Dynasty Dinosaur

Jim Croce wrote one of the most beautiful songs about wishing we had more time with the people we love. Sadly, he never got the time he was singing about. Jim met Ingrid Jacobson in 1963 while judging a folk music contest in Philadelphia. They fell in love, married three years later, and spent the next several years struggling to make a living playing music. They even moved to New York hoping to make it big, but their first album went nowhere. Jim ended up working several jobs just to pay the bills, playing music whenever he could. One night in late 1970, Ingrid told Jim she was pregnant with their first child. That same evening, he sat down and wrote "Time in a Bottle," a song about wishing he could save the precious moments in life and make them last forever. By 1973, Jim was finally finding success. "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" reached No. 1, and he was touring constantly. But all that time on the road meant being away from Ingrid and their little boy, A.J. On September 12, 1973, "Time in a Bottle" was featured in a television movie, and viewers started calling stations asking where they could buy the song. Just eight days later, Jim and five others were killed when their chartered plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Louisiana. He was only 30 years old. About a week after his death, Ingrid received a letter Jim had mailed while on tour. He'd been thinking about changing his life, spending more time at home, and finally enjoying the family he'd worked so hard to provide for. He told her things would be different when he got home. He even asked her to kiss their little boy and tell him Daddy loved him. But Jim never made it home. Three months after his death, "Time in a Bottle" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song he'd written after learning he was going to become a father had become one of his biggest hits. Their son A.J. was only two years old when Jim died, and he eventually grew up to become a musician himself. It's hard to listen to "Time in a Bottle" quite the same way once you know the story behind it. What's your favorite Jim Croce song?