As you probably know, the 25th anniversary of Jim Croce's death was September of 1998.
VH-1 has given us the completely inaccurate and totally surface version of Jim's musical life (according to Ingrid Croce) in their BEHIND THE MUSIC series. We've always felt that the real story lies in the fact that Jim's music came very close to never being heard.  The public knows very little about the music business and the inner workings and politics that are part of the industry. Jim's short career is a great example of what goes on in the world in which we all live.

If you have the time, take a look at what we have written. we'd love to hear your ideas as to how this story could be brought to light. It's certainly a story that will inform an audience about the personalities and circumstances, which exist in a world, that's both fascinating and mysterious to them. Jim And Maury still have many loyal fans out there who should know this story.

September of 1998  marked the 25 th anniversary  of the death of Jim Croce.  although his recording career was relatively short, his impact on popular music has been meaningful and lasting. We still hear TIME IN A BOTTLE, BAD, BAD LEROY BROWN and OPERATOR, all of which Jim composed, on television and radio. He also wrote YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM and I'LL HAVE TO SAY I LOVE YOU IN A SONG and put his unique stamp on I GOT A NAME, which he did not write. His work combines an ability to write and perform both funky "character songs" and sensitive love songs. His songs can make you laugh and cry. Jim's voice and music have become part of the culture and, yet, few people know that, because of the way the recording industry  works, Jim Croce's records came perilously close to oblivion. This ironic story of rejection, triumph and tragedy is the one we would like to tell.

Jim attended Villanova University in the early 1960's where he met Tommy West, who along with Terry Cashman, produced all of Croce's records. Cashman, West and Gene Pistilli had established themselves in the music business in New York in the late '60's. They had written some hits: SUNDAY WILL NEVER BE THE SAME for SPANKY AND OUR GANG, SUASALITO for AL MARTINO, MEDICINE MAN for THE BUCHANAN BROTHERS and
BUT FOR LOVE for EDDY ARNOLD. Cashman, Pistilli and West, along with the legendary Nic Venet, produced an ill-fated album with Jim and his wife Ingrid for Capitol Records in 1968. The failure of their record left the Croce's disillusioned with the business and homesick for Pennsylvania. In the meantime, Gene Pistilli left Cashman and West to form THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER with Tim Hauser who also attended Villanova with Jim and Tommy. Cashman and West started to devote themselves to producing records and the stage was set for the collaboration with Croce.

An essential piece to the puzzle appeared in the form of a musical genius named Maury Meulheisen. Cashman and West were introduced to Maury by another of Tommy's and Jimmy's friends from College. Recognizing Maury's extraordinary abilities, particularly as a guitarist, Cashman and West signed the singer-songwriter and produced an album; again for Capitol. When Maury began touring in support of his album, Jim Croce was hired to play backup guitar. Unfortunately, Maury's album did not sell, but, fortunately, the musical combination of  Maury and Jim were formed. Eventually they switched places and Maury was adding his incredible guitar parts to a rejuvenated Jim Croce's great new songs.

Since both Jim's and Maury's LP's had failed, it was not surprising to Cashman and West that  they hadn't heard much from either of the artists. Artists put their heart and souls into their recordings and when rejection is the result, there are bound to be feelings of disappointment and self doubt. The record business is such a crapshoot and so political. Why is one record promoted and another not? Is the artist on the right label? Do the people promoting the record understand the music and where to find the audience? Gordon Lightfoot languished on UA records because the label simply had no idea of what they had. When he switched labels and recorded for Warner Bros, with Len Waronker producing him, Lightfoot's career exploded. Anyway, there was some licking of wounds and regrouping on the part of Jim Croce before he was ready to take another shot.

One day, out of the blue, Tommy west received a cassette from Jim with new songs and a new sound on it. West played the cassette for Cashman. The two producers agreed that what they heard was special. On the tape were demos of YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM and TIME IN A BOTTLE.

