James Joseph Croce was born on 10 January 1943 in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, right outside of Philadelphia. Graduating in 1960, he studied at Malvern Preparatory School for a year before enrolling at Villanova University, majoring in psychology and minoring in German, and discovering an interest in music when he became a leader of the campus singing group The Villanova Singers. Using a $500 wedding gift from Croce's parents, who set a condition that the money must be spent to make an album as they believed that he would give up music after the album failed, he released his first album, 'Facets', in 1966, with 500 copies being pressed. Despite his parents misgivings, the album proved to be a success, and every copy was sold. Croce married his girlfriend Ingrid Jacobson in 1966, and from the mid-1960's to the early 1970's, Croce and his wife performed as a duo, initially including songs by artists such as Ian & Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot, Joan Baez, and Arlo Guthrie, but they eventually began writing their own music. In 1968, the Croces were encouraged by record producer Tommy West to move to New York City, and they recorded their first album, 'Jim & Ingrid Croce', for Capitol Records. Becoming disillusioned by the music business and New York City, they sold all but one guitar to pay their rent and returned to the Pennsylvania countryside, settling in an old farm in Lyndell.
When Croce discovered that he and Ingrid were going to have a child, he became more determined to make music his profession, and so he sent a cassette of his new songs to a friend who was a producer in New York City in the hope that he could get a record deal. In 1972, Croce signed a three-record contract with ABC Records, releasing two albums, 'You Don't Mess Around With Jim' and 'Life And Times', with the singles of the title track and 'Time In A Bottle' from the first record receiving some airplay. He toured the United States, performing in large coffee houses and college campuses, but his financial situation remained precarious, as the record company had fronted him the money to record, and much of his earnings went to repay the advance. In 1973 he performed in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Zurich and Dublin, and in July the single 'Bad, Bad Leroy Brown' reached No. 1 on the American charts. This propelled his name into the public orbit, and a few astute artists recorded covers of his early songs, in particular 'Time In A Bottle', which has become something of a classic song for him. Other tracks from 'Life And Times' continued to be picked up and covered over the next 40 years, and every one of them has now been tackled by a wide variety of artists, so here is a re-interpretation of Croce's second album of 1972, with two of his most famous tracks tagged on the end to flesh out a rather short album.
01 One Less Set Of Footsteps (Tom Swift 2011)
02 Roller Derby Queen (Pat Surface 2022)
03 Dreamin' Again (Marisa Malvino 2010)
04 Careful Man (Jerry Reed 1980)
05 Alabama Rain (Steiner Albrigtsen 2011)
06 A Good Time Man Like Me Ain't Got No Business (Singin' The Blues) (Randy Howard 1976)
07 Next Time, This Time (Mary Hopkin 2008)
08 Bad, Bad Leroy Brown (Justin Tubb 1974)
09 These Dreams (Maggie's Guitar 2008)
10 Speedball Tucker (Nancy Sinatra 2008)
11 It Doesn't Have To Be That Way (Frank Chiafari 2012)
12 I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song (Mary Travers 1974)
13 Time In A Bottle (Glen Campbell 1999)
