I Got a Name: The Jim Croce Story
4.6 | 380 ratings
Price: 11.99
Last update: 02-01-2026
Product details
- ASIN : B0080K3M0C
- Publisher : Da Capo
- Accessibility :
- Publication date : July 3, 2012
- Language : English
- File size : 4.4 MB
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 338 pages
- ISBN-13 : 978-0306821233
- Page Flip : Enabled
- Best Sellers Rank:#946 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Music History & Criticism (Books)
- Country & Folk Composer Biographies
- Music Business (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:4.64.6 out of 5 stars(380)
Top reviews from the United States
- Amazon CustomerAn enjoyable read for fans of Jim Croce and his musicI absolutely enjoyed reading this book about Jim Croce's life. To begin with, I liked how each chapter title was named with one of Jim's songs, showing the connection between his music and his life, and this was masterfully done. I was pleasantly surprised to read the ups and downs of a real life rather than a hagiography that merely creates a facade that no one can relate to. Ingrid Croce confesses from the very start that this is her view of Jim and their life together. However, this book is not simply a memoir-- she definitely did her research and had many interviews with family, friends and others who knew Jim, as well. She gives us a heart-driven tale, with joys and aching, hope and despair.
This book shows how Ingrid and Jim were a musical couple from the very beginning; that there were songs which they wrote together; and that they continued to sing together through the years. Ingrid reveals to us "Jim Croce the Trucker", "Jim the Unhappy Private in Boot Camp" and "Bawdy Jim". She helps us get to know the situation and the angst in their lives that inspired Jim's song "New York's Not My Home". And the stories Ingrid tells us about both of their families serve well in helping us to better understand the kind of man Jim was.
Admittedly, I also personally re-experienced the feel of the "70's" with this book, remembering what that time was like, how different gender roles were, how people were experimenting with new drugs and vying to experience "free" love. That period was not easy for many marriages and Jim and Ingrid's marriage was no exception.
Of course "I Got a Name: the Jim Croce Story" shows the struggle of musical artists with the way the record industry generally operated at the time. We certainly get Ingrid's view of this and there's no love lost there. But Ingrid's comments need to be taken in the context of how mostly all music execs at that time were part of a whole industry that was formed to produce the most money out of their talented providers. It makes me grateful that we're fortunate to live in a time now when artists can put themselves out on the Internet, promote themselves and be in control of their own lives and careers.
As others have said, I believe this book is a good foundation for a movie and I truly hope that happens. In the brief time that he was on the national stage Jim Croce made a huge impact on his listeners in America and around the world. If you want to know the story behind that impact, I can't recommend this book enough to you. As a fan of Croce's, I found it to be a pleasurable read indeed. - KarilynnI Got A NameAn amazing story about Jim Croce & his wife, Ingrid’s journey into the music world with all of its ups & downs. A beautiful life gone too soon that left its indelible mark on music history & all of the lives Jim touched! A great read!
- Karl WingruberSee behind the curtain…This wonderful, enlightening and ultimately depressing book gave me more information than I ever wanted to know about Jim Croce, yet I’m glad to know it. Though extremely talented, he was deeply flawed and a product of an old and cruel style of parenting. I love how Croce’s songs come directly from his own experiences, and I admire Jim‘s initiative to get to know ordinary people. He was the real deal, and his tragic death robbed all of us of one of music’s most beloved troubadours.
- CHMgood old times with Jim and IngridIn 1964, my husband and I met Jim at the Riddle Paddock, where he was performing on Saturday nights, singing old sailor ballads, many famous singer's songs and where he eventually progressed to writing his own, kind of tough guy songs, which Ingrid and I hated. We became very good friends over a period of 8 years, really enjoying each other's personalities, which were a good mix of German, Italian, Jewish and Wasp and a lot of personality which was constantly expressed in our lifestyles. Jim was a teacher in an all black school and could bring an audience to pieces, imitating the poor kids accents. Ingrid was an art student at Moore College of Art, very talented, my husband was a medial student at the University of Pennsylvania and I was the super supporter, working as a med technician during the day and filling in as a waitress at the the Riddle Paddock 2 or 3 times a week working until wee hours, but bringing home the bacon. I was smart and talented also and we all enjoyed many eves in our row house in Philadelphia, me cooking and Jim playing and singing.
Turning the clock forward,
I filed for a divorce, Jim was killed in the plane crash, I went to his funeral and mostly destroyed with grief, I went on a lone journey in my VW bug all over Mexico , driving a total of 30k miles throughout the country, sightseeing, studying art, living here and there and hearing Jim's music in the weirdest places, i.e. the dschungel in Palenque. I would just stop in my tracks, smile and listen to Jim. Yes, he made it all the way to the dschungels of Chiapas, where I ended up studying Maya Art.....
Turning the clock forward
Ingrid always wanted to be married to a Dr or lawyer and so she did!
What I can't warm up to is the fact that Jim was just being harvested like a good crop to make that money! I find this extremely unethical and immoral to so loosely disclose all intimacies and a person's faults to the world. Maybe anger does many foolish things. It takes two to tango and no, Ingrid was no saint! Rather, both of them had a lot of character in their own right. Ingrid was a talented artist, singer and as it sounds from her books, became a published chef, devoted wife and mother and restaurateur. That is a huge accomplishment. Congrats Ing. I too have accomplished a lot, but David died, not in Vietnam, but from suicide afterwards. Christel - Raphael Siente SeI Have Been Waiting Almost 40 Years For This Book !Very well written "behind the scenes" look at the life and times of Jim and Ingrid. As a Jim Croce fan and collector, I thought I knew just about everything about Jim......I was wrong. Ingrid shares so many details of the relationship.....the trials and tribulations.....the early years were just fascinating.....you really learn about how in love they were.... crazy love.....I was fascinated to see how "smitten" Ingrid was by Jim and at such a young age ......she chased him!!! I was also overwhelmed with how close Ingrid was to her father.......she had the relationship with her father that we all dream of......she talked to him about everything and he was her best friend.........also amazing to see how Jim seemed "closer" to Ingrid's family than his own.......I could go on for quite a while, but if you are a Jim Croce fan, this is a must read. Thank you, Ingrid, for sharing this wonderful story.