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Jim had never written songs like this before and, with Maury adding his beautiful and creative guitar parts, the sound was stunning. After years of failure and disappointment and night after night of playing dives where drunks hardly listened, Jim Croce had finally arrived. Or had he?

Terry and Tommy let Jim and Maury know how excited they were about the new songs. They then gave the cassette to their partner and lawyer Phil Kurnit. Kunit was on his way to a record business convention in Europe and said he would try to drum up some enthusiasm for Jim's demo. In what turned out to be a great break and false signal, Kurnit got Phonogram Records in Holland to commit to a three-album deal for Croce's talents. The producers would be able to make a finished record and make a deal in America. Phonogram retained the foreign rights but would not release any product until the LP's were released in America. Cashman and West were ecstatic. Someone in Europe had heard what they heard on the tape: a great aritst with great songs and a different sound. And what Phonogram was sold on was just a demo! There was no doubt in Tommy and Terry's minds that when these songs were produced, the American record companies would be lining up to sign Jim.

Jim was writing more new songs and buoyed by the prospect of another chance at success, his outlook was positive. There was enough good material to justify getting started on the LP. Cashman and West were certain that YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM was a hit song. They started recording with the idea of producing that song in a way that would make it friendly to Top 40 radio. They also felt that OPERATOR was a great song, which would show Jim's depth as an artist and showcase the guitar sound which Jim and Maury created together. Ultimately, they wanted to sell albums.  The way to do that with a "folky" like Jim Croce was not easy.  Jim wasn't a particularly radical artist.  He didn't write about politics or social conditions.  His songs were about people and the feelings and adventures that those people experienced.  In 1971, with a '60s mentality of what kind of musical artists were "hip" still prevalent, Jim could easily be perceived as an "AM" or singles artist whose talents would not hold up over time.  Those kinds of artists didn't last and didn't sell albums.  But, of course, record companies always wanted a hit single from their artists.  WHAT TO DO?  The trick was to produce an album which would satisfy the listeners who bought LPs and have within that LP at least one track which a record company's promotion department would feel they could get played on Top 40 radio.

Cashman and West felt they had their Top 40 single with YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM.  They vowed, however, to avoid over producing the album.  They knew that, ultimately, Jim's appeal would lie in his voice and the sound of the two acoustic guitars.  The worst thing they could do was to drown out the guitars with too much other instrumentation.  But some production was needed.  There was a fine line.  Fortunately, Terry, Tommy and Jim came from the same musical background.  Having grown up on rock'n'roll in the fifties, they all had moved on to the folk and folk rock music which became popular in the sixties.  Once the recording started, Jim left all of the decisions to Cashman and West.  The two producers were in accord as to what they wanted and rarely needed to discuss what that was.  They knew.  And when they heard it they recognized it.  When something they tried was wrong; they knew that too.

Although Jim had a funky side and a bluesy side, at the core he was a "folky".  If "folkies" are going to be successful, i.e. sell albums, they had to be perceived as real.  They had to be able to play and sing effectively without a ton of instrumentation to aid them.  If you did augment their recordings, you had to do it tastefully.  Cashman and West had learned quite a bit from Nick Venet who produced acoustic acts like Fred Neil among others.  They were students of the aforementioned Gordon Lightfoot and his recordings.  They had also experimented with different recording techniques on their own records with Gene Pistilli.  The use of drums, or the lack thereof, was the key.  If you used drums at all, the drummer had to be one who understood songs and could follow the guitars.  A powerful or heavy drummer could easily change the feel which was inherent in the guitar parts.  This would be death!  Jim and Maury had created the rhythms naturally and they were great.  You could augment and enhance but not change.  When Jim played live, people would often say that it sounded just like the record.  I think what they meant was that it felt just like the record.  Which it did.

