Truth: a couple yrs ago I read a comment from a youngster on TH-cam. They said, paraphrased, "Wow, he actually matched his voice to the music! How did he DO that?" I was stunned! Uh.... he's a vocalist. They're a band. (it was early-ish Stones.) I mean.... !!!!??!!
Can we all take a second to praise the boss man Maury Muehleisen. Holding down those melodic doublestops and sick harmonies... songs not the same without him.
This song describes perfectly what it feels like when you want to contact someone that you loved and still love, but they've moved on, and you want to want to wish them well, but you can't because it hurts to damn bad, so you don't even make the phone call.
it's not the way to see things. i prefer to think that someone or something decided that they had given us what they had to. maybe something better awaits them, somewhere else
I was born in 1971, so this song reminds me of being really small with my mom and dad crusing in the Plymouth deep in the woods of the Ozarks. It's incredibly peaceful like a security blanket. Mom isn't doing well. Dad died in 2017. But this song gives me peace of mind.
71 here too.. No words.. My dad used to sing along with Leroy Brown when I was so young. We are going to miss you Jim.. Such a down to earth -blue jeans man.
Andrew...God Bless yor for your words. You move back in with Mom if you have to....lf you can. I am going through the same mess. Mom is falling down and we can't afford a home attendant. Prayers up. I do remember this song cruising with Mom and Poppa in his Buick Electra. Lol. Peace and love to All. I am Praying for you and yours Brother!!!! I was born in 1975! Music is timeless.
71 here....The love and beauty this song brings back makes me cry with warmth and happiness. So weird to be old enough to remember amazing beauty like this....
Born in 70. Remembering family road trips with the AM radio on...sending hugs out to all that are missing someone as much as I miss my Mom and Dad right now
I was also born in 1971. I heard this song on my older brother's Jim Croce album. I have loved this music ever since. Croce was so talented and we lost him much too soon.
@@garygalingeras a kid I remember my father played a funny song about how “you can keep the dime” and only decades later did I realize this was the song and how much wisdom is in it
Yes indeed Cory Green! Yes its clichè to say they don't make'em like they used to. In this case they really don't, Jim Croce and those artist had sincerity in their songs, it makes you feel something because these old timers meant it!
Yes...total quality. Really sets the computerized sounds back into the category of BS junk...technocrats...auto tune put to shame. Maury Muehleisen was really the other half of Jim Croce, and I think Jim knew that when it came to performing and recording...truly these two are way above the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bull crap.
@@dreamcast.0 I didn't put anyone down I was simply stating my opinion of the modern music industry. Back before electronic storage of music and good old autotune and before the industry turned into a flesh market musicians made it on talent. That's all I was saying.
Hard to believe he died at 30 . He looks a lot older yeah , but he sings with the wisdom and soul of a 50-60 something who had already lived a long life .
@@freddy7304on one hand I thought if Jim was going to die young, he might as well have died a little sooner and joined the famous 27 club. But then I thought about it and I know that Jim did a whole lot of living in those couple extra years and I’m sure he wouldn’t trade that for the world. I hope that you and I should all have our own couple years like that
Josh Turner and the other favorites do the song justice. He along with Toni Lindgren are elite guitarists, though in their 30's now th-cam.com/video/1oP2X0yLfHY/w-d-xo.html
That’s crazy, this is literally the first song of his I’ve ever heard. Just now. It’s so good. I’ve actually never even heard of the guy until today. One song down, I’ll explore more . That was a good ass song!
The guy was only 30 when he passed. He would have gone down in history as the best folk singer EVER. He wrote most of his hits in just a few weeks time. Amazing talent!
And Maury was even younger, only 24! I'm 25 now, crazy to think about. It feels like my life has only just started and this guy was already on the top, and then everything just stopped for him. It's so sad
Every time I got in my 69 GTO, a Croce tape went into the 8 track player. September 20, 1973 was our opening senior year football game vs our rival and, after learning of Jim Croce’s death that day, I played the worst game of my high school career. Jim Croce’s music was a huge part of my life. I recall during some rocky times just out of high school sitting in my car on graveyard shift writing all the word to “I’ll have to say I love you in a song” down for my junior high school girlfriend. We’ve been married now nearly 48 years and God willing, will be together at our fiftieth high school reunion in a few weeks driving that same 69 GTO. Maury and Croce’s music touched me like no other, that is until I found Casting Crowns and Chris Tomlin later in life.
I was born in 74, and my Dad was a guitar playing music teacher (k-12) who loved Jim Croce. If I close my eyes and sit very still while I listen to these songs it makes me feel like Dad’s in the room with me.❤
Artificial intelligence may be able to create some mindless dance grooves, but it will never be able to write a song with this level of feeling, pathos, and understanding of what it means to love, and to lose. When you hear a song like this, you remember what it means to be human. Thank you for this wonderful music, Jim & Maury.
Fortunately Jim lived to see his success take off (for about 14 months) and saw four hit singles and two hit albums on the charts before that fateful night in Sept, 1973. His guitarist with him, Maury Muehleisen was also killed in the crash. No lip synching here, we see Jimmy as he was. From what I've heard Jim liked small venues so he could be close to his fans. You don't hear much of that from performers now days.
Not sure how/why I landed here randomly listening to music before I pick up the axe on a Saturday night (with zero intentions of playing something this laid back, lol!) but I'm glad I did. Oh, I've heard this plenty of times, always liked it, but never listened to this particualr version before, nor learned of the story of his guitarist that perished with him. Nor have I heard it with these ears at this age intentionally for the purpose of "hearing" all the parts. The guitarist's harmonies are great with this too. Nice, interesting finger picking progression as well
@@sgenetti77 I was in high school at the time and the guys who liked hard rock also liked Jim's music. There was no real explanation for it as they simply thought he was cool.
