On September 20, 1973, Jim Croce was on the cusp of superstardom when he died in a tragic accident. The folk-soft rock singer was just 30 years old when he and five others were killed in a single-engine plane that crashed upon takeoff at Natchitoches Regional Airport in Louisiana, Rolling Stone reported at the time.
The day after his death, Croce’s song “I Got a Name” was released as a posthumous single ahead of the album of the same name. The song, written by legendary songwriting duo Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox, debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 9, 1973, and peaked at No. 10 on November 17 of that year.
Croce had performed the song for fans just one hour before his tragic death. According to Classic Rock, the Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter had finished playing a small show at Northwestern State University just before the plane crash, and for the encore, he introduced his new song titled “I Got A Name.”
Croce’s son, AJ, told the outlet that the song “meant a lot” to his late father. “The content related to his own life as a first-generation Italian/American kid growing up in South Philly,” he said. “Becoming a hobo gypsy musician wasn’t considered a respectable profession. Dad had a master’s degree – he was the first one to go to college. His father thought he was throwing his life away. He had to fight the family to pursue his dream.”
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‘I Got a Name’ was featured in a movie two months before it was released as a single
“I Got a Name’ was the theme song for the race car movie The Last American Hero, which was released in July 1973. The song played over the opening credits of the Jeff Bridges film.
Croce’s widow, Ingrid, told Songfacts that “I Got a Name” was a rare song that her late husband recorded but didn’t write. “Jim had been selected to sing this song for this particular movie. He really enjoyed this opportunity,” she recalled. “Putting down the guitar to sing, just to sing the song in the studio, was a very unusual thing for Jim, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a brand new start for him in some ways, to use his vocals in a different way. I think it’s one of the most powerful songs he does on that album for sure.”
Croce only performed the song a handful of times to promote the movie and his upcoming single. On September 14, 1973, he performed “I Got a Name” live on the NBC variety show The Midnight Special, less than a week before his death.
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