Editing Jim Croce (section)

=== 1970s ===
[[File:Jim Croce Wide World In Concert.jpg|thumb|Jim Croce appears on ''[[In Concert (American TV series)|In Concert]]'']]

The Croces eventually returned to Philadelphia and Croce decided to be "serious" about becoming a productive member of society. He said: "I'd worked construction crews, and I'd been a welder while I was in college. But I'd rather do other things than get burned." His determination led to a job at Philadelphia [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] AM radio station [[WHAT (AM)|WHAT]], where Croce translated commercials into "soul". "I'd sell airtime to Bronco's Poolroom and then write the spot: 'You wanna be cool, and you wanna shoot pool&nbsp;... ''dig it''.{{'"}}

In 1970, Croce met classically trained pianist-guitarist and singer-songwriter [[Maury Muehleisen]] through producer Joe Salviuolo, a friend of Croce's since college. Salviuolo had met Muehleisen when he was teaching at [[Rowan University|Glassboro State College]] in New Jersey and brought Croce and Muehleisen together at the [[production office]] of [[Tommy West (producer)|Tommy West]] and [[Terry Cashman]] in New York City. Initially, Croce backed Muehleisen on guitar, but gradually their roles reversed, with Muehleisen adding a lead guitar to Croce's music.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

When his wife became pregnant, Croce became more determined to make music his profession. He sent a [[cassette tape|cassette]] of his new songs to a friend and producer in New York City in the hope that he could secure a record deal. After their son, [[A. J. Croce|Adrian James (A.J.)]], was born in September 1971, Ingrid stayed at home while Croce toured to promote his music.

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 (Jim Croce album)|Life and Times]]''. The singles "[[You Don't Mess Around with Jim (song)|You Don't Mess Around with Jim]]", "[[Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)]]", and "[[Time in a Bottle]]" all received airplay. That same year, the Croce family moved to [[San Diego]]. Croce began appearing on television, including on ''[[American Bandstand]]''<ref>americanbandstandperformerlist</ref> on August 12, his national debut, ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson|The Tonight Show]]''<ref>johnnycarson.com</ref> on August 14, and ''[[The Dick Cavett Show]]'' on September 20 and 21.

Croce began touring the United States with Muehleisen, performing in large coffeehouses, on college campuses, and at folk festivals. However, his financial situation remained precarious. The record company had fronted him the money to record, and much of his earnings went to repay the advance. In February 1973, Croce and Muehleisen traveled to Europe, performing in London, Paris, [[Amsterdam]], [[Monte Carlo]], Zurich, and [[Dublin]] and receiving encouraging reviews. Croce made television appearances on ''[[The Midnight Special (TV series)|The Midnight Special]],'' which he cohosted on June 15, and ''The [[Helen Reddy]] Show'' on July 19. His biggest single, "[[Bad, Bad Leroy Brown]]", reached No. 1 on the American charts in July.

From July 16 through August 4, Croce and Muehleisen returned to London and performed on ''[[The Old Grey Whistle Test]],'' on which they sang "Lover's Cross" and "[[Workin' at the Car Wash Blues]]" from their upcoming album ''[[I Got a Name]].'' Croce finished recording the album just a week before his death. While on tour, Croce grew increasingly homesick and decided to take a break from music and settle with Ingrid and A.J. when his ''Life and Times'' tour ended.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jimcroce.com/articles/article-written-by-barry-weber.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120807083834/http://www.jimcroce.com/articles/article-written-by-barry-weber.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 7, 2012 |first=Bryan |last=Weber |title=Article |work=Jim Croce – The Official Site |date=2014 |access-date=April 11, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|first=Colin |last=Devenish |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/croces-lost-recordings-due-20030820 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329234258/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/croces-lost-recordings-due-234131/ |archive-date=March 29, 2019 |title=Croce's Lost Recordings Due |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=August 20, 2003 |access-date=November 22, 2024}}</ref> In a letter to Ingrid that arrived after his death, Croce told her that he had decided to quit music and wanted to write short stories and movie scripts as a career and withdraw from public life.<ref name="autogenerated1" /><ref>Everitt, Richard:''Falling Stars: Air Crashes that Filled Rock and Roll Heaven'' (2004)</ref>