Jim Croce - Operator | REACTION

Video link • Operator - Jim Croce
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[@jamelakajamal]

‘KEEP GREAT MUSIC ALIVE’ Shirts and More, Enter Promo Code ‘Jamel’ jamel-aka-jamal-youtube-store.creator-spring.com

[@Xcris_crosX]

Aren't you brave enough to introduce your bros to Celia Cruz, La Negra Tiene Tumbao?

[@dee_dee_place]

I adored Jim Croce & was devastated when he died in a plane crash on my 15th birthday.

[@johncampbell756]

This song isn't about being homesick. It's about his ex who left to LA with his best friend and him wanting to call to say he's fine with it, but he isn't. The second verse is about him not being able to read the number through his tears. The final verse is him deciding that he has decided not to call after all. He doesn't actually want to talk to either of them. He thought her love would save him, but she broke him when she left.

[@strajearocks11]

I would love to see your brothers reaction to "The Wreck of the Edmonds Fitzgerald"

[@Peggi109]

I would love for you to listen to The Young Rascals - People Got To Be Free, Beautiful Morning, Groovin', to mention a few. Please!

[@kd6836]

Time In a Bottle has to be one of the most beautiful songs ever written. What a loss to music and mankind. So young.

[@lisawall3386]

So true.

[@Paralleljen93]

Agree

[@monilaninetynine3811]

That's my favorite song from him--and "I Got A Name."

[@coolcpa3321]

Jim Croce was an amazing talent. Used Time In a Bottle for my late father's memorial video to accompany pictures of him and Mom enjoying time with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

[@zorak1704]

The Muppets Show did Time in a Bottle. Always brings a tear to my eye. Especially as I get older.

[@unnaturalselection8330]

"She's living in LA, with my best old ex-friend Ray" ....She ain't waiting on him, and he ain't homesick. She left him for his best friend. He misses them both terribly but they hurt him too bad to be forgiven ...so he struggles with the emotions.

[@klaptongroovemaster]

They seem to have missed the lines in verse 2. "I can't read the number that you just gave me. Something in my eye." He's crying. Make me want to cry every time I hear it.

[@johncampbell756]

I thought he got the point of the song on his first listen by himself though.

[@klaptongroovemaster]

@@johncampbell756 I wasn't being critical. They all got the point of the song. It's hard not to when it is written that well.

[@breckrichardson390]

And the line he talked about when he paused the song: "I think about the love I thought would save me." The love that would (normally) save him when he's hurt is the same love that he's lost, which is now the cause of his hurt. I think they missed that point.

[@JesusGarcia-cs9wl]

I know... Jamal is way off on this one.

[@janielangley5673]

Jim Croce (Cro-Chee) died many year’s ago in a Plane Crash. What a Loss, his music is beautiful and Timeless.

[@aaronws9561]

My mom was close friends with Croce’s partner, Maury Muehlheisen. She used to tell this story that just after I was born she asked Maury to stop by and see me. He didn’t have time though since he wasn’t going to be in town long and was preparing to leave with Croce for more touring dates. So they made plans for him to come over in a few months. It never happened. Jim and Maury died in a plane crash a month later.

[@janielangley5673]

@@aaronws9561 So incredibly sad, we lost a Treasure that day, your Mom must have been devastated, so sorry for her. I will never forget the News informing us of the tragic accident.

*years *plane crash *loss *timeless

[@jacobblackburn1379]

@ *nobody cares

[@jimmymelendez1836]

@@jacobblackburn1379 Ok, thanks for your input. 😒

[@gibsongirl2100]

He's singing about a guy in a phone booth trying to place a call to L.A., where his ex-girl (who left him for his best friend) and his ex-best friend now live. He wants them to know he's okay, he's gotten over it. But, he hasn't really, hence the fact that the number she gave him is blurring ("there's something in my eye; you know it happens every time") with tears. The song implies that he tries this every once in a while, but always changes his mind in the end and hangs up. It's actually a pretty heartbreaking story that he tells so beautifully. Thanks for bringing this back around.

