Agree. I still have my original copy of this album and even though I haven’t listened to it in a while I remembered every word & note. Such a great story teller & another one taken from us way too soon.
If this song doesn't move you to tears, you don't have a soul. Jim wrote the song in 1970 when his wife told him she was pregnant. He died in a plane crash 3 years later. Vale, Jim.
The thing about "Time in a Bottle" is the fact you never lose the feeling for the song. "Operator" is about romantic love, Time in a Bottle changes as you go through life. As people come and go the song will still bring you a strong emotional feeling. Young- romantic love, young adult-your children, older adult- family and it last when your old like me-all those that have gone on before 👵
Me watching at 3:20 "They're about to hear one of the best lyrics of the 70s" "If I had a box just for wishes, and dreams that'd never come true. The box would be empty except for the memory of how they were answered by you." Alex: "Dude goosebumps." Me: "Yup!"
Ur absolutely correct. Except a lot and even I didn't know at the songs release it was about his. I used it as a lover or wife. But meaning is the same either way
The VH1 behind the music on Jim and Ingrid Croce is great and on TH-cam. It would be a nice change of pace if a reaction channel reacted to something like that. It tells the story behind this and other hits of his.
This song takes on new meaning when you learn that Jim wrote the song in December of 1970 after his wife told him, she was pregnant. Less than 3 years later, Jim died in a plane crash at age 30. Those facts completely change this song from a sweet love song to a classic, tragic tear jerker. Just think about it: Time was the one thing that this master songwriter, husband and father didn't have.
This is one of the very few songs that can bring me to tears. If you know the back story about how he died young, leaving a wife and young child, it makes it that much more powerful for me.
To me, "Time In A Bottle" is more heartbreaking than "Operator". When you lose someone to death, whether it's a family member, friend, or pet, you wish you could have stopped time and keep living with them.
re: "My heart didn't fully understand it, yet." Well, Andy, he wrote it for his child. Per Wikipedia, "Croce wrote the lyrics after his wife Ingrid told him she was pregnant, in December 1970. It appeared on his 1972 ABC debut album You Don't Mess Around with Jim and was featured in the 1973 ABC made-for-television movie She Lives!. ABC originally did not intend to release the song as a single; but when Croce was killed in a plane crash in September 1973, its lyrics, dealing with mortality and the wish to have more time, had additional resonance." The general aesthetic of the song is as "A+" or "S-Tier" as it gets. So, you're not wrong for giving it an "A+." When you know the rest of the story, I think it's S-Tier. Some day, when you become a parent, it will be beyond "S-Tier."
Exactly! I have two sons (eleven and ten) and I constantly think about my mortality, wanting to be alive to see them as adults. As soon as this song starts, I think about my two kids and how I need to savor every moment with them.
This song has great meaning to me. Back in 1997, my dad called me at work to tell me that my mother had passed away. I immediately left work to go home and make arrangements to fly back for her funeral and this was the first song that came on the radio in my car on the way home. About halfway into the song, I had to pull over because I was crying too hard to drive. I still go back to that day every time I hear this song.
This song was released and topped the charts posthumously. He was killed in a plane crash after performing a makeup show for LSU and fulfilling a promise. You’re the best guys.
For fun and good songs try “Bad Bad LeRoy Brown” and “Don’t Mess Around With Jim”, both hits and well loved by fans! Another one more like this you’d love is “I’ve Got A Name”.
Jim Croce was just one of the many great singer/songwriters of the '70's, along with Harry Chapin, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Carole King, Cat Stevens, Gordon Lightfoot, and Joni Mitchell. 👏👍✌️
Him and James Taylor are very comparable. My mum used to play me Taylor’s greatest hits to put me to sleep. Im still moved by his music. With those years of listening to Taylor, it’s heart wrenching listening to Croce, especially knowing he was gone extraordinarily soon. There’s very few artist’s death that make me sadder tbh, his potential was massive. Only John Bonham comes immediately to mind as sadder. What a tragedy, but even more so, what a man.
@@brianmiller1077 great question. James Taylor? Paul Simon. Maybe, once they set the bar so high I think people expect a hit you in the heart song each time which isn't possible. ?
@@brianmiller1077 Would you count Dylan, John Denver, Jackson Brown? Interesting that many didn't... Harry Chapin, Cat Stevens, John Prine, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, but they all have deep list of greatest hits.
He wrote this song for his infant son AJ. He died not long afterward. The song hits so hard once you become a parent, believe me. Check out the cover that AJ Croce did of this song. Right in the feels.
We recently saw his son perform. Skills! Only played one of his father’s covers (I’m embarrassed to say I don’t recall which one), but his set was stellar. And his backstory just takes this to another level. Timeless songwriting.
The problem I've always had with this story is the lyric "I've looked around enough to know that you're the one I want to go through time with". You don't "look around" for your children, that's a line you write for a significant other. Still, one of the greatest songs of all times. And yes, it's an easy S Tier.
My head says “suggest one of his more upbeat songs, they’re fun!”, but my heart says “they need to hear I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song and New York’s Not My Home!”.
Jim "Crow Chee" is how they pronounced it back in the day. "Don't mess around with Jim" and "Bad, bad Leroy Brown" have been mentioned and should be visited.......great storytelling in these two.
It doesn't matter how many times I hear this one, I still get teary eyed when I hear it. This time made no exception. My favorite Croce. And there are zero bad Croce's.
Yup, this song never fails to stir me from the time it first played on the radio. The kicker was when I visited my big brother, whom I admire and rarely get to spend time with; we sat down together at his piano and this one popped up in his play books. Again, a tear came to my eye as I followed the lyrics while he played. Jim Croce was a master of emotion in this one!
I was just thinking about how Cats in the Cradle, Tangled Up Puppet, A Better Place to Be, WOLD, Mr. Tanner would impact these two. More master storytelling.
He wrote several “fun” songs that are worth checking out. Rapid Roy the Stock Car Boy, Roller Derby Queen, and one of my favorites Working at the Car Wash Blues.
