I GOT A NAME, THE JIM CROCE STORY

At once a moving love story and a revealing portrait of Jim Croce’s life & times.

In this intimate memoir, Jim Croce’s widow and singing partner, Ingrid Croce, presents a behind-the-scenes chronicle of the legendary singer-songwriter of such #1 hits as “Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown” and “Time in a Bottle.”

DESCRIPTION

“I hope in reading this book you come to understand that although Jim was far from perfect, his greatest flaws derived from the same source as his greatest gifts. He wanted to make everyone happy. I know he will be with me forever.” Ingrid Croce

Jim Croce was at the height of his career when his life was cut short in a plane crash while on tour. For the first time, I Got a Name reveals the man behind the denim jackets and signature mustache — a hard-working, wry charmer who was also beset with exhaustion at the sheer magnitude of his own success.

I Got a Name tells the rollicking true story of becoming a folk music legend, giving readers full access to everyone who knew and loved Jim Croce, including buddies Jimmy Buffett and Arlo Guthrie. Written in the honest, clear voice of Ingrid Croce, along with musician and writer Jimmy Rock, I Got A Name is an unforgettable, bittersweet, and deeply personal biography that is also, at its core, a ballad — the love story of Jim & Ingrid.

Written in the honest, clear voice of Jim Croce’s widow and singing partner Ingrid Croce, along with her musician husband, Jimmy Rock, I Got A Name is an unforgettable, bittersweet, and deeply personal biography of the talented songwriter behind “Time in a Bottle” and “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim.”

Vividly recreating Jim Croce’s journey as a young, talented musician driving trucks and honing his craft in dive bars, Ingrid’s intimate, behind-the-scenes portrait details what went into becoming a “folk music” legend. In the full chaos of the ‘60s and early ‘70s counterculture, we meet Jim’s buddies, Arlo Guthrie and Jimmy Buffett, a host of troubadours, lovers, eccentric friends, and the real-life inspirations for the grittier, larger-than-life characters who inhabit such hits as “Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown.”

But the heart of I Got A Name is the ballad of Jim and Ingrid, a love story that is touching in its heartfelt innocence, even as Ingrid deals with the temptations of the touring musician’s lifestyle that Jim was unable to resist. Ingrid has not — and never will — give death an ounce of sympathy or retreat one little bit from the full acknowledgment of what love truly is: a part of herself in the form of Jim Croce. The details of this book are about Jim and Ingrid, but the story is about anyone who has had the good fortune and unbelievable luck to find someone who will tell it with love.

“So I say to my old friend, Jim. “Buddy, you got more than a name. You’ve got yourself one hell of a gal.” Arlo Guthrie

DETAILS

WEIGHT: N/A

DIMENSIONS: 5.5 x 1 x 8.8 inches

AUTHOR: Ingrid Croce and Jimmy Rock

PUBLISHER: Da Capo Press

LANGUAGE: English

ISBN-10: 0306821788

ISBN-13: 978-0306821783

AUTHENTICATION

Your copy of I Got A Name will be personally autographed & inscribed by Ingrid Croce.

REVIEWS

“Ingrid paints a loving yet honest and revealing picture of Jim Croce’s musical career and their life together…More memoir than biography, the book is better for this intensely personal perspective…A heartfelt, compelling read. Recommended.”
Library Journal

“I Got a Name: The Jim Croce Story is the best biography of Croce that we’re likely to ever get. Ingrid Croce, Jim’s widow, and her husband Jimmy Rock have given us the Jim Croce that most of us never knew. When we learn details about his relationships with his parents, his wife, and the blue-collar denizens of his working life, Jim’s songs acquire even more depth upon listening to them again. Ingrid Croce does an admirable job of straddling the line between objective biographer and key player in the events she writes about. In order to understand Jim, we have to understand Ingrid, and vice versa. This is not a sugar-coated story at all. Neither Jim nor Ingrid is presented as saintly, although both of them come across as complex and appealing.”
Gary Andersen, Goodreads

“A portrait of a man who set most responsibilities aside to devote every waking hour to his music…reads like diary entries but overall lends revealing insight into the struggle to the top and the subsequent pressure to stay there. The machinations of the recording business, especially from an all-too-familiar cheat-the-artist standpoint, are eye-opening.”
Buffalo News

“An insightful look at the denim-jacketed/handlebar-mustachioed man and his music…[A] book length look at Jim Croce is welcome and long overdue, and few would argue that anyone knew him better than this tome’s co-author.”
Houston Press

“This passionate and revealing book is recommended to anyone who wishes to pursue a life in the music industry, or anyone involved with a person doing so.”
Portland Book Review

“I’ve always loved the music of Jim Croce and was eager to find out more about his life, so needless to say I was thrilled to discover this book at my local book store. Written by his widow Ingrid Croce, this is a superb chronicle of one of America’s best singer/songwriters. When I finished this great biography, I actually emailed Ingrid Croce and expressed my thanks for writing such a heart felt tribute to her late husband. She was kind enough to send me a wonderful reply.”
J.K. Grice, Goodreads

“As heartfelt as it is sometimes wrenching, I Got a Name is both a loving homage and a
no-holds-barred examination of the late Jim Croce.”
San Diego Union-Times