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The most important decision that was made in the recording of the first album was that these would be live recordings.  Jim and Maury would play and Jim would sing (this technique was unheard of in the production of pop records) just like they did when they were rehearsing.  If they decided to use bass, drums or piano (which Tommy West always played) any or all would be recorded live also.  The recording of the basic live tracks went very well.  Only OPERATOR took more than 10 takes to capture.  Most of the tracks took less than 5 takes.  And other than replacing the bass player on YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM and discarding a 14 piece string arrangement on OPERATOR, nothing really went wrong.  Except for background vocals and a couple of string arrangements, there was very little in the way of instrumentation that was added to the core instruments.  A Fender Rhodes on NEW YORK'S NOT MY HOME, an electric guitar on HEY TOMORROW and a harpsichord on TIME IN A BOTTLE.  The latter overdub was basically a lucky break.  Cashman and West thought that, although TIME IN A BOTTLE was a beautiful song, as a waltz, it had very little chance of being a hit single.  Except for extraordinary circumstances, which occurred with Jim's death, Top 40 radio would not play it.  There was, therefore, no reason to try to make the cut more commercial.  It was recorded with just Jim singing and Jim and Maury playing.  Tommy replaced the original bass part and then discovered a harpsichord which was left in the studio from another session.  After recording a part which blended beautifully with the guitars, the part was doubled.  The result was magical and when you hear TIME IN A BOTTLE on the radio it stands out like a sore thumb.  Pop records just don't have that kind of sound or instrumental composition.

Cashman and West also were fortunate to find Bruce Tergeson who engineered all of the sessions.  Bruce understood what the producers were after and had a very creative approach to recording acoustic guitars.  His engineering added a presence and brightness which wasn't often captured on this kind of record.  When the LP was finished and completely mixed everyone was satisfied that the product represented what he had in mind at the start.  Now all Cashman, West and Kurnit had to do was find the right label in the U.S.  What they didn't realize was that the easy part was over.  The next months would test their patience and their belief in what they had created.  The period between the completion of the album and the release of YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM would be an extraordinary example of the randomness, madness and chance that exists in life.

Armed with a great, finished LP which had a hit single as one of its cuts, and an artist who was a wonderful live performer, all of a sudden another element presented itself.  Phil Kurnit, once again, got music business people interested in Jim Croce.  BNB Associates, a very powerful management company, heard the record and decided that they wanted to manage Jim.  Good management is vital to an artist's career.  By creating the right image and orchestrating an artist's appearances, a good manager can not only support his client but also help to sell records.  This company, whose clients included THE CARPENTERS, ANDY WILLIAMS and RANDY NEWMAN, heard what Cashman and West and Phonogram heard.  BNB assigned one of its young managers to handle Croce.  Elliot Abbott was doing the day to day work involving Randy Newman's career and loved what he heard and saw in Jim Croce.  Abbott shared Cashman and West's vision of the kind of act that Croce could become.  They also agreed on the way Jim should be presented and where his musical strength lay.  This was a slam-dunk!  All the pieces were in place.  It was just a matter of choosing the right record label.

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First choice was Electra Records.  Jac Holtzman, the owner of Electra, understood this type of artist.  He had developed Judy Collins and a band called Bread.  The Doors were on his label…and Carly Simon.  They did classy album covers… they passed.  Something about Holtzman going to Hawaii to develop the video disc.  Well, that was too bad, but there were other good companies out there. Next they went to Columbia records.  Clive Davis was an artist oriented executive and Columbia had the best distribution in the business.  They were big and an act could get lost there but, "what the hell, let's see what happens," they all said.  Davis passed - emphatically!  "Oh well, CBS doesn't understand this kind of artist anyway.  It's probably a blessing in disguise".  Warner Bros… Pass.  "We're going with bands".  Bell records… Pass.  "Don't hear a single".  WHAT!!  Jerry Moss, the M of A&M, said he kinda liked OPERATOR but Croce wasn't right for his label.  When informed by Kurnit of A&M's rejection, Cashman went into a rage, declaring all in the record business to be deaf.  It should be pointed out that in this process it's the producers who take the brunt of the rejection.  All Croce knew was that there was no deal yet.  He was never given a "blow by blow" of the rebuffs.  There was no reason to put him through this shit.