This dude is the only artist that died early that I'm confident would have created many many more hits. He's got like 20 great songs, and he only put out like 2 albums.
For me his song "Photographs & Memories" has always pulled hard at the heartstrings; even when I was a kid I realized there was something special and meaningful about those lyrics. Even though they are more in line with a relationship falling apart, the lyrics mean even more to me these days after having lost grandparents and parents, numerous friends over the years and as of last year losing my wife... the song is very poignant.
I am so sorry for your losses. My heart has some understanding of your sense of loss, as I have them as well-my grandparents, parents, my beloved husband of 21 years and too many friends to count now. I kind of wonder if Andy has not yet lost someone he is close to, since he is pretty young. Maybe that is why he could not relate to the song as much. Andy fully got it. Again, I am sorry for the loss of your wife and other loved ones. (Revelation 21:3, 4)
Please accept my condolences. I completely agree with your comment regarding Photographs and Memories. That song takes you back to all of the important people and moments in your life. It was such a gift.
Very Well, said. That resonates with so many here, I think, now that we are in the age where losses have become a more regular almost permanent part of our lives.
Jim Croce was such a good song writer. His music can be divided into love songs, break up songs, and telling up beat music stories about characters who are on the seamier side of life. My favorite character song is "You don't mess around with Jim." A great break up song is Lover's Cross. Before you leave Jim Croce, I highly recommend those two songs
"You Don't Mess Around with Jim" and "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" are bookends to his lighter side. Both are way different than the two songs you've done before. They are almost like a different artist in a different genre but still A+ to S tier for what they bring to the table.
I sang this song to my cat as he died, very young, due to cancer. He was a cool little buddy, and I wish we had more time together. He was a stray I found injured and broken from an animal attack, doctor said fox or raccoon, and nursed him back to health, even saving his leg. We couldn't beat cancer though. Even the doctor cried. She said he fought so hard and never was grumpy about it. Great song by Croce, but it makes me sad.
I started to think of my dog that I lost to cancer last January. At this time last year, she was going through chemotherapy. I was driving her 70 miles to Philly every 2 weeks for her chemo. Initially she responded well, but as we approached Christmas, she started to back track and get worse. She ended up having a major permanent seizure. I drove her to Philly with my wife and oldest daughter to have her put to sleep. We said our last "goodbyes". I watched the doctor wheel her body down the hallway and around the corner. As she slipped out of view that final time, I just broke down. I wish we had another 3 or 4 years together. However, I am comforted that I never took her for granted and I made the most of the time we had.
@@spanieaj Yeah, I get it. We tried so hard to save our cat, Barnaby. When the vet was running tests on him she thought she may have to sedate him, but Barnaby just purred the whole time. I guess he knew the vet was trying to help. We'll both see our friends someday, in the great hereafter. Take care brother!
@@venitaspringman9578 Hey was my little buddy. He would come running to see me when I got home and he would tell me about his day. He was quite chatting, in the sweetest way. Yeah, we need to destroy cancer with much prejudice!
My husband was one of the Vets who died on a VA waiting list. He was in a hospital bed in our room and out of it. This song and one other were two rock songs he'd tolerate. I put this on and about the last two lines I felt such overwhelming sense of loneliness. It took me a minute to realize he had died and it was the silence. Great song, had to pass on it. Hope you guys enjoyed it.
Sister my condolences. I have lived Jim’s music all my life. Jim was a vet also. Your husband was blessed in that he had you. I thank you both for your service - Im a veterans mentor in Miami. I served 83-90. Thank you.
@@greggonzalez859 Thanks for the condolences. I'm going to be looking for what benefits there are on the new bill. His cancer being a direct results of burn pits in Iraq. We will see. As a Veteran myself, I'll be looking for the local organizations for help in filing the claim.
Thank you SO MUCH, guys, for playing this AMAZING song by the late, great Jim Croce ( Crow-chee). ETA: there are two other songs by Croce that were much loved by me when I was a kid, Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown (or maybe just Leroy Brown), and You Don't Mess Around With Jim. Check them out. They were both also very popular songs by Jim Croce.
@@debbiedebbie761 no. Look him up in YT, both songs should be there. They're both cool, lighthearted songs. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year!💖😘🙏👍👍👋👋👋
Jim's lookalike son AJ grew up to be a singer-songwriter too. He sounds a lot like his dad. It's especially touching to hear him sing Jim's song "I Got a Name."
I just can't say enough about Jim Croce; his style, his guitar, his voice, his passion, and his humility. I'm 62 now but I loved him at 17 and it hasn't changed a bit since then. The picture of his baby boy was featured on an album that was released after he died. I wept. More than once. Just so good.
As a toddler (50 years ago), I would cry every time it came on the radio. It’s just such a touching song, you don’t even even have to understand the lyrics to feel its impact.
What I love about this song is its timelessness; you could go back in time 500 years and sing it word-for=word and note-for-note and everybody would understand its meaning.
I've ALWAYS loved this song since High School ('74 grad.) ❤ HUGE Croce (pronounced Crow-chee) fan; still mourn his passing...💔 This song was for and about his son, who has followed in his footsteps, but couldn't bring himself to do this song for a very long time...
I'm not going to spread this love on any particular comment - rather, I'll just say that I love how the A&A community is POSITIVE no matter if they agree or disagree. This is a beautiful place and, fellas, you guys are the best. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to A&A and all of the A&A'ers.
Friends, please shout-out the guitarist by name - MAURY MUEHLEISEN ("mule-high-zen"), he died in the same plane crash with Jim. They combination of their talent was just so transcendent - take a look at any of their live work together to see that amazing chemistry. For fun, you might want to listen to "Roller Derby Queen" or "Working at the Car Wash Blues," but all of his "heartbreaking" songs are brilliant. "New York's Not My Home," "Box #10," "Alabama Rain," "One Less Set of Footsteps." Also, "I've Got a Name."