[@jennifursun3303]

when Jim was in the military he used to hear this happen to guys he knew. I first heard this when I was loosing some friends to a divorce

[@rranger1014]

Mmm, yes, quite right.

[@mzphillips53]

Back in the early 70's the same thing happened to me but my husband ran off with my best female friend. I was actually more devastated by the fact that my best friend would do that to me than my husband. Reason being that he was a flirty kind of guy anyway. But there was a singer Tim Hawkins in Cincinnati, OH that I would go to listen to on weekends. He would see me in the crowd and dedicate it to me. But this song has always been so special to me. Jim Croce was wonderful.

[@gibsongirl2100]

@@mzphillips53 Yeah, I can understand what a huge betrayal that would be - some lines you just don't cross, period. I remember as a little kid hearing his songs all over the radio and watching him on various entertainment shows - then, suddenly gone in a plane crash. He was a modern-day troubadour.

[@serendipityshopnyc]

Agreed. That wistful little "you can keep the dime" kills me.

[@richardgazinia5482]

It's been almost 50 Years and the line "...you can keep the dime." still chokes me up. The angst in Croce voice is palpable. The narrator in the song finally succumbs to his emotions in just 5 words.

[@BoomerandZoomerReacts]

"You can keep the dime" alot of people today won't understand that line

[@oldermusiclover]

@@BoomerandZoomerReacts in the world of cell phones very true

[@no2all]

I was out of the country for 4 years prior to hearing "Operator" in late May 1973. I couldn't get enough of Jim Croce but he died just four months later. I loved most of his songs and felt cheated by not getting the chance to hear more from this musical genius. His folk/rock/pop vibe was great.

[@donnapirelli6657]

I was getting ready for work and they announced he passed....they played this song....gone to soon RIP

[@sopadecalavzacaballero4805]

I felt the same way. He was literally my favorite singer. I was 17,when he passed,that's why even today I listen to his beautiful music and voice.

[@lokisan100]

Absolutely.

[@jeffreysharkey1775]

Operator assistance and having to call with a stack of dimes standing by for extra time... in a full-body phone booth. Vintage imagery that you guys can sympathize with even though you're a generation younger.

[@chrisoakley5830]

I couldn't help but wonder if they knew what he was talking about in this song. Phone booths and having operator assistance are things of the past.

[@jennifursun3303]

@@chrisoakley5830 true

[@thisismagacountry1318]

A pity we lost him so soon. He was the real deal singer/songwriter. It's pronounced Jim CRO - chee

[@kd6836]

His death was a huge loss.

[@jennifursun3303]

amen on loosing him to soon

[@citizenronin]

"Something in my eyes, you know it happens every time. I think about the love that I thought would save me."...gets me every time.

[@klaptongroovemaster]

I can't read the number that you just gave me. Get's me too.

[@auldthymer]

@@klaptongroovemaster When I was 10, "you can keep the dime" amazed me, and made me sad.

[@ShaunHensley]

We've all been there

[@pookiestock]

I think that is the best line, too. It’s when he breaks down…. Then he gets it back together and says there is no one there he wants to talk to. Everyone sometime in there life has felt that…..

[@tattoodude8946]

@@auldthymer Yeah, that's the line that gets me no matter how many times I hear the song. The delay in the delivery on that line is genius too. He waits just a beat longer than normal and delivers it with a lightness that is nowhere else in the song. Brilliant.

[@AnthonyL0401]

I loved this honest reaction. I just realized that the singer must not have handled the original betrayal very well... he hopes to let them know "I learned to take it well." I knew that but never thought much about that exact lyric. He wants to show he is the bigger man, he can move on... if only he could convince himself

[@susantarallo2496]

Exactly! So many people just miss this whole point

[@jessegreen6138]

Check out Jim Croce's songs "Time in Bottle", "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", "It Doesn't Have to be That Way" "I Got a Name", and "I'll Have to Say I Love in a Song". Nice to see you three having a good time with this great singer songwriter. I was 14 when Jim Croce died. RIP Jim.

