Event starts at 7:00 PM
Entertainment
Croce plays Croce
AJ Croce
50th Anniversary Concert
“You Don’t Mess Around with Jim”
July 15
7pm
Tickets: $35 – $83
Sponsored by
River Radio
WSIL TV
SINGER/SONGWRITER A.J. CROCE KICKED-OFF 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF JIM CROCE’S SEMINAL 1972 ALBUM
‘YOU DON’T MESS AROUND WITH JIM’
EARLIER THIS YEAR, A.J. GUEST HOSTED ON SIRIUS XM’S
‘THE BRIDGE’ (CH. 17) WITH A TRIBUTE TO HIS FATHER’S ICONIC ALBUM
SPECIAL ‘CROCE PLAYS CROCE 50th ANNIVERSARY’ SHOWS
SCHEDULED THIS FALL PERFORMING THE FULL ALBUM
Golden Anniversary Reissue Out This Fall Coincides with A.J.’s ‘Croce Plays Croce 50th Anniversary ‘You Don’t Mess Around With Jim’
Nashville, TN July 1, 2022: Multi-talented singer/songwriter A.J. Croce shared his acclaimed tribute ‘Croce Plays Croce’ earlier this year on Sirius XM Radio’s popular channel The Bridge (Ch.17), in a guest DJ role which shed new light on both father and son’s musical careers. A.J.’s Sirius XM appearance also kicked off the 50th Anniversary celebration of his father’s breakthrough 1972 album You Don’t Mess Around With Jim. A.J. shared intimate aspects of his revered live salute to his dad, which drew praise this past year for its rare insight into the legendary Jim Croce’s musical canon and the songs that influenced both performers.
Like A.J.’s critically praised concert tribute, CBS Sunday Morning aired a beautiful Father’s Day story featuring background about Jim Croce and an interview with A.J. sharing his memories and musical influences from his own 30-plus year music career and spotlighting the connection of father-and-son’s incredible music tapestry.
A.J. Croce has been a staple of the Americana, AAA, Blues, Top 40 and other charts throughout his own stellar career, releasing ten studio albums that effortlessly transcend multiple genres and have had 20 songs chart in the Top 20 on various radio charts. However, the upcoming 50th Anniversary Celebration of You Don’t Mess Around With Jim has prompted the most affectionate look back yet at his father’s enduring legacy. The renewed interest leading up to the celebration of the classic album (which was recorded for only $18,000 and spent an incredible 93 weeks on the charts) has inspired a special version of A.J.’s popular ‘Croce Plays Croce’ concert series, with a host of new dates scheduled for this fall.
A.J. crisscrossed the country in 2021 with this unique concert experience to sold out shows and rave reviews: ‘As a considerate tribute, Croce Plays Croce covered just about everything a fan could expect. With A.J.’s stories and sentiment, though, it was elevated beyond a mere musical homage. Instead, the evening felt more like a family reunion.’ – Live Music News & Review
The Nashville based artist is excited for the series of performances of ‘Croce Plays Croce 50th Anniversary You Don’t Mess Around With Jim’. The upcoming tour dates are scheduled throughout this year with the special 50th Anniversary shows beginning in the fall (more dates to be announced.) The performances promise A.J.’s unique interpretation of Jim’s iconic You Don’t Mess Around With Jim album with a full band and visual presentation of the songs, including indelible hits, “Operator (That’s Not The Way It Feels’), “Time In A Bottle,” and others. The upcoming 50th Anniversary release of the album is to include other celebratory promotions by BMG, Jim’s record company, including the special reissue and accompanying commemorative events throughout the autumn of 2022.
About Jim Croce + You Don’t Mess Around With Jim
Jim Croce found long-overdue success in 1972 following years of struggling to make a name in the music business. That year he released his debut album, You Don’t Mess Around With Jim, which topped the Billboard Album chart for more than a month, spawning the hit singles “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim,” “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels),” and “Time in a Bottle”. His final studio effort, I’ve Got a Name, was released just after he passed in Fall of 1973, ten days after his death. Three more hits (“Workin’ at the Car Wash Blues,” “I’ll Have to Say I Love You in a Song” and the title song) came from that album, which reached #2 in the album charts. His records earned three #1’s and ten Top 10’s. His three classic albums (including Life and Times) amazingly were recorded in just a one-and-a-half-year period. Jim Croce was just thirty when he died but helped christen the singer/songwriter era of the early 70s, influencing generations of great songwriters to come. He has achieved unprecedented record sales for a working-class, solo ‘folk’ artist including The Songwriter’s Hall of Fame induction, surpassing the 50 million sales mark (worldwide) with his memorable self-penned tunes gracing more than 375 compilations. His music continues to be included in major films, TV shows, and commercials including Apple’s Siri Ad, Tarantino’s Django Unchained, the X-Men franchise, Netflix’s Stranger Things and currently in George Clooney’s The Tender Bar.
A.J. was only two years old when his father was killed in a tragic airplane crash in 1973, but came to love and appreciate his dad’s blue-collar, empathetic wordplay and irresistible melodies, “just like everyone else…by listening to the albums,” says A.J. The younger Croce never performed his dad’s song live until he came across a batch of old covers Jim Croce recorded of classic and obscure blues and folk songs, including work by Fats Waller, Bessie Smith, and Pink Anderson. “I was amazed to discover he was into stuff I was playing myself,” says A.J. The revelation eventually led the singer to conceive the ‘Croce Plays Croce’ concert experience where he delves into both artists’ mesmerizing work, their shared influences and career paths.
As the respected online music database AllMusic states in its comprehensive biography of A.J.’s legendary father: ‘Listening to the songs Croce recorded, one cannot help but wonder how far his extraordinary talents could have taken him if he would have lived longer.’ His son A.J. not only appropriately honors his father’s legacy, but further illuminates the power of the Croce pedigree with an iconic identity all his own.
(phone: (618) 997-4030)