Jim was down to earth guy and I'm not sure he realized the magnitude of the success he was on the cusp of. At the time of his death, he still lived on the farm in Pennsylvania and was still wearing jeans and flannels and t-shirts. "Time in a Bottle" hit number one after his death at age 30.
@@jeddyhi I like the down to earth personalities like that. So many others are so full of themselves & I can't stand them. "Time In a Bottle" was a hit by accident. It was in a TV film called "She Lives" about a woman dying of cancer. It was aired one week before Jim's passing. They already released "I Got a Name" so buyers either had to wait til November or buy the LP to get the song. It was the last #1 of 1973. Great memories though sometimes sad in Jim's case. He had so much ahead of him.
Musicians are some of the most underated contributors to society . The best ones like Jim Croce and Maury Muehleisen are irreplaceable in what they offer medicinally to people's spirit and souls .Two talented souls taken way too soon.
@The mysterious Miss X “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche Without spiritual/emotional things like music we would not be very different from animals
@@user-zv7yb4yp9g _Ohne Musik wäre das Leben ein Irrthum._ I especially love it for the evolutionary perspective (which comes to my whimsical mind in the English version), like if we and some other species hadn't evolved to make music, the whole adventure of having life on earth at all would have been a mistake! Of course that's silly, right? but sing something for Earth Day, which happens to be my birthday. I just sang the chorus of "'O sole mio" to a sunshower here in Seattle, USA. Now it's your turn ❤️🌎🕊️
Exactly! Well said, music is an integral part of my insides. It’s the way my heart and mind put words to feelings and allow me to emote things that are sometimes too difficult to make sense of.
Just one of the most beautiful songs ever made. Timeless. Why did you take Jim from us so soon? Maybe I should thank God for loaning him to us for a little while. He reached people in ways no one else could.
The beautiful guitar work was what first drew me to this song. But as I grew older, the depth of the lyrics is what really make it timeless. There is so much unstated backstory in them - and yet on the surface all it consists of is a one-sided conversation with a telephone operator. Operators don't exist anymore, nor do phone booths. Dimes are probably going to be around for a while, but they are mostly an irrelevancy in today's world. But this song will never grow old.
Basically, Jim Croce had made all kinds of plans while he was still around in the beginning of 1970s. In a letter to his wife Ingrid which arrived after his untimely death on September 20, 1973 from a plane crash, Jim told her that he had decided to quit music for good in order to stick to writing short stories along with movie scripts as a new career and withdraw from public life completely. Basically, Jim Croce was supposed to retire because he grew increasingly homesick as he was missing his family. Sadly, all of the wonderful plans that Jim Croce had would never materialize because of his unexpected death. May he rest in peace.
I imagine my Dad listening to this song after watching an episode of Taxi. 23 years Dad.. I would give anything to have a beer with you, hug you and talk about life. I didnt know you very well, but i have the love letters you wrote mom, and i think youd be proud of me.. after all the pain in my life, i still love others and Jesus❤
I'm 28 and have discovered JC relatively recently and i have to say that it brings me to tears that this man's life and talent was cut short in the way that it was. Maybe this comment will live beyond my lifetime like Croce's music does. This man's talent has inspired me in tremendous ways. RIP Jim Croce.
“My best old ex friend Ray…” The layers of information in each line tells so much of a story. Every word placed perfectly. I get lost in this song every time. I can’t think of a time I didn’t mist up hearing it.
Me too, Rick. How he got some little comfort from the operator, glad to hear a friendly voice..even a stranger. Plus I think of my Dad, who loved Croce's music..and it's a lite shower 😪
The number on the matchbook is old and faded… the phone number used to stay at the same address, so she still lives at the same place with Ray. She hasn’t moved but that’s the same number she wrote down on a free matchbook years ago
"She's livin' in LA with my best old ex friend Ray." I just love the way Jim played with words and meaning in his songs. He was more than a musician and song writer. He was an old fashioned Bard. Jim, you are my favorite artist ever. I still miss you!❤❤❤
This was my "gateway" song into the wonderful music of this man. I got a tear in my eye the first time I heard it - 40yrs on and my eyes still do the same.
True Story: Croce opened for Zappa at a concert in Albuquerque in the 70's. Strangest double bill in history, and maybe the best. Croce was absolutely hysterical in concert, told filthy, funny jokes. Zappa played lead guitar as well as anyone ever has, I was genuinely surprised. Those were good days. I read one time Croce would have been the great talk show host of rock culture had he lived...I believe it.
@@Namath1000 Jimi opened a few shows for The Monkees, before management finally realized that The Monkees' teenybopper audience wasn't ready for Jimi. The craziest billing Ive seen personally was Bob Seger opening for Black Sabbath in '76!
- _Zappa played lead guitar as well as anyone ever has, I was genuinely surprised._ Zappa was a monster of a guitar player. This my favorite of his; settle in comfy and grab a beverage: th-cam.com/video/NotZxyuZ3v0/w-d-xo.html
Sadly, just when both of these artists were starting to experience great success with hit songs they died in the same plane crash on September 20, 1973. I like to imagine that Jim is looking down from Heaven and getting some joy out of the fact that millions of people are still listening to his music 50 years later. Jim would be 80 years old if he were still alive.
51 years (September 20), it seems it was yesterday, but his music is eternal, whenever I can take my guitar and return to my adolescence enjoying Jim Croce.
Still listen to the original vinyl album at 66 years. His music goes straight to the heart. Living in the beautiful Ozarks and thankful to be here. Prayers for you.