[@DIMP11]

I was born in 1969 and did not know Jim's music until about the early 80's as a young teen but it is indeed beautiful, simply played and timeless music. He died way too young and we all miss what he could have done had he lived longer.

[@brianlogsdon4824]

Rapid Roy, One more set of footsteps, lovers cross, don’t mess around with Jim, roller derby Queen, New York’s not my home, photographs and memories, workin at the car wash blues - all more great songs by Croce. He was so talented!

[@mandygraves997]

I adore Jim Croce and John Denver. It takes some serious talent to be a singer/songwriter.... you don't see that anymore

[@twhitten828]

They would Love Leroy Brown! 😊🙌

[@jennifursun3303]

I Just Have To Say I Love you was like Jim had written a song out of my own soul

[@neiss616]

According to Wikepedia, his inspiration came from when he was in the service and watching guys call home and ask if the "Dear John" letter was true.

[@sarahdixon1943]

So now this song is more sad.. I love this song ❤❤

[@KevinSchmitt77]

This... I like how he goes from "I gotta get through" to "so I can call just to tell'm I'm fine" to "Let's forget about this call / no one there I really wanted to talk to" showing his progression of acceptance.

[@evanjacoby]

At the beining of the song he says "She's livin' in L. A ...With my best old "ex-friend"Ray A guy she said she knew well And sometimes hated "...so throughout the entire song he's trying to convince himself that what he and this woman had wasnt actually real, but thats not how it feels to him as he reflects back on the relationship. He knows he's still not over it, because he's lost not only his best friend, but his lover and partner too. Amazing and timeless!

[@tillygirl7450]

I always love when the singer is the songwriter of the songs they sing. Jim Croce was a great example of these combined talents. I was a young teenager when he died. When I had first heard he died, I remember feeling so sad and bereft. 💝

[@janettamcgee8124]

He died when I was 15 yrs old. We were all in the band hall when somebody told us. A lot of tears were shed that day.

[@tinabagheri5158]

I remember exactly where I was when the news came on that he was killed in a plane crash. This song brings back a lot of memories!

[@SueProst]

Two guitars and percussion. Amazing music and lyrics. He died when I was a little girl. It had such an impact.

[@surlechapeau]

Maury Mulheisen was the guitarist who accompanied him in the studio and in live performances. He also died in the plane carsh.

[@joem1480]

Bad Bad Leroy Brown, Don't Mess Around With Slim, Roller Derby Queen, Car wash Blues, and Rapid Roy are all bangers if his. To tug at the heart from him: Time In A Bottle, Photographs and Memories, Lover's Cross

[@sarleywinkle]

My first 8 track!

[@sandybarnes887]

Don't mess around with Jim

[@wpollock1]

Ray, "A guy she said she knew well and sometimes hated"....what a great line. She lied to him (obviously) when she said she hated him as she is living with him at this point!

[@onlyme114]

I was working 11 to 7 at a nursing home when he was killed. I got to work a little early that night so I sat down to read the paper. It was the headline about the plane crash and his death. When I saw it I just started crying. I knew we'd lost a great one that no one could ever replace. Such a beautiful voice and soul gone much to soon. 💔💔💔💔

[@kennethbarrett9913]

Operator was Jim Croces masterpiece!!! I was around 8 years old when he died.Great artist!

[@bigb6046]

Jim did so many great songs -"Time In A Bottle" , "I'll Have to Say I Love You In A Song", "I Got A Name" and of course Bad , Bad Leroy Brown" and "You Don't Mes Around With Jim" which were actually the same song , LOL

[@8moody1]

Photographs And Memories as well

[@Otokichi786]

Jim didn't get to record a "Christmas album" but this song gets a lot of airplay around now: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYqrnZh8e82ffM0 Even people who HATE "Xmas Muzak" like it.;)

[@vhonn95]

Jim Croce song Big bad Leroy Brown is a great one for the Brothers

[@dsusan17]

And Don't Mess Around With Jim is a good one.

