James Joseph "Jim" Croce was an American singer-songwriter with five studio albums and 12 singles to his credit. His posthumously-released fifth studio album was completed just prior to his 1973 death, and seven singles were also posthumously issued, one of which was "Time in a Bottle" from a previous album You Don't Mess Around with Jim. His popularity continued long after his death with the release of numerous compilation albums and "new" material (from the vaults) being portioned out sporadically over the years. Three live albums, as well as a live DVD, have also been published.
Croce's first two studio albums Facets and Croce (aka Jim & Ingrid Croce) did not chart, but his third, You Don't Mess Around with Jim, peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 following his death. This album featured three singles, "You Don't Mess Around with Jim", "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)", and "Time in a Bottle." His fourth album Life and Times peaked at No. 2 in the United States but reached No. 1 in Canada in late December 1973. It featured the singles "One Less Set of Footsteps", "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", and "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way".
"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" achieved great success, reaching the No. 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100. "Time in a Bottle" went from a relatively unknown album cut to a posthumous No. 1 after the boost it received from being featured in the ABC TV-movie She Lives. His fifth album, I Got a Name, was released in December 1973 and reached the No. 2 position in both the United States and Canada. This album would feature the title song "I Got a Name", "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song", and "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues". The song, "I Got a Name" had been released as a single during Croce's lifetime, but "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" became a posthumous number one release when it reached the top position on Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles in 1974.
Several compilation albums such as Down the Highway and The Faces I've Been were released in the mid 1970s, the latter containing unissued and demo recordings from an unreleased album. Two songs from "The Faces I've Been" were released as singles, "Chain Gang Medley" and "Mississippi Lady". They would be his final singles released. Another compilation album, Photographs & Memories became a successful release by reaching No. 1 on the Canadian charts and No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. It also achieved a platinum certification in the United States, and a Gold certification in Hong Kong.
Even after his death, his popularity continued and a demand for unreleased material caused a live album to be released, Jim Croce Live: The Final Tour. It was recorded during the summer of 1973. More demo recordings were released in 2003 on the album Home Recordings: Americana. A DVD featuring live concert footage was also released in 2003, Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live which later spawned a CD featuring the audio from the concert footage.
Studio albums + List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications US CAN AUS Facets Released: 1966 Label: Croce-101; Self-released — — — Jim & Ingrid Croce Released: January 1969 Label: Capitol Records — — — You Don't Mess Around with Jim Released: April 1972 Label: ABC Records 1 1 — US: Gold Life and Times Released: January 1973Strong, Martin Charles & John Peel Great Rock Discography Label: ABC Records 7 1 — US: Gold I Got a Name Released: December 1973 Label: ABC Records 2 2 69 US: Gold "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Live albums + List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications US CAN Jim Croce Live: The Final Tour Released: 1989 Label: Saja — — Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live Released: January 31, 2006 Label: Shout! Factory — — The Lost RecordingsReleased: August 27, 2013 Label: Sony Music — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Compilation albums + List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications US CAN NZ Photographs & Memories: His Greatest Hits Released: September 1974 Label: ABC 2 1 — US: Platinum HK: Gold The Faces I've Been Released: 1975 Label: Lifesong 87 83 — Greatest Hits Released: May 1975 Label: RCA — 35 — CAN: Gold Time in a Bottle: Jim Croce's Greatest Love Songs Released: 1976 Label: Lifesong 170 — — Bad, Bad Leroy Brown: Jim Croce's Greatest Character Songs Released: 1978 Label: Lifesong — — — The Legendary Jim Croce Released: June 1978 Label: Lifesong — — 4 Down the Highway Released: 1980 Label: Saja — — — Collection Released: December 1, 1986 Label: Castle — — —UK: Silver The 50th Anniversary Collection Released: September 22, 1992 Label: Saja — — — Bad, Bad Leroy Brown & Other Favorites Released: 1994 Label: CEMA 116 — — 24 Karat Gold in a Bottle Released: July 15, 1994 Label: DCC Compact Classics — — — The Best of Jim Croce Released: October 27, 1998 Label: Music Club Records — — — Simply the Best: Time in a Bottle – His Greatest HitsReleased: May 25, 1999 Label: Woodford — — — Words and Music Released: September 14, 1999 Label: DCC Compact Classics — — — The Definitive Collection: "Time in a Bottle" Released: May 16, 2000 Label: Essential Records — — — VH1 Behind the Music: The Jim Croce Collection Released: August 21, 2001 Label: Rhino — — — Home Recordings: Americana Released: October 14, 2003 Label: High Coin — — — Classic Hits Released: January 27, 2004 Label: Rhino — — — The Way We Used to Be: The Anthology Released: September 13, 2004 Label: Sanctuary — — — The Very Best of Jim Croce Released: January 15, 2007 Label: Phantom Import Distribution — — — The Original Albums ... Plus Released: July 5, 2011 Label: Edsel Records — — — The Lost Recordings Released: 2011 Label: Sony Music — — — An Introduction to: Jim CroceReleased: March 29, 2019 Label: Rhino Entertainment "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Singles + List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album US US AC US Country CAN CAN AC AUS NL GER FRA 1972 "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" 8 9 — 4 — 80 — —15 You Don't Mess Around with Jim "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" 17 11 — 10 — — — — — 1973 "One Less Set of Footsteps" 37 8 — 41 27 — — — — Life and Times "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" 1 9 — 1 3 19 27 38 — US: Gold "I Got a Name" 10 4 — 8 5 49 25 — — I Got a Name "Time in a Bottle" 1 1 — 1 1 60 — — 106 US: Gold You Don't Mess Around with Jim "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way" 64 — — 47 53 — — — — Life and Times 1974 "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" 9 1 68 4 — 100 29 — — I Got a Name "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" 32 9 — 18 2 — — — — 1975 "Lover's Cross" — — — — — — — — — "Chain Gang Medley" 63 22 — 29 20 — — — — The Faces I've Been 1976 "Mississippi Lady"B — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart BPeaked at 10 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.
Videography
DVDs + List of DVD releases with selected details Title Album detailsHave You Heard: Jim Croce LiveReleased: October 14, 2003 Label: Shout! Factory Format: DVD
Music videos +List of music videosYearTitle2003"Time in a Bottle""I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song"
Tribute albums The Ventures: The Ventures Play the Jim Croce Songbook (1974) Jerry Reed: Jerry Reed Sings Jim Croce (1980) Various Artists: Jim Croce: A Nashville Tribute (1997)
Notes
A "Lover's Cross" was only released as a single in the United Kingdom.
References
External links