Maury Muehleisen’s harmonies both on the acoustic and on vocals were so on point as well. Singer song writers like Jim Croce and Gordon Lightfoot will always stand the test of time. There is no pretence in there. They speak directly to the soul.
Here it is 2023 and 50 years have passed since we lost these two amazing people. ‘72 I just graduated and was going to get my draft card and heard this song playing on the car radio. I was struck by the words and music. On my way home I stopped at the music store and found the 45. I wore it out trying to learn the song. Impossible to duplicate at my young age, so the next day I went and bought the song book with the cords and sheet music. I’m looking at it right now and playing along and wondering what they would have done next…. My heart breaks every time I hear their songs, but I’m thankful and blessed that their music lives on 🫶🙏 Thank you Jim, Thank you Maury. Rest in peace 💙
I remember going to his wifes restaurant in San Diego on 5th. Classy place that really kept his spirit. Live music on Valentine's Day with my girl dressed in red. Truly the meaning of time in a bottle.
Here in Canada we just lost Gordon Lightfoot, a man who i always felt was Jims spiritual brother, RIP to you both and thank you for blessing us with your beautiful music
I agree - I was struck by the simplicity of the setting - two guitars, two stools, no light show - just peaceful. Croce was big when I was a teen and his music is really deeply ingrained in my heart.
Jared ..we are not in a listening generation ..its all about fast food and fast food music..walk out anywhere and see how many are more connected to their phones than life around them
I was introduced to Jim Croce when Space Ghost told Tenacious D that he wanted to hear "anything by Jim Croce". He became one of the most important musical influences in my life after I grabbed an album at Amoeba on a whim and discovered his music. Thanks Space Ghost.
he was a working musician for many years before his music got famous. Playing live like this and sounding this good is very hard. He died like a lot of musicians, traveling to a gig. Playing lead guitar here with him is Maury Muehleisen, who died with him not long after this was filmed.
I was 14 when he died. Loved his music so much and was only just beginning to understand how meaningful this song is. I still remember crying myself to sleep after hearing of his death. I still tear up. So many great singer-songwriters in the early 70s and he was the best of all!
I’m not saying there’s not great music and talented people today, but what an amazing time for popular music. You had to be so good. No auto-tune, theatrics, songs about being wealthy and shooting people. Just some of the greatest popular music ever written.
Nobody could beat Jim at song writing and nobody still can. The music, the guitars so perfectly synchronized, and it's just these two men with the only electronic assistance being the microphones . The audience is riveted, as well as I was, listening .
The early 70's made sense? The U.S. was in the middle of Vietnam, there was crazy inflation, a fuel shortage, political unrest. It sounds a lot like the world we live in now. The big difference is pop/rock artists actually made music that made sense, today not so much. There's good music out there still but it's not "main stream". The world has always been a crazy place, what we need is good music to help us deal with it.
im 33, when i was in elementary school in the 90s my art teacher would randomly sing a few songs, big john by jimmy dean, the man who shot liberty valence and bad bad leeroy brown. i never forgot any of those, and jim croce one of the biggest tragedy's in music. died at 30 but still remembered over 50 years later.
She´s living in LA with my old ex friend Ray......Oh my God 😪that line breaks my heart 💔 Truck driver. bricklayer, great human being ,A TRUE POET..... One of us . Thanks for everything Jim❤🙏
Jim Croce was a monster. I play the most basic, stripped back cowboy chord version of this, but I get the runs in, and people act like they've heard Doc Watson.
'...think about her love that I thought would save me...' That's such a great line. I saw him open for Cheech & Chong. The audience LOVED him. It was no more than a week later 'til 'Operator' hit the air waves. I often wonder how many great songs he would have penned had he not died so young.
I was born in Chicago, moved to CA when i was 8 and spent most of my life there..aside from 2 years in Pittsburgh for grad school. While i was there, WVA was al2ays being put down by my Northeastern classmates. Years later, i took my kids to Harpers Ferry, WVA and it was breathtakingly beautiful, charming, and historic. While we were there a car full of young women came through the town with this song blaring and them singing at the top of their lungs. The timing was epic and memory so unforgettable…that trip to one town in WVA will forever bring a smile to my face….my kids too. With respect to this song,…if you don’t sing along, i don’t want to know you.
I’ll never stop missing this man, hearing his words in my head. I can’t even begin to imagine what more he could have given, taught, us with more time.
![Jim Croce - Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels) [Official Music Video]](/img/n.gif)
A treasure lost. "Time in a bottle" is my all-time favorite.
Or "I got a name..."
Thank you for your time
"I think about the love that I thought would save me"
This breaks me up inside every time I hear it. Ain't that the truth...
❤
When you're a slave in your relationship, it hurts to look back at yourself being in a pathetic position just because of your emotional deficiency.
Amazing lyrics. It makes us think. So beautiful.
Amazing lyrics. It makes us think. So beautiful.
It's rough
He was just too pure. He didn't die young, he just got called home early.
That's the way it goes.
❤
Your comment hit me hard! .. thank you
Very Spiritual choice of words. We honor your Soul.
Wow, choked me up w/ this 1. Amen
Remember when singers sounded the same live compared to their records?
Yes I miss that!
I think it was called talent
sometimes they sounded better than the record
Truth: a couple yrs ago I read a comment from a youngster on TH-cam. They said, paraphrased, "Wow, he actually matched his voice to the music! How did he DO that?"
I was stunned! Uh.... he's a vocalist. They're a band. (it was early-ish Stones.) I mean.... !!!!??!!
No lip-synch
Can we all take a second to praise the boss man Maury Muehleisen. Holding down those melodic doublestops and sick harmonies... songs not the same without him.