[@kenleppek]

Well Leroy, he a gambler.

[@dsusan17]

And he likes his fancy clothes.

[@maryvallas772]

This song is absolutely devastating for me. He is singing about an ex girlfriend who left him for is ex best friend. And boy.... if you have been through that scenario, then you know how deep that wound is. You don't really ever completely overcome the blow. So now that you know the meaning.... listen to it again and you will begin to understand.

[@garylindsey5174]

Great song 🎵 The guitar work is just as beautiful as the lyrics!!

[@janicedavidson1236]

His guitarist was fantastic too. Lost two great people.

[@garylindsey5174]

@@janicedavidson1236 Most Definitely 🙏

[@thomasdoucette7229]

One of the greatest musical writers in history. The world cried when Jim Croce died

[@deannacouch]

Jamel, I may have misunderstood how you were interpreting this song, but I've always taken it as he was calling his ex-girlfriend/(ex-wife?) who left him to be with his now "best old ex-friend Ray." I don't think he was calling home. He was trying to call her and Ray to let them know he's "overcome the blow ... learned to take it well."

[@IshiAndNomyJackson]

Precisely!

[@DaveBarton1]

And yet his own words could not convince himself that he had overcome the blow. The man was devistated.

[@tahoemike5828]

Home is where the heart is.

[@54chewbacca]

Precisely

[@drjoshuamc]

Croce has a lot of great songs, one of his funniest is “roller derby queen” the man had a great way with words

[@Otokichi786]

A Baltimore song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eovTc4aIl7GYgcU

[@auldthymer]

All the downtown ladies call him "tree-top lover" All the men just call him "sir"

[@johnr8820]

You should hear the Scottish folk number he does...

[@andrewcramer9200]

Whither "Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)"? You can even see it in the album thumbnail in the video XD

[@wolfe6220]

Losing Jim Croce was a horrible loss. I was only 7 or 8, but I loved his songs and cried when he died. Him dying and then SRV dying in 90. Makes me think air travel is cursed....

[@Tomekkplk]

"You don't mess around with Jim" is definitely one of my favorites by him

[@mikehutton3187]

Great song and story.

[@sisgaia]

"He's a really, you know, really, really good songwriter." One of the best, IMHO. He died in a plane crash at the age of 30 -- too young. I always think about all of the great songs that we never got a chance to hear. Have your friends listen to "I've Got a Name." There is a lot of meaning in that song, a lot of self-expression about who he was. Or, based on what your friend in the Jags jersey (I didn't catch his name) said about being away from home, "New York's Not My Home" might be one he really connects with. I have always heard Croce pronounced as "CROW-chee." I think that is correct.

[@brians.8651]

So I fell in love with Jm Croce when I was like 17. LOVED this song when I knew NOTHING about love. Thank you for honoring this man and his music!

[@ginnywelsh6232]

Love me some Jim Crow-chee

[@davidgale7384]

Jim, Harry Chapin, Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor... The great storytellers of my youth. Thanks J

[@kenleppek]

One of the first songs I memorized the words to. My dad listened to Jim all the time.

[@morganspector5161]

Loving you guys; keep it going. Jim was a working man (truck driver), a poet, and a tragic early death. You want to hear a funny one of his, try "Roller Derby Queen"

[@colinvandenberg3446]

Please finish out Jim Croce, there's only about three big songs of his you haven't done. Start with "I've Got a Name."

[@Otokichi786]

Jim Croce's "small songs" connect in unexpected ways, especially for fans of "The Shawshank Redemption": kzbin.info/www/bejne/a17JlKmkjql4gJI And "Andy Durfresne" drives off to the Pacific ocean...

[@cnyland1393]

It got play in Hateful 8

[@jamesedwards2237]

My favorite is Age.

[@paullunsford8831]

Excellent choice, my brother Excellent song ! My 1st choice highway cd.