I have loved Jim Croce since 1972. I enjoy watching you guys love it too. I got my goosebumps right before Alex said he got his. So cool. I did get a smile about the rating argument, only this kind of song can solicit the comment that A+ is not enough. Enjoy guys
He wrote this song for his unborn son, and later had an untimely death. I've listened to this song my whole life, and always liked it but didn't think much past assuming it was a romantic love song. Then, I had two sons of my own. I fear for them, celebrate them, worry about them, feel pride in them, and give them my all. This song is how I feel when I realize they're now becoming men, and I can't have the innocence and joy of their "little years" back. My little boys are gone. Then, I learned the story being this song, and now can't hear it without tearing-up. S-tier, for sure, but it came to me over time.
I tell you this with absolute LOVE and AFFECTION: Even with my two favorite bobble-heads bobbing along, this beautiful song still reduces me to tears streaming down my face! Happy Holidays!⏳🕰♥🎧🎁🎄🎆🎅💝😏
Here's a song that always got to me. I remember when I was in the military and I'm from AZ and stationed in NY; this song came on and it always hit me like a ton of bricks: "New York's not my Home".
Brilliance. Let the happy tears flow. I do love this song, but understand the differing rating. It's all how it hits you through life and what you're going through, yes? Keep this song in your playlist, you'll need it one day. :) Have a great Wednesday. Catch ya later! 💖✌️😊
"I'll have to say I love you in a song" is to me the greatest love song ever recorded. But Jim's has S tier upbeat songs too, "I got a name", " Rapid Roy". Leroy Brown and you don't mess around with Jim are good upbeat songs, but a little gimmicky, less artistic than many of his songs.
Not surprised at Andy's reaction to "Time in a Bottle"; I have never been that crazy about it. I'm going to immediately go listen to "Don't Mess Around With Jim" as a palate cleanser.
The Croce's lived just around the corner from my buddy in the 80's in Pt. Loma, a really nice community here in San Diego. I believe his wife still lives in the same house. Growing up in the era that I did we could go from deep purple to david bowie to jim croce to queen to pink floyd to otis reding etc....., it didn't matter. Good music was good music and we had a ton of good music. Songs that are still relevant today and will be in another 40-50 years. It was an awesome time to be alive.
Closing your eyes and waving your heads like that is absolutely the correct way to listen to this song. Not many people can nail it like on their first try, you guys seem to know what you're doing here.
Love Jim Croce as apparently it’s shared by you both. Died much to young. I will continue to promote Dan Folgeberg, who also passed away in his prime. Folgeberg is an awesome storyteller with songs like Leader of the Band (tribute to his father) and Same Ol Lang Syne (about running into an old lover on Christmas Eve). Also Harry Nillson has been mentioned (Without You). I know I have promoted these artists in the past and will continue.As they say, persistence pays off.
Peace and joy to one and all!!! Of course, the tragedy of his death makes this song even more timeless… One of my favorite songs! Next go ‘round with Jim “Crow-chee”, let’s change the flavor a little… how ‘bout Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy) or You Don’t Mess Around With Jim?!? (I know the parentheses will grab your attention… it’s a grrreat story!)
My parent's used to play this song when I was a child and I would get the feels. I'm fifty-four now and it is still a punch in the gut. Absolutely stunning.
My favorite song by Croce is not one that a lot of people talk about - "Walkin' Back to Georgia." So full of hope, longing, sadness, and determination. Makes me tear every time. I feel like I've been walking back to Georgia for fifteen years now. I wonder if I'll ever get there?
Harry Chapin is another great singer songwriter from that era. “The Cat’s in the Cradle”, “Taxi” are wonderful: or, for a very funny story, “ 30,000 Pounds of Bananas”; are all must listens.
"If I had a box just for wishes, and dreams that'd never come true. The box would be empty except for the memory of how they were answered by you." I first heard this song 48 years ago and loved it then. Jim Croce had a way that made his audience laugh or cry with his lyrics plus the musical excellence that he and Maury M recorded. Three years ago I met a beautiful loving woman and we were inseparable till covid took her life on Oct 10. We filled each others life with love, joy and laughter. I live with the memories of her touch, hear her laughter and long for one more day. I understand how Jim's wife felt when the news came that his plane crashed. Thank you Jim for beautifully expressing how true love feels.
You gotta do "One Less Set of Footsteps". BEST break-up song ever, with some of my favorite lyrics.. You've been talking in silence Well if it's silence you adore There will be one less set of footsteps on your floor Come the morning. Kinda the opposite of "Operator", but IMO just as good. Really, really incredible lyrics. Great guitar work too.
Both songs you've listened to are from his "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" album. This was his first album that wasn't a collaboration with his wife, Ingrid. The first single off of it was the title song. While nothing at all like "Operator" or "Time In A Bottle", it's still a very cool story song, just more upbeat. There's not a weak song on the entire album.
Alex's defense of his S rating was excellent, but I was surprised you guys didn't really touch on the heartbreak of the chorus "There never seems to be enough time..." Oddly, the happy verses are in a minor key and the heartbreak of wasted time switches to major.
One of the most beautiful songs to have been recorded. Just the idea of saving time to use again with somebody you love deeply is incredible, but to put that idea into words so perfectly is pure genius.
The look on Alex's face when Andy dropped the A plus rating. I was waiting for a WWE moment where Alex went with a chair shot to the head or a stone cold stunner. Lol
JIm Croce was so acoustically brilliant in the simplicity he brought to his music. I just realized SO many great artists have died from plane crashes....just so sad but his memory will always live on! thx for sharing Andy & Alex :)
Jim Croce was a national treasure. He a lot of S tier level songs, especially for someone who did relatively young. "Have to Say I love You in a Song" and "I've Got a Name" would be good next listens, but like I said he has quite the catalog.
Time In A bottle perfectly expresses the feeling of shock after hearing that someone who was close passed away-it's abrupt, painful and numbing knowing that your time with that person has passed and you can never get it back-it's gone.