The rejections continued.  Capitol Records, RCA, and even Mercury, which was owned by Phonogram, the European distributor, all said "no" for one reason or another.  This was getting ridiculous!  Epic Records and an A&R man named Larry Cohen finally broke the string of passes.

Cohen got it.  Alleluia!  Epic was fine.  A good company with great distribution.  DISTRIBUTION??  Wait a second.  Epic is part of CBS… Columbia… Clive Davis.  Cohen was informed that Davis had already said "no" to this artist.  "Not to worry".  Cohen said he would convince Clive to recant.  Larry went to Clive but the answer was still "no".  Cohen was embarrassed and sorry but the cards were stacked against him.  He and Davis obviously were not seeing eye-to-eye, and Larry left Epic.  Don Ellis replaced Larry Cohen, and Phil Kurnit tried again, this time with Ellis.  Ellis arranged a live audition for Croce at the CBS Recording Studios.  Ellis wanted to make sure that Jim could perform live and that there was sufficient material for subsequent LPs.  That sounded reasonable.  So off they went; Jim and Maury, Terry and Tommy.  Don Ellis was there and Clive Davis too.  Jim and Maury were great.  They played beautifully and Jim was relaxed and funny and sang like he always did.  He even had a couple of new songs.  One of them was a ditty called BAD, BAD, LEROY BROWN.  All in all, one great audition.  The audition was taped so that Clive could listen to it later.  He passed… again.

It was getting to be desperation time.  All of the labels they preferred had turned them down.  Well some deal was better than no deal at all.  They started approaching the smaller labels.  Vanguard wasn't bad.  They understood folk artists.  They had Joan Baez and Buffy St. Marie.  The A&R man at Vanguard, Dave Wilkes, liked what he heard and recommended that Vanguard sign Croce but Vanguard's owner, Maynard Solomon, would only offer a singles deal.  That wasn't what Cashman and West were looking for, so they moved on.

Apple Records, Scepter, Mediarts, Polygram, Kama-Sutra and Paramount.  MGM, Decca, Roulette and Kapp.  "We don't hear it".  "Too folky".  "Not folky enough".  "We love it but we don't know what to do with it".  "He sounds too much like James Taylor"… and on and on.  It got to the point where Sherwin Bash, the first B of BNB; the managers, started to grasp at straws.  He actually thought that the reason that every record company in America was passing on Croce might be that the fadeouts on many of the tracks on the LP were too long.  This was absurd and Cashman told him to get a good night's rest.  When he regained his sanity, Bash admitted that he was just frustrated and beside himself. "What the hell was going on here?  How could we not have a deal?  Are they nuts?  Are we all nuts"?  That's just the way they all  felt.

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In the meantime, something happened that effected the whole scenario.  Nobody knew it at the time but the signing of Cashman and West to a recording contract by ABC Dunhill Records would turn out to be key.  Cashman and West had never stopped writing songs and were recording artists in their own right.  Steve Barri, and old friend and a very successful producer, heard a tape that Terry and Tommy had done as a demo.  He thought that together they could make many hits and signed the duo to a recording contract (SEE HOW EASY IT IS).  The relationship between Barri and Cashman and West went back a few years.  Both Terry and Tommy had worked at ABC Records in New York while Barri worked for Dunhill in Los Angeles.  ABC owned Dunhill so the three had occasion to meet in the late sixties.  ABC Records was a dinosaur and Dunhill was a young vibrant company.  While ABC had acts like Frankie Laine and The Barry Sisters, Dunhill had The Mamas and the Papas, Steppenwolf and the Grassroots.  With producers like Barri and Lou Adler, Dunhill was in the forefront of what was happening in music while ABC's only legitimate presence was in jazz music with their Impulse Label.  Eventually, the whole operation was moved to LA with most of the Dunhill personnel running the show.  Jay Lasker, one of the founders of Dunhill, became president.