[@loramacrae-lopes6293]

I know you have already done “Time In A Bottle”, which is sooo beautiful, but another great song of his that I don’t recall you doing is “I’ve Got A Name”. Hope you check it out. Love it too! 💞

[@joshuadeshaies7266]

RIP Jim. Talk about a beautiful voice from a beautiful soul. Rock on big man!!! Keep great music alive!!¡

[@quiltie1774]

Love JimCroce! With the bros, Laron was closer to pronouncing Jim’s name.

[@kylesummers1565]

Amazing that "simple" music like this gets ignored today. RIP Jim Croce.

[@charlessarver8350]

The love that he thought would save him was the woman he's trying to call who left him for his best friend.

[@donnerdonner315]

Jim Croce (pronounced: Crow-Chee) was just a down to earth, working class family man. He was an amazing musician, singer, songwriter and musical storyteller! His songs weave an amazing tapestry that pulls you in and you never want the music to stop! He was just getting his career started when he died in that plane crash. I was only a 10 year old girl at the time, but it hit me hard. I adore his music and I hope you explore more of his songs...you will love them all!!!

[@Otokichi786]

Jim Croce's "Christmas song": kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYqrnZh8e82ffM0

[@donnamikola48]

"Lover's Cross" is another great song by Croce!

[@sammyslam1]

My personal favorite as well as "New York's Not My Home"

[@janicedavidson1236]

Great song

[@christinewaide5249]

This song is so beautiful and sad.

[@Otokichi786]

A Jim Croce song for the season: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYqrnZh8e82ffM0

[@smithwesson7765]

His music really touches the heart. Good vid Jamal :)

[@leonardshevlin7260]

In those days, you deposited a dime and dialed 0 for the operator and asked for directory assistance. She would try to find the number and tell you it and offer to connect you. If she only gave you the number, after you hung up the receiver, your dime would be released and dropped into the coin return.

[@dennisschank7748]

Glad you posted this, I was getting ready to post this same comment but scrolled down and saw you already posted it. There will be a lot of people listening to this song now that won't understand that reference and it has a strong meaning to the end of the song.

[@Vinnie-cv5qv]

I was a kid back then in NYC with a pocket full of dimes to use in a phone booth if I ever needed to call my parents in an emergency. Those were the days with phone booths on almost every block. I would use my dimes to buy small bags of wise potato chips instead of keeping them for emergencies. A bag cost a dime.Those were the days. I can still remember when my neighbor screamed out the window that Jim died. I still remember it to this day.

[@amyelizabeth529]

Croce gave away the reason why calling his ex-girlfriend was so difficult when he sang "here I am in LA, with my best, ex-friend Ray". The same guy she said "she couldn't stand", but actually with whom she had an affair. The whole point of his conversation with the operator is for him to remember what happened, and, then, realize although he misses her terribly, he's really better without her. Heartbreaking, relatable, & difficult life lesson to learn. Much love to y'all ftom Buffalo, NY! ✌❤😊🎶

[@johnoconnor4981]

A rare mist of the essence of this song. It’s a song of betrayal from both the love of his life and his best friend. The reason he can’t read the number is that He is crying as he often does when he thinks about the two of them together and what they’ve done to him

[@user-vs6hx9ib2o]

You summarized it very well.

[@suem6004]

Still recall seeing him on TV and then the breaking news of his death. Hard for a 9 yr old to wrap her head around how someone I had listened to up and died so young. Only thought old people died.

[@Tomapella]

I just happen to have You Don't Mess Around With Jim on my turntable as I write this. Lots of great songs on there.

[@megdelany5688]

❤Jim Croce!!!!

[@asonsopenjournal2688]

Wow....flashbacks to another favorite from my childhood. Glad to see y'all loving on this great song.

[@suzannesheridan9535]

Phenomenal talent lost way too soon. RIP Jim. Thanks for listening guys.

[@thomasrussell3351]

The part that gets me is right before that. "I can't read the number that you just gave me. There's something in my eyes, you know what happens every the time." Like he just wrote down the number but he can't read it cuz he's choked up and it happens every time I think it's about the love that I thought would save him. Dude really was a true poet.