Jim Croce is "S".... I also love "Operator" better but this song, of course, we have to give props ...it is wonderful. But I seriously enjoy "Operator." In that song, he has kind of dealt with it and is coping. Lyrics from "Operator" ...I've overcome the blow, I've learned to take it well I only wish my words could just convince myself that it just wasn't real but that's not the way it feels. Whew! Powerful! ❤
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Was awesome checking out more Jim Croce! What should we hit next from him?! 🔥🙌🏻
You should hit your next YES song before another Jim Croce!!!!
I got a name
Without a doubt 'You don't mess around with Jim'. You will LOVE IT. Great groove, and a story to boot.
"Lovers Cross" "I Got a Name"
I’ve heard this song hundreds of times and it still leaves me wrecked every single time. Next - “I’ll Have to Say I Love You In a Song.”
The rating really doesn't matter. I guarantee that you will listen to that song for years and it will only become even more meaningful as they go by.
Yes agree 😁
No truer words have been spoken!
Agree. I still have my original copy of this album and even though I haven’t listened to it in a while I remembered every word & note. Such a great story teller & another one taken from us way too soon.
This is truth. As Andy and Alex age and gain life experience, new nuances of meaning will open up with these songs.
Absolutely agree.
If this song doesn't move you to tears, you don't have a soul. Jim wrote the song in 1970 when his wife told him she was pregnant. He died in a plane crash 3 years later.
Vale, Jim.
Shoutout to Croce's lead guitarist, the phenomenal Maury Muehleisen.
Yes!!! what a great songwriting and guitar partnership they had.
Youre so right...fantastic
Sadly Maury passed away in the same plane crash that took Jim Croce. Such a tragic loss.
One thing I've always loved about the guitar in this song is that - to me anyway - it sounds like clockwork.
Nice call.
The thing about "Time in a Bottle" is the fact you never lose the feeling for the song. "Operator" is about romantic love, Time in a Bottle changes as you go through life. As people come and go the song will still bring you a strong emotional feeling. Young- romantic love, young adult-your children, older adult- family and it last when your old like me-all those that have gone on before 👵
Well said!
Ditto. Well said.
Beautiful comment!
Yes, exactly.
This is how I feel about my dad. He showed me this song. Now its about him for me.
Me watching at 3:20 "They're about to hear one of the best lyrics of the 70s"
"If I had a box just for wishes, and dreams that'd never come true. The box would be empty except for the memory of how they were answered by you."
Alex: "Dude goosebumps."
Me: "Yup!"
Exactly, right on the mark.
Solid.
Not just of the 70's. One of the best lyrical phrases of all time!
Ur absolutely correct. Except a lot and even I didn't know at the songs release it was about his. I used it as a lover or wife. But meaning is the same either way
The VH1 behind the music on Jim and Ingrid Croce is great and on TH-cam. It would be a nice change of pace if a reaction channel reacted to something like that. It tells the story behind this and other hits of his.
This song takes on new meaning when you learn that Jim wrote the song in December of 1970 after his wife told him, she was pregnant. Less than 3 years later, Jim died in a plane crash at age 30.
Those facts completely change this song from a sweet love song to a classic, tragic tear jerker. Just think about it: Time was the one thing that this master songwriter, husband and father didn't have.
This is one of the very few songs that can bring me to tears. If you know the back story about how he died young, leaving a wife and young child, it makes it that much more powerful for me.
As I sit here, welling up…✌🏻
The line that gets me. "I've looked around enough to know that you're the one I wanna go through time with"
The guitar almost seems to be weeping right along with us. I remember how heartbroken I was when he died. Awesome song, from an awesome artist.
Amen. The world wept.
It's Photographs and Memories that gets me thinking this way.
To me, "Time In A Bottle" is more heartbreaking than "Operator".
When you lose someone to death, whether it's a family member, friend, or pet, you wish you could have stopped time and keep living with them.
re: "My heart didn't fully understand it, yet." Well, Andy, he wrote it for his child. Per Wikipedia, "Croce wrote the lyrics after his wife Ingrid told him she was pregnant, in December 1970. It appeared on his 1972 ABC debut album You Don't Mess Around with Jim and was featured in the 1973 ABC made-for-television movie She Lives!. ABC originally did not intend to release the song as a single; but when Croce was killed in a plane crash in September 1973, its lyrics, dealing with mortality and the wish to have more time, had additional resonance."
The general aesthetic of the song is as "A+" or "S-Tier" as it gets. So, you're not wrong for giving it an "A+." When you know the rest of the story, I think it's S-Tier.
Some day, when you become a parent, it will be beyond "S-Tier."
Exactly! I have two sons (eleven and ten) and I constantly think about my mortality, wanting to be alive to see them as adults. As soon as this song starts, I think about my two kids and how I need to savor every moment with them.
@@gregorykrug8034 Yep! Every moment, every day. Two girls here: 11 and 7.
I’m not a parent but this song hits me every single time…✌🏻
@@chrisdelisle3954 Hold them tight!
Loves me some "Lover's Cross"
This song has great meaning to me. Back in 1997, my dad called me at work to tell me that my mother had passed away. I immediately left work to go home and make arrangements to fly back for her funeral and this was the first song that came on the radio in my car on the way home. About halfway into the song, I had to pull over because I was crying too hard to drive. I still go back to that day every time I hear this song.
I'm sorry for your loss
Beautiful…
I am so sorry for your loss!
And all "if onlys" still sitting there waiting.
This song was released and topped the charts posthumously. He was killed in a plane crash after performing a makeup show for LSU and fulfilling a promise. You’re the best guys.
Not to nitpick, but it was Northwestern State University, not LSU. Such a tragic story!
Jim despised the music industry as well and was going get out of the business so he could spend more time with his family.
Jim was taken from us FAR too soon. Such a poet...
Last name is pronounced crow-che
@@markpalfenier5851 Not according to the man...
th-cam.com/video/_FEnDx_gaCI/w-d-xo.html
I had always thought that also until this was shown to me.