Let's take 10 seconds
the best backup of music maury muehleisen
Jim would be less without him
100%. Well said. Fits in perfectly. He sung and played in a way that didn't make it about him. RIP to a master along with Jim.
I was going to say the same.. the guy is the most underrated guitar player of all time imho.
One of the most perfect songs ever written.
He had many "perfect" songs. Such a shame he's all but forgotten today.
True
I remember him. I also remember when his plane went down. His story & his music still brings tears to me. Best wishes to you.
"Yes ma'am""" 😇💞 I remember "" first hearing 👂this song 🎵 when I was younger over #40 years ago """""" 🥰😎
Yeahyaright❗🙁💔
This song describes perfectly what it feels like when you want to contact someone that you loved and still love, but they've moved on, and you want to want to wish them well, but you can't because it hurts to damn bad, so you don't even make the phone call.
Fuck, dude.
I was able to do just that about a decade ago.
Plus when the person left you for your best friend 🥲
Yep
Yes❤
One of my favorite songs to sing in karaoke even though he died before I was born. Amazing singer-songwriter
It's sad to think about how much music we were robbed of when these two amazing men passed away so young... 😔
Lost forever❤😢
His son is following in his footsteps ❤
They don't make music like this anymore.
it's not the way to see things. i prefer to think that someone or something decided that they had given us what they had to.
maybe something better awaits them, somewhere else
❤ very true gone to soon but their legacy lives on 😢
I was born in 1971, so this song reminds me of being really small with my mom and dad crusing in the Plymouth deep in the woods of the Ozarks. It's incredibly peaceful like a security blanket. Mom isn't doing well. Dad died in 2017. But this song gives me peace of mind.
71 here too.. No words.. My dad used to sing along with Leroy Brown when I was so young. We are going to miss you Jim.. Such a down to earth -blue jeans man.
Andrew...God Bless yor for your words. You move back in with Mom if you have to....lf you can. I am going through the same mess. Mom is falling down and we can't afford a home attendant. Prayers up. I do remember this song cruising with Mom and Poppa in his Buick Electra. Lol. Peace and love to All. I am Praying for you and yours Brother!!!! I was born in 1975! Music is timeless.
71 here....The love and beauty this song brings back makes me cry with warmth and happiness. So weird to be old enough to remember amazing beauty like this....
Born in 70. Remembering family road trips with the AM radio on...sending hugs out to all that are missing someone as much as I miss my Mom and Dad right now
I was also born in 1971. I heard this song on my older brother's Jim Croce album. I have loved this music ever since. Croce was so talented and we lost him much too soon.
Damn it. I'm 47, at work and there's something in my eyes.....
Ya know it doesn't happen all the time till you're 59 haha - jeez just slipped a disc writing that
I remember my dad playing this album on his stereo and being 6 or 7. Good music never fails. I've always wondered how big he could have become
Same...was not expecting that. 💪
@@garygalingeras a kid I remember my father played a funny song about how “you can keep the dime” and only decades later did I realize this was the song and how much wisdom is in it
You know it happens every time ...
Wow. No drums. Nothing but strings and voice telling a sad and beautiful story.
We are lucky to have this gorgeous music available to our tired souls.
I agree and I could not have said it better than you did. THANK YOU!
Yes indeed Cory Green! Yes its clichè to say they don't make'em like they used to. In this case they really don't, Jim Croce and those artist had sincerity in their songs, it makes you feel something because these old timers meant it!
Yes...total quality. Really sets the computerized sounds back into the category of BS junk...technocrats...auto tune put to shame. Maury Muehleisen was really the other half of Jim Croce, and I think Jim knew that when it came to performing and recording...truly these two are way above the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bull crap.
OMG he was gone too soon. but isn't that how it goes?
rory gallagher
More talent on that stage between those 2 wonderful musicians than there is is 90% of the music industry today.
100%
@@michaelbrutallyhonest6026 100%
Wrong. Just listen to music you like, there is no need to put anyone else down.
@@dreamcast.0 I didn't put anyone down I was simply stating my opinion of the modern music industry. Back before electronic storage of music and good old autotune and before the industry turned into a flesh market musicians made it on talent. That's all I was saying.
@@proudpapaof51970 They still do, you just have nostalgia goggles.
The sycronised guitar playing is unbelievable, what a masterpiece!
🎸
That guy backing him up is a serious musician
@@yunotchotch maury muehleisen
Bob, 👍🏽🎯💯 absolutely ❤️
What a master guitar player to me, they complimented each other so welll🇨🇦👍
To be frank, there are not many 29 year olds who could write let alone sing a song with such precision, poise, harmony, vocals and just plain talent.
He was truly gifted!
Hard to believe he died at 30 . He looks a lot older yeah , but he sings with the wisdom and soul of a 50-60 something who had already lived a long life .
@@freddy7304 WAY too young 😞
@@freddy7304on one hand I thought if Jim was going to die young, he might as well have died a little sooner and joined the famous 27 club.
But then I thought about it and I know that Jim did a whole lot of living in those couple extra years and I’m sure he wouldn’t trade that for the world. I hope that you and I should all have our own couple years like that
Josh Turner and the other favorites do the song justice. He along with Toni Lindgren are elite guitarists, though in their 30's now th-cam.com/video/1oP2X0yLfHY/w-d-xo.html
Dude in the back CRUSHING the lead licks during Croce's epic singing.
Maury Meuhleisen; died in the same plane crash.
2 guys + 2 guitars + 4 microphones = history.
.
So simple.
I don’t think I’m asking for a lot when I say I wish I could hear this song for the first time again.
