed into a tree during takeoff from the Natchitoches Regional Airport in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Croce was 30 years old. Others killed in the crash were pilot Robert N. Elliott, Maury Muehleisen, comedian George Stevens, manager and booking agent Kenneth D. Cortese and road manager Dennis Rast. An hour before the crash, Croce had completed a concert at Northwestern State University's Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches; he was flying to Sherman, Texas for a concert at Austin College.

An investigation showed the twin-engine plane crashed after clipping a pecan tree at the end of the runway. The pilot had failed to gain sufficient altitude to clear the tree and had not tried to avoid it, even though it was the only tree in the area. It was well after sunset, but there was a clear sky, calm winds and over five miles of visibility with haze.

The report from the NTSB named the probable cause as the pilot's failure to see the obstruction due to physical impairment and because fog reduced his vision. The 57-year-old Elliott suffered from severe coronary artery disease and had run three miles to the airport from a motel. He had an ATP Certificate, 14,290 hours total flight time and 2,190 hours in the Beech 18 type airplane. A later investigation placed the sole blame on pilot error due to his downwind takeoff into a "black hole," severe darkness limiting his use of visual references.

Croce was buried at Haym Salomon Memorial Park in Frazer, Pennsylvania.

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[no_hypocrisy]

1. When Jim Croce died, the radio was playing his hit "Time In A Bottle" and

it became a mournful dirge to me.

[DarthDem]

2. I Never Knew That

Thanks for posting. I love Jim Croce's voice. How very sad.

[hlthe2b]

3. His voice was important to the time. I wish he'd had far more time.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. Folks Remember Jim

But, most don't remember what excellent guitar player Maury was.
He was outstanding!

[kentuck]

5. I'll have to say I love you in a song.

[Demovictory9]

6. 'The 57-year-old Elliott suffered from severe coronary artery disease and had run three miles to the

The 57-year-old Elliott suffered from severe coronary artery disease and had run three miles to the airport from a motel.

[extvbroadcaster]

7. I had all his albums

I all his albums, even had the first one, the one he did with his wife that hardly sold. He was great, and a true artist.

[luvs2sing]

8. Walking to high school with my best friend..

freshman year, carrying my transistor radio (remember those?) when the news came on. She and I had both idolized him over the summer, playing his records endlessly. We always sang while we were walking to and from school, and I remember singing “Time In A Bottle” very slowly and sadly as we walked that day.

[oswaldactedalone]

9. The following day

I was at an Elton John concert and Elton announced from the stage that Jim Croce had been killed the evening before in a plane crash. News travelled much more slowly in those days so most in the sold out arena hadn’t heard it until then. Elton dedicated the song “Daniel” to Croce in his memory.

[MuseRider]

10. He had recently played

at my University. Being music majors my friends and I knew all the ways to get onstage, around stage, below stage, above stage. We watched from a side stage door. It was incredible, almost like being onstage with him. Did the same with Chick Corea. We never approached anyone, just watched. Security was different then, absent actually because it was not needed. He was so good. I remember feeling really sad when he died.

[rsdsharp]

11. Jim Croce was, and always has been, my favorite musician/songwriter.

Things really took off for him when he teamed with Maury Muehleisen, although ABC virtually raped him on the business end.

It's always bothered me that most people associate him with what were almost novelty songs, like "Don't Mess Around With Jim," and "Leroy Brown." What's worse, is that there were far better ones in that genre, like Roller Derby Queen," and "Speedball Tucker" that never got any airplay.

However,I'll always cherish songs like "Hard Way Every Time," "Recently," "Alabama Rain," "Lover's Cross," "Walkin' Back to Georgia," "One Less Set of Footsteps," "Age," "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way," "Hey Tomorrow," "New York's Not My Home," and "Dreamin' Again," just to name some off the top of my head. His biggest hit, "Time In a Bottle" is my least favorite, probably because it's been turned into a dirge when it was meant to be positive.

I had a chance to see them in concert about three weeks before the crash, and didn't go. I've been kicking myself ever since.

[smirkymonkey]

12. Thank you Dennis. Being reminded of this was very bittersweet. My parents were big Jim

Croce fans and I grew up listening to his music and took to it immediately. I know almost all his songs by heart. (Kind of embarrassing, but I used to sing along to the 8-track). There is something very soulful about his music and I think that is why he appealed to me so much. I remember hearing that he had died (a few years after his death) and that just cemented the image of him in my mind as a touching, tragic figure.

This was always one of my favorites:

[Dennis Donovan]

14. I was in 3rd grade, and the hit on the radio was "Leroy Brown"

...which I grooved to, even in the 3rd grade . But, then the news broke that the man, who sang my favorite song at the moment, was killed.

I guess it prepped me for a larger loss 7 years later. Late 1980, I was PUMPED that John came out of retirement with a solid effort, Double Fantasy. I was LOVING that album, playing it constantly on the stereophonic, when, on December 9, 1980, my brother woke me with the overnight news that broke my heart...

Man, I *still* remember that feeling, 39 years ago.

[smirkymonkey]

16. I'm so sorry Dennis.

I understand how those things can hurt. They just seem bigger than life and then they are gone. It's so tragic.

[Bayard]

13. 46 years......

Gawd, I'm old. It was such a tragedy--another gone-too-soon.

[coti]

15. Croce was incredibly talented and would have had a huge impact on music

Unbelievably tragic when people like him are taken from us too soon.

[Skittles]

17. tree at the end of the runway

WTF