This guy was just stellar. "I've Got A Name" and "Lover's Cross" are especially wonderful. Thanks for checking out this genre, guys!
Yes. Lover's Cross. Somehow I didn't hear that song until a few years. One of my favorites now.
Absolutely! "Lover's Cross" is a terrific song that's very underappreciated.
Something nice.
Love his music! Been one of my favorite musicians and composers for years.✌
Hit those for sure...!
For fun and good songs try “Bad Bad LeRoy Brown” and “Don’t Mess Around With Jim”, both hits and well loved by fans! Another one more like this you’d love is “I’ve Got A Name”.
Great choice asking for "I Got a Name"... I really love that one!
Don't forget about the Roller Derby queen. : )
@@blanetalk My favorite Croce song. The bass in it is amazing too.
How were these not the first two songs to try?
@@blanetalk , my actual favorite by Croce.
Jim Croce was just one of the many great singer/songwriters of the '70's, along with Harry Chapin, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Carole King, Cat Stevens, Gordon Lightfoot, and Joni Mitchell. 👏👍✌️
I love Harry Chapin and I haven't come across any reviewer that has listened to him. I'll have to dig further, because I'd love to fine one.
Him and James Taylor are very comparable. My mum used to play me Taylor’s greatest hits to put me to sleep. Im still moved by his music. With those years of listening to Taylor, it’s heart wrenching listening to Croce, especially knowing he was gone extraordinarily soon. There’s very few artist’s death that make me sadder tbh, his potential was massive. Only John Bonham comes immediately to mind as sadder. What a tragedy, but even more so, what a man.
He died just as this song came out..so freaky given the words!
How does that impact Andy’s rating..that was the context of how we first heard it
An artist gone way too soon, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas
Completely agree. Andy, does it change your rating?
This became our song when it came out way back when! It will be 49 years February 14 th !
Jim was part of the whole singer songwriter genre, that you definitely won't find today. This song is simply gorgeous.
Question - did any of the early 70's singer songwriter types have continued success? Obviously Croce died so he couldn't.
Do you not like Gregory Alan Isakov?
@@brianmiller1077 great question. James Taylor? Paul Simon. Maybe, once they set the bar so high I think people expect a hit you in the heart song each time which isn't possible. ?
@@brianmiller1077 Would you count Dylan, John Denver, Jackson Brown? Interesting that many didn't... Harry Chapin, Cat Stevens, John Prine, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, but they all have deep list of greatest hits.
Singer songwriter you won’t find today? You need to get out more.
He wrote this song for his infant son AJ. He died not long afterward. The song hits so hard once you become a parent, believe me. Check out the cover that AJ Croce did of this song. Right in the feels.
We recently saw his son perform. Skills! Only played one of his father’s covers (I’m embarrassed to say I don’t recall which one), but his set was stellar. And his backstory just takes this to another level.
Timeless songwriting.
The problem I've always had with this story is the lyric "I've looked around enough to know that you're the one I want to go through time with". You don't "look around" for your children, that's a line you write for a significant other.
Still, one of the greatest songs of all times. And yes, it's an easy S Tier.
One Less Set of Footsteps, Lover's Cross, Photographs and Memories. Can't go wrong with anything you choose.
My head says “suggest one of his more upbeat songs, they’re fun!”, but my heart says “they need to hear I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song and New York’s Not My Home!”.
I'm torn between New Yorks Not My Home, and I Got a Name. Great call though Stephen :)
@@kathygreager2761 yes, those are the two I would recommend also.
Andy and Alex- spreading love and closing the generation gap one song at a time.
Preach! I'll give you an Amen!
Jim "Crow Chee" is how they pronounced it back in the day. "Don't mess around with Jim" and "Bad, bad Leroy Brown" have been mentioned and should be visited.......great storytelling in these two.
I laugh everytime Alex tries to say his name. They should diffently get your song mentions.
Thanks for clarifying how Croce and the deejays back in the day pronounced his name.
It doesn't matter how many times I hear this one, I still get teary eyed when I hear it. This time made no exception. My favorite Croce. And there are zero bad Croce's.
I do too.
Me too this always makes me tear up. That being said, have a loving, giving Merry Christmas🎄
Me too. Hits me right in the feels.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Yup, this song never fails to stir me from the time it first played on the radio. The kicker was when I visited my big brother, whom I admire and rarely get to spend time with; we sat down together at his piano and this one popped up in his play books. Again, a tear came to my eye as I followed the lyrics while he played. Jim Croce was a master of emotion in this one!
Andy would dig “I’ve got a name”.
Alex will give it an S.
Agree.
The next storyteller needs to be Harry Chapin - Taxi.
I was just thinking about how Cats in the Cradle, Tangled Up Puppet, A Better Place to Be, WOLD, Mr. Tanner would impact these two. More master storytelling.
Yes!
He wrote several “fun” songs that are worth checking out. Rapid Roy the Stock Car Boy, Roller Derby Queen, and one of my favorites Working at the Car Wash Blues.
Glad to see love for "Working at the Car Wash Blues." That song can put a smile on my face no matter how bad things get around me.
I started with Croce with Time in a Bottle, but now, it's these that always get turned up in the car. Car Wash Blues is so great!
This was the quintessential wedding song for a while. It’s beautiful.
Followed by the divorce song. Bad bad Leroy Brown
For sure, I have played this song live, at many weddings.
This dude is the only artist that died early that I'm confident would have created many many more hits. He's got like 20 great songs, and he only put out like 2 albums.
otis redding too
For me his song "Photographs & Memories" has always pulled hard at the heartstrings; even when I was a kid I realized there was something special and meaningful about those lyrics. Even though they are more in line with a relationship falling apart, the lyrics mean even more to me these days after having lost grandparents and parents, numerous friends over the years and as of last year losing my wife... the song is very poignant.
Beautiful song.