[@faye33ful]

Yes because his best friend and his love cheated on him and now she’s living in LA with his best old ex friend Ray. He’s hurting because he thought it was the love that would save him.

[@ginnywelsh6232]

From his lighter side, try “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” or “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim”

[@colinvandenberg3446]

He did both.

[@thisismagacountry1318]

My name is Willie McCoy but down home they call me Slim.

[@ginnywelsh6232]

@@colinvandenberg3446 Don’t think he did it with his bros though ☺️

[@colinvandenberg3446]

@@ginnywelsh6232 Oh, I see what you mean. I'm sure his brothers would like those.

[@mzphillips53]

Oh yeah, you guys would love both of those songs.

[@ritajonesayers9968]

Jamel, I love all of his music. He is missed.

[@Jillyconjem]

I was in middle school in a small classroom with a substitute teacher who told us about the plane crash. I will never forget that moment. Great tune. “Time in a Bottle” is the ultimate. But anything he did was fantastic. 💜

[@footnotedrummer]

Jim Croce and Gordon Lightfoot are two of the best story tellers ever.

[@stevetournay6103]

Lightfoot lived to be 84 and was still performing weeks before his passing. Croce would have been the American Lightfoot, certainly...if only he had had more time.

[@DreamJeanne1111]

Thank you for playing this song. Jim Croce pronounced crowchee was a Philadelphia boy. He died very young in a plane crash in his early 30s. These lines tell you what the song was about. She's living in L.A. With my best old ex-friend, Ray Guy, she said she knew well, and sometimes hated So she left him for his best friend, now ex friend. "a guy she said she knew well and sometimes hated" So, they all used to hang out together. And probably she liked him so that's why she would tell her now ex-boyfriend, dude making the phone call, she hated him. To throw him off. They ended up getting together and moving to California. Jim hasn't talked to them in a long time. He only has a matchbook with a faded number on it but he's missing her. I love this song. But ironically enough, I grew up to become a 411 directory assistance information operator. This guy would have been transferred to a supervisor right away. (Okay, I would have risked being monitored , getting caught doing something other than simply giving him the number on letting him go, to listen to him sing to me.😉) could you help me make this call? (Of course I can, why do you think I'm sitting here?) Telling me about his damn matchbook and wasting my time. (Sir, I asked you what city and state. Could you please just give me the city and state?) Then telling me that he can't read the number I just gave him. (Are you kidding me?) "there's something in my eye, you know what happens every time. (This means he's crying and that's why he can't see the number that I just freaking gave him!) And then after all of that he tells me you know what? Never mind. Thanks a lot for wasting my time. Jim. And I can keep the dime? Tell that to the phone company. They will definitely keep your dime. And ask for more before you hang up the phone because you stayed on too long and owe them extra, lol! The only thing I'm going to get is in trouble for staying on this call too long. And now you tell me freaking never mind? OMG so annoying! Now this song makes me laugh. But generally, it's a song that will make you cry if you really know what it's about. All of his songs are good. I'm sure you would enjoy Bad Bad, Leroy Brown(one of his biggest hits on the radio,) You Don't Mess Around with Jim, but one of my personal favorites is Roller Derby Queen. Or Walking in the Alabama Rain. A lot of his songs were about people that he met on the road. So sad that he died so young. We missed out on a lot of good music. Hey, thanks a lot, it was fun listening to the song with you guys!

[@dowittrock1330]

Nothing better than a jam session with the boys

[@SickGirlRocks]

This song breaks my heart every time I hear it. What a legend gone before his time ❤️

[@melliehobson8299]

The tears are the something in his eyes that keep him from reading the number...so moving. His very best song. Ha, snow! I agree with my dad--if we never saw another snowflake it'd be too soon.