I wish I could hear him again.
You kinda can, if you give some songs time. Then after awhile, you hear it fresh, thinking about where you were, what you were doing, how life was...
ROMANS 10:9.......Jesus is the only way to Heaven
@@zoeysmokey which version of Jesus
That’s crazy, this is literally the first song of his I’ve ever heard. Just now. It’s so good. I’ve actually never even heard of the guy until today. One song down, I’ll explore more . That was a good ass song!
The guy was only 30 when he passed. He would have gone down in history as the best folk singer EVER. He wrote most of his hits in just a few weeks time. Amazing talent!
Folk? Idk about that. I hate pigeon holing an artist
@@wwaldo2525polk?
@@wwaldo2525polka dot?
And Maury was even younger, only 24! I'm 25 now, crazy to think about. It feels like my life has only just started and this guy was already on the top, and then everything just stopped for him. It's so sad
30 going on 60. Seems like he lived a pretty full life.
Every time I got in my 69 GTO, a Croce tape went into the 8 track player. September 20, 1973 was our opening senior year football game vs our rival and, after learning of Jim Croce’s death that day, I played the worst game of my high school career. Jim Croce’s music was a huge part of my life.
I recall during some rocky times just out of high school sitting in my car on graveyard shift writing all the word to “I’ll have to say I love you in a song” down for my junior high school girlfriend. We’ve been married now nearly 48 years and God willing, will be together at our fiftieth high school reunion in a few weeks driving that same 69 GTO. Maury and Croce’s music touched me like no other, that is until I found Casting Crowns and Chris Tomlin later in life.
Beautiful brother! Stay the course!
Magnífica historia saludos desde México ciudad!!
I was born in 74, and my Dad was a guitar playing music teacher (k-12) who loved Jim Croce. If I close my eyes and sit very still while I listen to these songs it makes me feel like Dad’s in the room with me.❤
God bless you & your dad!❤
You made me cry. I miss my dad
amen❤
🙏
❤ beautiful ❤️
Almost 50 years ago now. Truly a timeless classic. RIP Jim and Maury.
Two guitars no orchestra, the words were all that mattered.
I loved both of these men. Jim was amazing. He died so young, He is as missed now as when he was alive!
When great lyrics meant so much more than now!
Id give my last beer to see these play around a bonfire today.
Jim Croce is so underrated
Only by those that never heard him.
But each of us here rate him at 100+%! He’s the best!
Not by me.
I don't underrated he died to young
@@darrellstaples7011 all you have to do is listen to the music to understand why everybody loves him
50 years today (20 September) Jim was taken so tragically and way too early. His music and voice still lives on after all these years. Legend 🙏🙏🙏
he had actually just sent a letter to his wife that he was planning to retire from show touring to live his life with her
Maury was on that plane, too… 🙏💔
@@TickleTipson169 Oh Dear GOD.
@@jbs256 Oh Dear God, is that true?
I am so sorry for Maury and his family.
@@bsoz9759 sadly, yes.
Artificial intelligence may be able to create some mindless dance grooves, but it will never be able to write a song with this level of feeling, pathos, and understanding of what it means to love, and to lose. When you hear a song like this, you remember what it means to be human. Thank you for this wonderful music, Jim & Maury.
Yes it will. A.i will take over the entertainment industry in the next 3 years..
... ¿y N 0 T??
@@sleepybot3905 Taking over an industry has nothing to do with song writing of this caliber.
@@braunwilliammusic a.i will write songs like this, give it 3 years
Rest in peace, Jim and Maury. 50 years ago today 😢
RIP
My first memory of music is this song, thee entire album. My birth year. My mom loved Jim Croce!! And so do I!! ❤❤❤
Fortunately Jim lived to see his success take off (for about 14 months) and saw four hit singles and two hit albums on the charts before that fateful night in Sept, 1973. His guitarist with him, Maury Muehleisen was also killed in the crash.
No lip synching here, we see Jimmy as he was. From what I've heard Jim liked small venues so he could be close to his fans. You don't hear much of that from performers now days.
Not sure how/why I landed here randomly listening to music before I pick up the axe on a Saturday night (with zero intentions of playing something this laid back, lol!) but I'm glad I did. Oh, I've heard this plenty of times, always liked it, but never listened to this particualr version before, nor learned of the story of his guitarist that perished with him. Nor have I heard it with these ears at this age intentionally for the purpose of "hearing" all the parts. The guitarist's harmonies are great with this too. Nice, interesting finger picking progression as well
@@sgenetti77 I was in high school at the time and the guys who liked hard rock also liked Jim's music. There was no real explanation for it as they simply thought he was cool.
Jim was down to earth guy and I'm not sure he realized the magnitude of the success he was on the cusp of. At the time of his death, he still lived on the farm in Pennsylvania and was still wearing jeans and flannels and t-shirts. "Time in a Bottle" hit number one after his death at age 30.
@@sgenetti77 Reddit rabbithole brought me here, and same this was not the music route i planned on but its working lol.
@@jeddyhi I like the down to earth personalities like that. So many others are so full of themselves & I can't stand them. "Time In a Bottle" was a hit by accident. It was in a TV film called "She Lives" about a woman dying of cancer. It was aired one week before Jim's passing. They already released "I Got a Name" so buyers either had to wait til November or buy the LP to get the song. It was the last #1 of 1973. Great memories though sometimes sad in Jim's case. He had so much ahead of him.
Musicians are some of the most underated contributors to society . The best ones like Jim Croce and Maury Muehleisen are irreplaceable in what they offer medicinally to people's spirit and souls .Two talented souls taken way too soon.