I am so sorry for your losses. My heart has some understanding of your sense of loss, as I have them as well-my grandparents, parents, my beloved husband of 21 years and too many friends to count now. I kind of wonder if Andy has not yet lost someone he is close to, since he is pretty young. Maybe that is why he could not relate to the song as much. Andy fully got it. Again, I am sorry for the loss of your wife and other loved ones. (Revelation 21:3, 4)
@@SandraHof Thank you Sandra...and my my thoughts are with you as well. Have a great holiday season!
Please accept my condolences. I completely agree with your comment regarding Photographs and Memories. That song takes you back to all of the important people and moments in your life. It was such a gift.
Very Well, said. That resonates with so many here, I think, now that we are in the age where losses have become a more regular almost permanent part of our lives.
He wrote the song for his pregnant wife. It was release 2 weeks after his death which occurred days before his sons 2nd Birthday. TRAGIC
Jim Croce was such a good song writer. His music can be divided into love songs, break up songs, and telling up beat music stories about characters who are on the seamier side of life. My favorite character song is "You don't mess around with Jim." A great break up song is Lover's Cross. Before you leave Jim Croce, I highly recommend those two songs
"You Don't Mess Around with Jim" and "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" are bookends to his lighter side. Both are way different than the two songs you've done before. They are almost like a different artist in a different genre but still A+ to S tier for what they bring to the table.
Those are my two favorites!
Good picks
Thanks, Andy! Thanks, Alex! 💎 #AndyAndAlex #JimCroce #TimeInABottle
I sang this song to my cat as he died, very young, due to cancer. He was a cool little buddy, and I wish we had more time together. He was a stray I found injured and broken from an animal attack, doctor said fox or raccoon, and nursed him back to health, even saving his leg. We couldn't beat cancer though. Even the doctor cried. She said he fought so hard and never was grumpy about it.
Great song by Croce, but it makes me sad.
I started to think of my dog that I lost to cancer last January. At this time last year, she was going through chemotherapy. I was driving her 70 miles to Philly every 2 weeks for her chemo. Initially she responded well, but as we approached Christmas, she started to back track and get worse. She ended up having a major permanent seizure. I drove her to Philly with my wife and oldest daughter to have her put to sleep. We said our last "goodbyes". I watched the doctor wheel her body down the hallway and around the corner. As she slipped out of view that final time, I just broke down.
I wish we had another 3 or 4 years together. However, I am comforted that I never took her for granted and I made the most of the time we had.
Oh my…I’m so sorry. How heartbreaking. 😢
❤️
@@spanieaj Yeah, I get it. We tried so hard to save our cat, Barnaby. When the vet was running tests on him she thought she may have to sedate him, but Barnaby just purred the whole time. I guess he knew the vet was trying to help. We'll both see our friends someday, in the great hereafter. Take care brother!
@@venitaspringman9578 Hey was my little buddy. He would come running to see me when I got home and he would tell me about his day. He was quite chatting, in the sweetest way. Yeah, we need to destroy cancer with much prejudice!
My husband was one of the Vets who died on a VA waiting list. He was in a hospital bed in our room and out of it. This song and one other were two rock songs he'd tolerate. I put this on and about the last two lines I felt such overwhelming sense of loneliness. It took me a minute to realize he had died and it was the silence. Great song, had to pass on it. Hope you guys enjoyed it.
My heart goes out to you. ❤
Sister my condolences. I have lived Jim’s music all my life. Jim was a vet also. Your husband was blessed in that he had you. I thank you both for your service - Im a veterans mentor in Miami. I served 83-90. Thank you.
@@greggonzalez859 Thanks for the condolences. I'm going to be looking for what benefits there are on the new bill. His cancer being a direct results of burn pits in Iraq. We will see. As a Veteran myself, I'll be looking for the local organizations for help in filing the claim.
2 things. 1, it was written for his son while he was on the raod. 2, My wife and I were married to this song 42 years ago. Great song , thanks.
"Jim Croce? Man, he was tuned into something that the rest of us just don't get to see." - Jerry Reed
Thank you SO MUCH, guys, for playing this AMAZING song by the late, great Jim Croce ( Crow-chee).
ETA: there are two other songs by Croce that were much loved by me when I was a kid, Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown (or maybe just Leroy Brown),
and You Don't Mess Around With Jim. Check them out. They were both also very popular songs by Jim Croce.
One of a kind artist for sure, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas
@@jeremiahrose4681 Thank you, so much! You have a wonderful Christmas and New Year's, too!💖💖😘😘👋👋👋
@@badkitty4922 Always, this years Christmas will be extra special this year....counting the day until then.
Aren't they the same song?
@@debbiedebbie761 no. Look him up in YT, both songs should be there. They're both cool, lighthearted songs.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year!💖😘🙏👍👍👋👋👋
Jim's lookalike son AJ grew up to be a singer-songwriter too. He sounds a lot like his dad. It's especially touching to hear him sing Jim's song "I Got a Name."
"I Got a Name" was released as a single the day after he died in 1973.
You think? I heard him once and thought he sounded like Tom Waits or something...nothing like Jim. Maybe that was an anomaly?
“I’ve Got A Name” and "You Don’t Mess Around With Jim" are two more very personal Croce songs, the first a rumination and the second a brag. Pick one!
And then the other, both of these should be hit by A&A
CROW-CHEE No dislikes. You guys have a great audience.
Try something from him a little more upbeat and fun. “Don’t Mess Around with Jim” or “Bad Bad Leroy Brown”
Oh yes, can't wait for them to sample these songs also. 💚 Love the humor along with the huge talent.
Absolutely MUST DO!!!! ASAP
I was going to make pretty much the same comment verbatim before I read it. Weird. Same two songs and everything.
Both are a must do!
Yes. They need to catch that flip-side of Croce.
Photographs And Memories is my favorite Jim Croce song. You should give it a listen.
One of the best from the era of the singer songwriter.