Now, of course, Cashman and West had gone to Dunhill with Jim Croce.  Steve Barri had what is known in the business as "great ears".  In other words, he knew talent when he heard it.  He knew Croce was good and he had great respect for Cashman and West.  How, then, could they pass on Croce which, initially, they did?  The answer is timing.  Somebody else had got there first.  ABC Dunhill had already committed to two other acts, which they felt were similar to Croce.  They weren't really.  The other acts were singer-songwriters like Jim but, who wasn't !!  Besides, Jim was better.  Cashman and West were in Los Angeles at this time.  It was obvious that Dunhill was not ready to sign Jim and they had their own record to make. They let it drop… for the moment.

BNB was located in LA also.  Most of the companies in LA had already turned down the Croce project but there was one label they hadn't been to see.  Alan Bernard, the last B in BNB, was friendly with Russ Regan who ran UNI Records.  UNI was owned by MCA and doing well in the record business.  They had Neil Diamond, Olivia Newton John and had just broken Elton John.  Up to now, Bernard had not participated very much in the Croce saga. He did, however, know that despite the fact that everybody in his office, particularly Elliot Abbott, thought that Croce was a star, there was no record deal in pocket.  Bernard got involved and decided that he would set up a meeting with Regan and bring Terry and Tommy along.  They would play the best two or three tracks from the album and convince Regan that this was an artist he couldn't turn down.

The three headed out to Universal Studios where the offices of UNI Records were located.  With a cassette of YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM, OPERATOR and TIME IN A BOTTLE in hand, they entered the office and played the finished recordings for Regan.  Terry and Tommy told him what a great performer Jim was and that he was already writing wonderful new songs for his next LP.  Bernard attested to the belief and commitment that BNB had to this artist  They would use all of their influence and power to make sure that Jim got all the right bookings and that he would appear in the right places in support of the record.  There was no way that Regan could turn down this pitch.  Two or three days later, Alan Bernard got a call from his buddy, Russ Regan.  GUESS WHAT?

Meanwhile, back at ABC Dunhill, Cashman and West were in the process of making their LP. Just before going to California, they had completed a piece called AMERICAN CITY SUITE.  This was a 12-minute piece of music with 4 movements or songs depicting the deterioration of the large cities, particularly New York.  In the late sixties and early seventies, big cities were going through monumental changes in ethnic and structural composition.  Middle class whites were moving out and poor blacks and Hispanics were left.  Roads and buildings were falling apart.  Crime was on the rise as a result of the drug problem, welfare wasn't working and race relations were strained as a result of social inequities and the war in Vietnam.  AMERICAN CITY SUITE contrasted this with the comparatively idyllic life, which existed in the cities after World War Two and before JFK's assassination.

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All of a sudden, word spread through the halls of ABC Dunhill that Steve Barri, their fair-haired boy, was producing a great record with Cashman and West.  Jay Lasker came to the studio, heard what they were doing and became very exited.  He planned to promote and market AMERICAN CITY SUITE in a very aggressive way, hopefully making Cashman and West stars.  When the president of a record company and its top producer are excited about an act, everyone else falls into line.  Every day, people from sales, marketing and promotion were showing up at the studio to hear what was going on and make sure that everyone else knew that they were on the Cashman and West bandwagon.

Certainly, Terry and Tommy were happy about all of the attention that they and their music were getting.  Things don't fall into place like this very often.  They did, however, sense that there was another opportunity presenting itself.  The momentum of the excitement surrounding them could be used to further the Jim Croce cause.