@The mysterious Miss X This is ain't the right take chief.
@The mysterious Miss X That's not the way it _feels._
@The mysterious Miss X
“Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche
Without spiritual/emotional things like music we would not be very different from animals
@@user-zv7yb4yp9g _Ohne Musik wäre das Leben ein Irrthum._ I especially love it for the evolutionary perspective (which comes to my whimsical mind in the English version), like if we and some other species hadn't evolved to make music, the whole adventure of having life on earth at all would have been a mistake! Of course that's silly, right? but sing something for Earth Day, which happens to be my birthday. I just sang the chorus of "'O sole mio" to a sunshower here in Seattle, USA. Now it's your turn ❤️🌎🕊️
Exactly! Well said, music is an integral part of my insides. It’s the way my heart and mind put words to feelings and allow me to emote things that are sometimes too difficult to make sense of.
The harmonies, the little lead lines, these two were a great team. Haven't heard many live performances that clean
These guys were one in a million! Like The Beatles, this will never happen again... Maybe in Heaven!
The only other person I've seen like this is Gordon lightfoot in the early days with Red Shea. They were a good duo too
The other voice /guitar player name please?
@@reynoldreyno3368 Maury Muehleisen, who died with Jim Croce in the plane crash. Jim was 30 years old, Maury was 24.
Clean is a good word. They were, clean and precise
Just one of the most beautiful songs ever made. Timeless. Why did you take Jim from us so soon? Maybe I should thank God for loaning him to us for a little while. He reached people in ways no one else could.
The idea of a bearded God sitting up on a cloud making decisions about humans on Earth? As silly as Santa Claus.
His songs like others, were the great story tellers in song.
@@gordeauxdwell you better change that mind cause you will find out
The beautiful guitar work was what first drew me to this song. But as I grew older, the depth of the lyrics is what really make it timeless. There is so much unstated backstory in them - and yet on the surface all it consists of is a one-sided conversation with a telephone operator.
Operators don't exist anymore, nor do phone booths. Dimes are probably going to be around for a while, but they are mostly an irrelevancy in today's world. But this song will never grow old.
For me it's the lyrics,always has been, love this song. Every time I here it, it just takes me back to a simpler time.
Yes...🦋💖🌟💖
It's so hard to believe that it's been nearly 50 years ago that we lost Jim. I would have loved to see how his career would have been. RIP Jim Croce
I was born in March of that year, grew up admiring this artist. The world lost a great musician.
true musical genius, so lucky we had him
Basically, Jim Croce had made all kinds of plans while he was still around in the beginning of 1970s. In a letter to his wife Ingrid which arrived after his untimely death on September 20, 1973 from a plane crash, Jim told her that he had decided to quit music for good in order to stick to writing short stories along with movie scripts as a new career and withdraw from public life completely. Basically, Jim Croce was supposed to retire because he grew increasingly homesick as he was missing his family. Sadly, all of the wonderful plans that Jim Croce had would never materialize because of his unexpected death. May he rest in peace.
@@JohnGadzaJr. Screenplays and scripts....short stories!?!?!? Jeez talk about being versatile.
OMGosh! 50 years??
Still watching here in Ireland , 2022. A classic.
Watching in Detroit but my heart is in Kilkenny with my family
I hope you have a most blessed Easter Dale.
Jim is still so missed...rest in peace Jim & Maury..
I have always wondered who the gentleman was backing up Mr. Croce.
Maury Muehleisen
Such a beautiful soul taking far too early .. sorely missed..💕💞❤️🙏🙏👼👼
@@michaelmeeks7649 Died with Jim in the plane crash...R.I.P.💞🙏
@@michaelmeeks7649 thought it was johnny lennon
“You can keep the dime…”
This song is perfect…
1:30 "I think about a love that I thought would save me" 🥲
My favorite line in the song
I imagine my Dad listening to this song after watching an episode of Taxi. 23 years Dad.. I would give anything to have a beer with you, hug you and talk about life. I didnt know you very well, but i have the love letters you wrote mom, and i think youd be proud of me.. after all the pain in my life, i still love others and Jesus❤
JESUS IS GOD BROTHER
I'm 28 and have discovered JC relatively recently and i have to say that it brings me to tears that this man's life and talent was cut short in the way that it was. Maybe this comment will live beyond my lifetime like Croce's music does. This man's talent has inspired me in tremendous ways. RIP Jim Croce.
If you get a chance go see his son AJ in concert (and online). It was fabulous. I’ve been a fan of Jim since I was a child (I’m in my 50s). 💙
If you ever get a chance to see his son AJ Croce ,GO!!!!
these days, and beyond, no one will know what an operator was, besides us older people, keeping these songs alive
This song came out when I was in high school. Now it's 2024 and I'm listening to it for the seventh time in a row now.
this arab was amazing he sounded like an american hillbilly waving the flag with his asshole.
This song never gets old. It has a timeless quality that still resonates today
Jim will live forever.
Stunning performance, beautiful story telling!
One of the GREATEST storytellers ever 💕
He was the BEST at songs that INVOLVED!
It isn’t being performed. It recorded.
@@LemonsAndSalt69 you don't know what you are talking about. Artists performed live back in those days. Fool
The time when music was pure. Missing it...
This is simply one of the best live performances ever created. RIP Jim & Maury.
❤
“My best old ex friend Ray…” The layers of information in each line tells so much of a story. Every word placed perfectly. I get lost in this song every time. I can’t think of a time I didn’t mist up hearing it.