[@oscarc5043]

His ex is living with his “ ex-friend Ray”

[@twwtjohns]

It's hard to believe it's been nearly half a century since Jim Croce was taken from us just as he was achieving the stardom he'd sought for years. He was only 30 years old when he left us. My favorite Jom Croce songs are 'New York's not my Home' and 'Walking Back to Georgia.'

[@maggieanne5340]

One of my absolute favorites. Jim Croce (Crow-Chee). I had all his albums. Listened to him every day. Every song a classic. He was a classic. Miss him a lot. Such a tragic story of the plane crash, he and his baby boy gone. One of my favorite songs was "It Doesn't Have To Be That Way". Such an incredible writer and folk singer/Storyteller. Like John Denver. Sad both died in plane crashes. 💞

[@robertbrescia3196]

His son was not with him in the plane crash. He left his wife Ingrid and his young son behind. Very sad.

[@NOAHCASAS]

THE FEW VIDEOS BEFORE THE NEIGHBOR STARTED TO DO THEIR OWN REACTION CONTENT LOL AMAZING SONG HOW HIS LOOK REMINDS ME A BIT OF "FRANK ZAPPA" THANKS JAMEL_AKA_JAMAL & GRIFFIN BROTHERS ✌🏼& LO💚E MY BROTHERS

[@rustbeltwriter]

Great choice. Photographs and Memories is another one that is often overlooked that is great by him.

[@MysterySp0t]

This song breaks my heart and his voice is just so amazingly beautiful. His smiling face is hanging on my wall and when I’m feeling blue I only need to glance at it and I smile back. ❣️

[@freefallin6871]

Anyone who's ever been in this situation understand a betrayal like no other. You put on a brave face, but you're devastated with a pain that's smothering. You never look at people quite the same way again, and you never forget. Just like the rest of his songs, Jim does a masterful job. On that fateful night of Sep 20, 1973 his plane took off and he became legend.

[@ritacal557]

My all time favorite songs make me super emotional. This is one of them. I think about the love that I thought would save me.

[@onlyme114]

He has some fun songs too. A couple of them are YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM AND BAD BAD LEROY BROWN. 💖💖💖

[@owaissaaltheadickey9341]

Jim Croce and Sam Cooke ....both were pure poetry that was taken from the world way too soon.A friend from Maine,USA. 🖖

[@jimedwards4214]

He wrote this while listening to the conversations of his fellow soldiers waiting to use the pay phones

[@clashman2]

Jim Croce was from Upper Darby, PA, the neighborhood next to mine. He and Todd Rundgren are local heroes.

[@wolfsmith2865]

Jim Croce was a gift, and like Jimi Hendricks we did not get to have them for very long. Good thing they left us great music while they were here.

[@trinaortiz9195]

Love Jim Croce, his album was the first album I ever got and it was a Christmas gift from Santa!

[@liverpooloflife8731]

Jim Croce (Crow-Chee) Jim was an incredible singer-songwriter, who was taken from us at the tender age of 30 (January 10, 1943 - September 20, 1973) in a plane crash. He was born in Philadelphia (South Philadelphia) & grew up in Upper Darby Pa, a suburb of Philly... Another song you should listen to is ' (If I Could Save) Time in a Bottle' and 'I'll Have to Say I Love You (in a Song)'. Some of my favorites.

[@trismaccarran9950]

A picture of the human condition of heartbreak & loss, delivered within the lyrics of a simple- & simply beautiful- song. Jim Croces' gift. I can imagine a younger person scratching their head whilst wondering what an operator is... *Would like to hear more of Mr. Croces' music

[@paulamaggard6499]

You guys must have missed part of the first verse, “she’s living in LA with my best old EX friend, Ray” - she left him for his best friend. She & his best friend betrayed him. And he’s still not over it.

[@jamesmiles7787]

One of those songs and artist I will never get tired of hearing.

[@brendacofer967]

Great artist. Died too young in a plane crash. I remember that day well. Still listen today.

[@jennyhagemann5159]

My husband loved him, he sang this to me all the time, he went to Heaven 17 years ago and when I hear this I still weep

[@trevorelms]

This one makes me miss my momma. She loved this song and I'd often find her singing it when she was cooking.

