I Got a Name

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I Got a Name
Jim Croce - I Got a Name.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedDecember 1, 1973
Recorded1973
Studio Hit Factory, New York City
Genre Folk rock
Length30:57
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
  1. "I Got a Name / "Alabama Rain""
    Released: September 1973
  2. "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" / "Salon and Saloon"
    Released: March 1974
  3. "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" / "Thursday"
    Released: June 1974
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [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 in 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.

Contents

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 in 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.TitleWriter(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 Joseph2:28
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]

Additional musicians

Chart positions

Singles [8]

YearSingleChartPosition
1973"I Got a Name" Adult Contemporary 4
Pop Singles 10
1974"I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song"Adult Contemporary1
Pop Singles9
Country 68
"Workin' at the Car Wash Blues"Adult Contemporary9
Pop Singles32

Certifications

Country Certifications
United States Gold

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References

  1. Allmusic review
  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. Rolling Stone review
  4. Grein, Paul (October 5, 1991). "Chart Beat" (PDF). Billboard . p. 4. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  5. "January 26, 1974". Billboard 200 .
  6. https://www.discogs.com/release/799612-Jim-Croce-I-Got-A-Name?ev=item-vc
  7. "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.
  8. Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)