Marty Kupps was one of the two national promotion men at ABC.  Barry Gross being the other.  Barry had been at ABC for a few years and knew Terry and Tommy.  Marty, on the other hand, had just met Cashman and West.  Marty invited Cashman and West to dinner.  After dinner and a few drinks, Kupps suggested that they have one for the road back at his house in West Hollywood.  They had hit it off well and Marty wanted to play some music and show Terry and Tommy his Martin D-28.  After swapping some stories and a couple of songs, the time seemed right.  They told Marty about Croce and how good he was.  They told him that they had  produced a record for Phonogram but did not have an American deal.  "When can I hear something?" asked Kupps.  "How about now", they said.  Cashman pulled out a cassette and played YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM.  Before it was over, Kupps proclaimed that this was a smash and that he could get it played on KHJ tomorrow.  KHJ was the most important station in LA and, more importantly, a Drake station.  This meant that it was part of a chain of six stations, which were extremely important in whether or not a record could become a hit.

After hearing OPERATOR, Kupps was beside himself.  He understood this kind of music and he knew that Jim was special.  Cashman and West implored Marty to get Barry Gross on board and then to go to Jay Lasker and tell him that he could get the record played.  Terry and Tommy would tell Steve Barri of Marty's enthusiasm and get Steve in the right state of mind.  They cornered Steve in his office and made him listen to YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM one more time.  This time with the knowledge of what Kupps thought about the record.

The next day Sherwin Bash was at the Lasker's office negotiating a deal for Croce.  The day after that Kurnit was negotiating the nuts and bolts of the agreement.  Two days after that, Marty Kupps, who probably put his job on the line, delivered.  KHJ added YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM to its playlist.  The record was an instant hit and jump started Jim's short career.  Is it really possible that this great music and this wonderful artist who has lasted these 25 years came that close to never being heard.  As unbelievable as it sounds, it's all true… about 18 months later, Jim Croce died in a plane crash.  Maury Muehleisen was also killed.  In those 18 months, however, YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM did become the hit single that they thought it would be.  OPERATOR was released and although it didn't reach the Top 10, listeners took notice.  They heard a different and interesting song with great harmonies and superb guitar work.  Cashman and West fought with Lasker over the third single.  Everyone knew that LEROY BROWN was a hit.  Lasker wanted it released as the first single from the second album, which was called LIFE AND TIMES.  Cashman and West argued that BAD, BAD LEROY BROWN was too similar to YOU DON'T MESS AAROUND WITH JIM and that Croce would be pigeon-holed as gimmicky.  Lasker thought they were nuts but gave in.  ONE LESS SET OF FOOTSTEPS was released and died on the charts at #35.  But the public had been exposed to another side of Jim's music.  It was clear that he was not a "Johnny one note".  Predictably BAD, BAD LEROY BROWN became a huge hit, reaching #1 on the BILLBOARD charts.  I GOT A NAME, I'LL HAVE TO SAY I LOVE YOU IN A SONG and TIME IN A BOTTLE established Croce as a versatile and timeless artist.  There would have been more, a lot more.  But then again, there was almost nothing.

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POSTSCRIPT

About two days after KHJ added YOU DON'T MESS ARROUND WITH JIM to its playlist, Russ Regan from UNI Records was driving to work.  As was his habit, he was listening to KHJ to hear what new records they were playing.  He heard a new record, which he thought, was great and sure to be a hit.  Russ was curious, so he called KHJ on his car phone.  "What was that record you just played?" he asked.  "It's called YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM by Jim Croce" the voice answered.  "What label?" "ABC Dunhill." Was the answer.  "Do you happen to know who manages the act?"  "BNB Associates."  Russ hung up. "Son of a bitch." He muttered while dialing BNB.  He asked for his friend Alan Bernard. Alan got on the line and heard this.  "You cocksucker!"  Bernard was taken aback.  "You're supposed to be my friend!"  Regan continued.  "What the hell are you talking about?" said Bernard.  "I just heard a smash single by a guy named Croce on KHJ and you manage the act…and you, you son of a bitch, never gave me a chance at the artist."