[@robinbeers6689]

Jim Croce's widow Ingrid and his son A.J. lived here in San Diego and ran a jazz club/restaurant downtown for a long time. A.J. grew up to be a very talented jazz pianist with a voice that sounds just like his dad. The club was called The Top Hat Bar and Grill after the title of one of Jim's songs. Ingrid was a talented chef and a heck of a good businesswoman. She ran the restaurant side of things. When Jim died, his family was left with nothing despite all the hit records. Jim was a great musician but he trusted the wrong people to manage the finances and they really screwed him over. Ingrid opened a restaurant to be able to feed her kid. My Mom and Ingrid were friends back in the day. That's how I know this stuff.

[@dee_dee_place]

If I remember correctly, Ingrid didn't want Jim to go to the gig that wound up getting him killed. Their son, AJ, was about to turn 2 & she wanted Jim home. She is also an artist, songwriter, & author. She no longer sings (she & Jim were a duo) because of vocal cord tumors.

[@robinbeers6689]

@@dee_dee_place Yes, A.J. got the musical talent on both sides of his genetics.

[@raymondfaron85]

My three amigos, God bless y’all

[@seabreeze8894]

We pronounced it CROW-she back in the day. Love seeing the brotherly love between y’all. 😊 What a blessing, never to be taken for granted. 🌸💖

[@michellerutherford9551]

Here for it! Love me some Jim Croce!!

[@MrHarry-ne7ol]

Hey Jamel, glad to see you and friends enjoying Jim Croce! I'm 56 yrs old, been listening to this since the early 70's as a kid. He was on the radio all the time back in those days. Been playing acoustic guitar for 30 years, now also practicing my Jim Croce!

[@CrimsonDeathBed]

I have a connection to Jim Croce that I think few do. This was the first artist as a VERY young child (Born 1980) I knew was my "favorite." I used to put this cassette tape on the radio and listen to this album, he was my introduction to music at a very early age. I listen to metal, rap, rock, hardcore, punk, but I always go back to lyrics because this man taught me what it was to be a well-rounded songwriter. Look up his story sometime and watch the Documentary. Love you all, always the most love. Peace

[@flexjay87]

I used to hear this song on the radio back in the day. Its brilliant musically/ lyrically and gets better with time, because the longer you live, the more you can relate !

[@audiotsunite]

There's Rocky, the pride of Philly... and there's Jim Croce.

[@deloresdunbar1464]

Great voice, great writer, great story teller. RIP Jim Croce. She left him, went to LA to be with his now ex friend Ray. While he sets at home heartbroken thinking she was the one he could depend on.

[@v.downes9608]

My favorite song of Jim Croce is when I listen to any one of his songs. I can’t pick just one, he is that type of artist.

[@famijher]

Jamal, I'm from Massachusetts, and I'm old enough to remember the Blizzard of '78. When your brother was talking about his encounters with snow and cold weather, I thought I'd share that memory. Massachusetts almost completely shut down for two weeks with little power and no road access because so much snow got dumped on us! At least that's one thing you don't have to worry about in California!

[@marthaz]

Jim Croce - Unique talent and classic songs (suggested below). A must hear for any student of music. Love your genuine reactions 💕

[@CherylBattista]

You gotta hear Photographs and Memories, trust me. Jim Croce was the real deal. ❤😢

[@MrDevildog0321]

There is just something so cool and satisfying about seeing family sitting together and enjoying music. Thank you!

[@poultryprincessglam-ma9298]

Jim Croce passed when I was 3 years old…I was so sad to find out when I discovered him that he was already gone. Just heartbreaking.

[@goittoog7563]

One of the greatest torch songs of pop music--glad to have the great Jamel and his bothers, no one better to react to JimmCroces masterpiece

[@RandomFandomDragon]

Who in the world would dislike this video??? I love Jim Croce, such a beautiful voice. Definitely died too soon.