Me too, Rick. How he got some little comfort from the operator, glad to hear a friendly voice..even a stranger. Plus I think of my Dad, who loved Croce's music..and it's a lite shower 😪
The number on the matchbook is old and faded… the phone number used to stay at the same address, so she still lives at the same place with Ray. She hasn’t moved but that’s the same number she wrote down on a free matchbook years ago
A man she knew, and sometimes hated.
Ya gotta watch those "sometimes hated" kinda guys...LOL
@@terrymuzy7772 Yes indeed. BTDT.
Perhaps the greatest song ever written. It’s a guided emotional journey.
Agree.
I must agree..
You are not wrong
His eyes show a pained soul but his voice shows a beautiful soulful passion
I agree 1,000%!
His eyes , wisdom and burning fate. Look in the eyes of John Lennon, Martin King Jr., and Abraham Lincoln. That look, gentle wisdom .
you knew his pained soul.
This is the best description of his expressions singing his heartfelt songs, thanks man
I was 11 in August of 72 when that song hit the airwaves in Cleveland, Ohio. Still hits me the same as it did back in 72! LEGENDS !!💯
This man wrote some of the most beautiful and haunting songs of all time
"She's livin' in LA with my best old ex friend Ray."
I just love the way Jim played with words and meaning in his songs. He was more than a musician and song writer. He was an old fashioned Bard.
Jim, you are my favorite artist ever. I still miss you!❤❤❤
The world was robbed of these two
This was my "gateway" song into the wonderful music of this man. I got a tear in my eye the first time I heard it - 40yrs on and my eyes still do the same.
It happens every time.
Sigh
True Story: Croce opened for Zappa at a concert in Albuquerque in the 70's. Strangest double bill in history, and maybe the best. Croce was absolutely hysterical in concert, told filthy, funny jokes. Zappa played lead guitar as well as anyone ever has, I was genuinely surprised. Those were good days. I read one time Croce would have been the great talk show host of rock culture had he lived...I believe it.
The thick mustache battle
I think Jimi Hendrix once opened for The Monkees.
@@Namath1000 Yes, in the Charlotte Coliseum .
@@Namath1000 Jimi opened a few shows for The Monkees, before management finally realized that The Monkees' teenybopper audience wasn't ready for Jimi. The craziest billing Ive seen personally was Bob Seger opening for Black Sabbath in '76!
- _Zappa played lead guitar as well as anyone ever has, I was genuinely surprised._
Zappa was a monster of a guitar player. This my favorite of his; settle in comfy and grab a beverage: th-cam.com/video/NotZxyuZ3v0/w-d-xo.html
Sadly, just when both of these artists were starting to experience great success with hit songs they died in the same plane crash on September 20, 1973. I like to imagine that Jim is looking down from Heaven and getting some joy out of the fact that millions of people are still listening to his music 50 years later. Jim would be 80 years old if he were still alive.
51 years (September 20), it seems it was yesterday, but his music is eternal, whenever I can take my guitar and return to my adolescence enjoying Jim Croce.
All these years later, Jim Croce still makes me cry: "I've overcome the blow. I've learned to take it well."
Always loved Maury's perfect harmonies and stellar acoustic picking. These guys together were pure magic.
What’s Maury’s last name?
@@markmcarthy596 Mark, Maury's last name (and I hope I spell it right) was Muehleisen. He was Jim's right hand man, and best friend.
@@christopherdavison652 🙏
Glad you mentioned him, he is mostly unheard of, but he had a killer voice
Shepherd's Chapel Network !!!!!!! Pastor Murray is an Anointed Servant of GOD who teaches the Word of GOD with Authority!!!!!!!
he has such a relaxing voice i love it
Mine mother love him👍😁
And He is a "Rapid Roy". Yup.! G-G 🎸🎶
the dude singing backup too. delicate, kind of androgynous but perfect match
Still listen to the original vinyl album at 66 years. His music goes straight to the heart. Living in the beautiful Ozarks and thankful to be here. Prayers for you.
Maury Muehleisen’s harmonies both on the acoustic and on vocals were so on point as well. Singer song writers like Jim Croce and Gordon Lightfoot will always stand the test of time. There is no pretence in there. They speak directly to the soul.
Maury was only 24 when he died 😞
Why have you left out Gene McClellan?
It's live, look at Maury watching Jim, he is staying on it, GREAT player 🎸🎶🎸❤️🎸🎶🎸
Both of them so talented. Such a tragic loss, but they have never been forgotten.
Here it is 2023 and 50 years have passed since we lost these two amazing people. ‘72 I just graduated and was going to get my draft card and heard this song playing on the car radio. I was struck by the words and music. On my way home I stopped at the music store and found the 45. I wore it out trying to learn the song. Impossible to duplicate at my young age, so the next day I went and bought the song book with the cords and sheet music. I’m looking at it right now and playing along and wondering what they would have done next…. My heart breaks every time I hear their songs, but I’m thankful and blessed that their music lives on 🫶🙏
Thank you Jim, Thank you Maury. Rest in peace 💙
I remember going to his wifes restaurant in San Diego on 5th. Classy place that really kept his spirit. Live music on Valentine's Day with my girl dressed in red. Truly the meaning of time in a bottle.
Here in Canada we just lost Gordon Lightfoot, a man who i always felt was Jims spiritual brother, RIP to you both and thank you for blessing us with your beautiful music
I loved Gordon ,. everyone in my music world is going back home , to the stars. Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust❤ star dust😇
. ❤
One day Jim Croce will get some more love and appreciation that he deserves 🙏
My uncle used to play this on his guitar for me when I was a boy. He rests in Heaven with Jim & Maury now. God bless them.
