I Got a Name

This article is about the album. For the song, see I Got a Name (song).

I Got a Name
Studio album by Jim Croce
Released	December 1, 1973
Recorded	1973
Studio	Hit Factory, New York City
Genre	Folk rock
Length	30:57
Label	ABC (USA) Vertigo (UK)
Producer	Terry Cashman, Tommy West
Jim Croce chronology
Life & Times (1973) I Got a Name (1973) Photographs & Memories (1974)
Singles from I Got a Name
"I Got a Name / "Alabama Rain"" Released: September 1973 "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" / "Salon and Saloon" Released: March 1974 "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" / "Thursday" Released: June 1974

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	C+ [2]
Rolling Stone	(favorable) [3]

I Got a Name is the fifth and final studio album and first posthumous release by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, released on December 1, 1973. It features the ballad "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song", which reached number 9 on the US singles chart, and the ballad "Salon and Saloon", the last song Croce recorded in his lifetime. The song, which is noted for its sparse piano-only vocal backing, was written by his guitarist and friend Maury Muehleisen and was included on the album as a gift to the writer.

This would be Croce's final album, as he died in a plane crash on September 20, 1973.

"I Got a Name" was used as the theme for the films The Last American Hero and Invincible . It was a posthumous hit for Croce, reaching number 10 on the US singles chart.

The album reached number 2 on the US charts behind his earlier album You Don't Mess Around with Jim in first place. ^{[4] [5]}

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jim Croce, unless stated otherwise:

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Got a Name"	Charles Fox, Norman Gimbel	3:11
2.	"Lover's Cross"		3:04
3.	"Five Short Minutes"		3:29
4.	"Age"	Jim Croce, Ingrid Croce	3:46
5.	"Workin' at the Car Wash Blues"		2:32
6.	"I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song"		2:34
7.	"Salon and Saloon"	Maury Muehleisen	2:31
8.	"Thursday"	Sal Joseph	2:28
9.	"Top Hat Bar and Grille"		2:47
10.	"Recently"		2:34
11.	"The Hard Way Every Time"		2:29

Personnel

Credits taken from album's liner notes ^[6]

• Jim Croce – rhythm guitar on tracks 2 to 6 and 8 to 11, lead vocals, backing vocals on tracks 1, 4, and 8

Additional musicians

• Leroy Brown – backing vocals on "Five Short Minutes"
• Gary Chester – drums on "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song"
• George Devens – percussion on tracks 1, 4, 6, and 9
• Steve Gadd – drums on tracks 3, 5, and 11
• Ellie Greenwich – backing vocals on "Top Hat Bar and Grille"
• Michael Kamen – ARP synthesizer and oboe on "The Hard Way Every Time"; ARP tuba synthesizer on "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues"
• Joe Macho – bass on tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 to 10
• Rick Marotta – drums on tracks 1, 2, 8, 9, percussion on track 10
• Bobby Matos – percussion on tracks 3, 5, and 10
• Terence P. Minogue – strings, backing vocals on "The Hard Way Every Time"
• Maury Muehleisen – lead acoustic guitar on tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, and 8 to 11, lead electric guitar on 4 and 9, backing vocals on 1, 5, and 8
• Henry Gross – lead and rhythm electric guitar on "Five Short Minutes", slide guitar on "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues"
• Marty Nelson – backing vocals on tracks 3, 6, and 10
• Alan Rolnick – backing vocals on "I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song"
• Tasha Thomas – backing vocals on "Five Short Minutes" and "Top Hat Bar And Grille"
• Tommy West – piano on tracks 1, 3, 7, 9, and 11, electric piano on track 6, keyboards on tracks 4, 8, and 10, rhythm guitar on tracks 1 and 4, and backing vocals on tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 11
• Stu Woods – bass on tracks 3, 5, and 11

Chart positions

Weekly charts Year Chart Peak position 1974 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [7] 2 1974 US Billboard 200 [8] 2

Year-end charts Chart (1974) Position Canada RPM Top 100 Albums [9] 27 US Billboard 200 [10] 16

Singles ^[11]

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1973	"I Got a Name"	Adult Contemporary	4
		Pop Singles	10
1974	"I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song"	Adult Contemporary	1
		Pop Singles	9
		Country	68
	"Workin' at the Car Wash Blues"	Adult Contemporary	9
		Pop Singles	32

Certifications

Country	Certifications
United States	Gold

References

1. "I Got a Name - Jim Croce | Album". AllMusic . Retrieved December 1, 2024.
2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved February 23, 2019– via Robertchristgau.com.
3. "Album Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
4. Grein, Paul (October 5, 1991). "Chart Beat" (PDF). Billboard . p. 4. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
5. "January 26, 1974". Billboard 200 .
6. "Jim Croce - I Got A Name". Discogs.com. December 1, 1973. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
7. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4975a". RPM . Library and Archives Canada.
8. "Jim Croce Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
9. "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1974". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. December 28, 1974. Archived from the original on February 3, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
10. "Top US Billboard 200 Albums - Year-end 1974". BestSellingAlbums.org. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
11. Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)