I just can't say enough about Jim Croce; his style, his guitar, his voice, his passion, and his humility. I'm 62 now but I loved him at 17 and it hasn't changed a bit since then. The picture of his baby boy was featured on an album that was released after he died. I wept. More than once. Just so good.
Exactly, and to think what else he could have given us and his family had he had lived.
As a toddler (50 years ago), I would cry every time it came on the radio. It’s just such a touching song, you don’t even even have to understand the lyrics to feel its impact.
The next Croce song should be "I'll have to say I Love you in a Song"
Absolutely - one of his best songs. And the back story to how it was written...
What I love about this song is its timelessness; you could go back in time 500 years and sing it word-for=word and note-for-note and everybody would understand its meaning.
I've ALWAYS loved this song since High School ('74 grad.) ❤ HUGE Croce (pronounced Crow-chee) fan; still mourn his passing...💔 This song was for and about his son, who has followed in his footsteps, but couldn't bring himself to do this song for a very long time...
I'm not going to spread this love on any particular comment - rather, I'll just say that I love how the A&A community is POSITIVE no matter if they agree or disagree. This is a beautiful place and, fellas, you guys are the best. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to A&A and all of the A&A'ers.
"Bad Bad Leroy Brown" is a must! Along with "I'll have to say I love you in a song" Both great songs
Oh, I LOVE "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song!"
Leroy Brown is a must precisely because it is so unbelievably different from this and Operator. (And Andy is wrong with his A+ :D)
Friends, please shout-out the guitarist by name - MAURY MUEHLEISEN ("mule-high-zen"), he died in the same plane crash with Jim. They combination of their talent was just so transcendent - take a look at any of their live work together to see that amazing chemistry. For fun, you might want to listen to "Roller Derby Queen" or "Working at the Car Wash Blues," but all of his "heartbreaking" songs are brilliant. "New York's Not My Home," "Box #10," "Alabama Rain," "One Less Set of Footsteps." Also, "I've Got a Name."
Beautiful comment. Rest in peace Maury Muehleisen. 🙏♥️
I have loved Jim Croce since 1972. I enjoy watching you guys love it too. I got my goosebumps right before Alex said he got his. So cool. I did get a smile about the rating argument, only this kind of song can solicit the comment that A+ is not enough. Enjoy guys
True. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas
There is no wrong way to go from here, everything in his catalog is gold!
Croce was an amazing storyteller. You've done 2 of his best 3 songs. You need to react to Bad Bad Leroy Brown, his most popular song.
He wrote this song for his unborn son, and later had an untimely death. I've listened to this song my whole life, and always liked it but didn't think much past assuming it was a romantic love song. Then, I had two sons of my own. I fear for them, celebrate them, worry about them, feel pride in them, and give them my all. This song is how I feel when I realize they're now becoming men, and I can't have the innocence and joy of their "little years" back. My little boys are gone. Then, I learned the story being this song, and now can't hear it without tearing-up. S-tier, for sure, but it came to me over time.
I tell you this with absolute LOVE and AFFECTION:
Even with my two favorite bobble-heads bobbing along, this beautiful song still reduces me to tears streaming down my face!
Happy Holidays!⏳🕰♥🎧🎁🎄🎆🎅💝😏
I second!!! “Bad Bad LeRoy Brown” and “Don’t Mess Around With Jim”
Here's a song that always got to me. I remember when I was in the military and I'm from AZ and stationed in NY; this song came on and it always hit me like a ton of bricks: "New York's not my Home".
“Photographs and Memories” is a beautiful song.
I love guitar harmonics, so I always have a soft spot for songs that use it. This song is on that list.
Jim was in the army, a truck driver and special education teacher before making it big. I guess that's why his songs resonate with the everyday man.
Brilliance. Let the happy tears flow. I do love this song, but understand the differing rating. It's all how it hits you through life and what you're going through, yes? Keep this song in your playlist, you'll need it one day. :) Have a great Wednesday. Catch ya later! 💖✌️😊
Spreading love in the comments, Lisa 🥰❤🤗
@@susanklasinski1805 I was just heading to you! Great minds, girl... haha 🤗💝🌹😊
I think Operator has a tragic/sad drama feel about it. They are both exceptional songs but strike different heartstrings.
Jim has several "fun" songs that are great, but his "love songs" are stellar S tier stuff. RIP the great Jim Croce.
"I'll have to say I love you in a song" is to me the greatest love song ever recorded. But Jim's has S tier upbeat songs too, "I got a name", " Rapid Roy". Leroy Brown and you don't mess around with Jim are good upbeat songs, but a little gimmicky, less artistic than many of his songs.
Exactly. All my favorite of his are the serious songs. BUT, all his funny story songs are really great too.
He's gonna break our hearts...
Yes, and heal them too. His voice = love.
GOOOOOOOD MORNING A&A FAMILY!!
☮️❤️♾️
Good Morning, @John H!
@@allisonreed7682 morning Allison 🥰
Spreading love ❤ in the comments 🥰
Watch this again with the video of him playing with his son. It’ll break your heart.
BTW: His guitarist was sadly lost in the same place crash.
Not surprised at Andy's reaction to "Time in a Bottle"; I have never been that crazy about it. I'm going to immediately go listen to "Don't Mess Around With Jim" as a palate cleanser.
Agree. Don't get me wrong, I like the song, but it probably rates about 8-9th of my favorite Jim Croce songs.
Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot, Harry Chapin….
Nothing but class.
Not a deep cut, but not as chart hitting was “Walkin’ Back to Georgia”. Absolutely beautiful song in this same vein of sincere and meaningful songs.
He actually wrote it for his son A.J. who was very young when Jim Croce died
The Croce's lived just around the corner from my buddy in the 80's in Pt. Loma, a really nice community here in San Diego. I believe his wife still lives in the same house.
Growing up in the era that I did we could go from deep purple to david bowie to jim croce to queen to pink floyd to otis reding etc....., it didn't matter. Good music was good music and we had a ton of good music. Songs that are still relevant today and will be in another 40-50 years. It was an awesome time to be alive.