His songs bring me so much joy, perfect blend of great song writing and HIS voice, just feels so right!
so. true I. been listening 2. Jim. since 1975
⁰ I believe in crist
I believe in jesus
Yes RIP Jim
Either the world hasn't re discovered a master. Or it is bad out there, this man's music is timeless perfect simplicity.
I agree - I was struck by the simplicity of the setting - two guitars, two stools, no light show - just peaceful.
Croce was big when I was a teen and his music is really deeply ingrained in my heart.
@@guywerry6614 Same hear, and my favorite remains Have to Say I Love You in a Song
Jared ..we are not in a listening generation ..its all about fast food and fast food music..walk out anywhere and see how many are more connected to their phones than life around them
This brotha was one of the greats. Nationality be damned.
I was introduced to Jim Croce when Space Ghost told Tenacious D that he wanted to hear "anything by Jim Croce". He became one of the most important musical influences in my life after I grabbed an album at Amoeba on a whim and discovered his music.
Thanks Space Ghost.
Old enough to remember when this song came out.
I wonder how many listening today have no idea what, "You can keep the dime" means? 😊
Only discovered Jim Croce recently thanks to a Spotify radio and this has been the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard. Cannot stop listening to Jim
How old are you?
Me too
he was a working musician for many years before his music got famous. Playing live like this and sounding this good is very hard. He died like a lot of musicians, traveling to a gig. Playing lead guitar here with him is Maury Muehleisen, who died with him not long after this was filmed.
So sad, such a tragic loss
I was 14 when he died. Loved his music so much and was only just beginning to understand how meaningful this song is. I still remember crying myself to sleep after hearing of his death. I still tear up. So many great singer-songwriters in the early 70s and he was the best of all!
@@brianb1440 I think Jim Croce was the first "45" single I purchased. Awesome musician!
Young kings if you've made it here you'll live forever! Rest easy..
I’m not saying there’s not great music and talented people today, but what an amazing time for popular music. You had to be so good. No auto-tune, theatrics, songs about being wealthy and shooting people. Just some of the greatest popular music ever written.
Nobody could beat Jim at song writing and nobody still can. The music, the guitars so perfectly synchronized, and it's just these two men with the only electronic assistance being the microphones . The audience is riveted, as well as I was, listening .
Try John Lennon, Paul McCarthy. Lol.
@@arthurpeterson3641 that's hardly fair - there were 2 of them.
Maury could
Gordon lightfoot
@@arthurpeterson3641the Beatles were a boy band. Their music didn't matter, girls were screaming too loud to hear the music.
Music from back in a time when the world made sense.
The early 70's made sense? The U.S. was in the middle of Vietnam, there was crazy inflation, a fuel shortage, political unrest. It sounds a lot like the world we live in now. The big difference is pop/rock artists actually made music that made sense, today not so much. There's good music out there still but it's not "main stream". The world has always been a crazy place, what we need is good music to help us deal with it.
Vietnam was not defensible, it tore a hole in our country, but at least we still had heroes and not the gaslit shitshow we have now.
@@photonjones5908 Exactly...back in the day when people could still trust the news to tell them the truth.
Yeah, the good old days, when everything was better. Even the future.
Such a timeless song...
RIP 🙏🏼🕯️🙏🏼 Jim and Maury.
im 33, when i was in elementary school in the 90s my art teacher would randomly sing a few songs, big john by jimmy dean, the man who shot liberty valence and bad bad leeroy brown. i never forgot any of those, and jim croce one of the biggest tragedy's in music. died at 30 but still remembered over 50 years later.
I tear up every time I here this beautiful song.
When Jim Croce died, the world became just a little bit darker. He was a light that shinned in the darkness.
Maury Meuhleisen, the musical genius behind the amazing storytelling by Jim Croce
She´s living in LA with my old ex friend Ray......Oh my God 😪that line breaks my heart 💔 Truck driver. bricklayer, great human being ,A TRUE POET..... One of us . Thanks for everything Jim❤🙏
Jim Croce was a monster. I play the most basic, stripped back cowboy chord version of this, but I get the runs in, and people act like they've heard Doc Watson.
He was a solid artist, putting out memorable songs that have lasted 50 years so far. It's a shame he died so early, and the way that he did.
Absolutely flawless
The song.... the voices... amazing... But the guitar playing? PERFECTION!!
Real talent, total perfection
So true !!! Listening to this…what could make it better? Truly NOTHING, so I agree, isn’t that the definition of of perfection?
'...think about her love that I thought would save me...' That's such a great line. I saw him open for Cheech & Chong. The audience LOVED him. It was no more than a week later 'til 'Operator' hit the air waves. I often wonder how many great songs he would have penned had he not died so young.
I was born in Chicago, moved to CA when i was 8 and spent most of my life there..aside from 2 years in Pittsburgh for grad school. While i was there, WVA was al2ays being put down by my Northeastern classmates. Years later, i took my kids to Harpers Ferry, WVA and it was breathtakingly beautiful, charming, and historic. While we were there a car full of young women came through the town with this song blaring and them singing at the top of their lungs. The timing was epic and memory so unforgettable…that trip to one town in WVA will forever bring a smile to my face….my kids too. With respect to this song,…if you don’t sing along, i don’t want to know you.
Could you imagine, their were more hits to come,you know their was, God bless these guys families, they could be so proud of them.❤
I’ll never stop missing this man, hearing his words in my head. I can’t even begin to imagine what more he could have given, taught, us with more time.
I like these live versions more than the studio a lot of times now as I get older. More passions and feeling in them.
Jim left us with amazing tunes. But every time I listen, I can't help but think of what other gifts he would have left us with. RIP Jim
& Maury
Never in my life until now have I heard harmonies that made me cry.
What I wouldn't give to have been in the audience for this.