Closing your eyes and waving your heads like that is absolutely the correct way to listen to this song. Not many people can nail it like on their first try, you guys seem to know what you're doing here.
Love Jim Croce as apparently it’s shared by you both. Died much to young. I will continue to promote Dan Folgeberg, who also passed away in his prime. Folgeberg is an awesome storyteller with songs like Leader of the Band (tribute to his father) and Same Ol Lang Syne (about running into an old lover on Christmas Eve). Also Harry Nillson has been mentioned (Without You). I know I have promoted these artists in the past and will continue.As they say, persistence pays off.
Awesome suggestion
Peace and joy to one and all!!!
Of course, the tragedy of his death makes this song even more timeless…
One of my favorite songs!
Next go ‘round with Jim “Crow-chee”, let’s change the flavor a little… how ‘bout Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy) or You Don’t Mess Around With Jim?!?
(I know the parentheses will grab your attention… it’s a grrreat story!)
Jim Croce
Harry Chapin
James Taylor
Gordon Lightfoot
John Denver
Pick a card, any card...
I’d like to add to your list Dan Fogelberg 😀
All of the above AND Cat Stevens
My parent's used to play this song when I was a child and I would get the feels. I'm fifty-four now and it is still a punch in the gut. Absolutely stunning.
This song was written when Croce found out his wife was pregnant. Turns out the boy, A.J. Croce, is also a musician.
My favorite song by Croce is not one that a lot of people talk about - "Walkin' Back to Georgia." So full of hope, longing, sadness, and determination. Makes me tear every time. I feel like I've been walking back to Georgia for fifteen years now. I wonder if I'll ever get there?
"Walkin' Back to Georgia" & "Box #10" are 2 of his lesser known gems.
Harry Chapin is another great singer songwriter from that era. “The Cat’s in the Cradle”, “Taxi” are wonderful: or, for a very funny story, “ 30,000 Pounds of Bananas”; are all must listens.
This song never gets old. My favorite Jim Croce songs , I got a Name, Photographs and Memories and You Don't Mess Around with Jim
First!!!!! Love love love Croce!!!
When you guys gonna tap
Harry Chapin’s LIVE catalogue ???
Well done.
Oooh, that's a really good suggestion!👍👋👋👋
Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year's holiday!💖💖😘😘👍👍
@@IZZY_EDIBLE I agree! Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year's holiday!💖💖😘😘👍👍
"If I had a box just for wishes, and dreams that'd never come true. The box would be empty except for the memory of how they were answered by you." I first heard this song 48 years ago and loved it then. Jim Croce had a way that made his audience laugh or cry with his lyrics plus the musical excellence that he and Maury M recorded. Three years ago I met a beautiful loving woman and we were inseparable till covid took her life on Oct 10. We filled each others life with love, joy and laughter. I live with the memories of her touch, hear her laughter and long for one more day. I understand how Jim's wife felt when the news came that his plane crashed. Thank you Jim for beautifully expressing how true love feels.
You gotta do "One Less Set of Footsteps". BEST break-up song ever, with some of my favorite lyrics..
You've been talking in silence
Well if it's silence you adore
There will be one less set of footsteps on your floor
Come the morning.
Kinda the opposite of "Operator", but IMO just as good. Really, really incredible lyrics. Great guitar work too.
That song has one of the greatest lines of all time: "After all it's what we've done, that makes us what we are..."
@@jeffcoat1959 Sooooo many good lines.
@music-two-my-ears Thank you!
Sobbing! Every time I hear this song, I think of all the people I have loved that are now gone from this world. Including Jim Croce.
Both songs you've listened to are from his "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" album. This was his first album that wasn't a collaboration with his wife, Ingrid. The first single off of it was the title song. While nothing at all like "Operator" or "Time In A Bottle", it's still a very cool story song, just more upbeat.
There's not a weak song on the entire album.
A masterpiece that’s rarely been equalled. Love Croce. Jim had all that time that he treasured, with his love, taken away,. Such an injustice.
Alex's defense of his S rating was excellent, but I was surprised you guys didn't really touch on the heartbreak of the chorus "There never seems to be enough time..." Oddly, the happy verses are in a minor key and the heartbreak of wasted time switches to major.
Yeah, that's ironic.
One of the most beautiful songs to have been recorded. Just the idea of saving time to use again with somebody you love deeply is incredible, but to put that idea into words so perfectly is pure genius.
The look on Alex's face when Andy dropped the A plus rating. I was waiting for a WWE moment where Alex went with a chair shot to the head or a stone cold stunner. Lol
Andy needs a slap! Unplug your ears and open your heart! This song is a beautiful classic love song. One of the most beautiful songs ever written ❤️
Song always bring a tear to my eye, great song by a legend; Can't wait till they do a upbeat Croce song......Roller Derby Queen for instance.
One of the greatest love songs ever written, by one of the late 20th century's greatest songwriters.
A great breakup song "One Less Set Of Footsteps"
Not having the words to express yourself "Have to say I love you in a song"
JIm Croce was so acoustically brilliant in the simplicity he brought to his music. I just realized SO many great artists have died from plane crashes....just so sad but his memory will always live on! thx for sharing Andy & Alex :)
Jim Croce was a national treasure. He a lot of S tier level songs, especially for someone who did relatively young. "Have to Say I love You in a Song" and "I've Got a Name" would be good next listens, but like I said he has quite the catalog.
Time In A bottle perfectly expresses the feeling of shock after hearing that someone who was close passed away-it's abrupt, painful and numbing knowing that your time with that person has passed and you can never get it back-it's gone.
Jim Croce is "S"....
I also love "Operator" better but this song, of course, we have to give props ...it is wonderful. But I seriously enjoy "Operator." In that song, he has kind of dealt with it and is coping. Lyrics from "Operator" ...I've overcome the blow, I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words could just convince myself that it just wasn't real but that's not the way it feels. Whew! Powerful! ❤
A real song writer, RIP