Croce Plays Croce

A.J. Croce performs Croce Plays Croce, a special night of music featuring a complete set of classics by his late father Jim Croce, some of his own tunes, and songs that influenced both him and his father. This special event features such timeless songs as “Operator”, “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim”, “Time in a Bottle” (a song written for A.J.)“, Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)”, and “Lovers Cross”, to name a few. Classic covers may include songs by Lieber and Stoller, Bessie Smith, and other folk and roots artists. Jim Croce was an American folk singer with a short-lived professional recording and touring career, and decades of posthumous fame as one of the greatest songwriters and artists ever. With sales surpassing 50 million records, including three #1 songs and 10 Top 10 hits, Jim Croce’s short career and long-lived legacy are well-remembered through his era-defining standards like “Operator”, “Time in a Bottle” and “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”. A.J. Croce’s 30-year touring and recording career has produced ten studio albums that have been released via both major and independent labels, and have charted 20 Top 20 singles and all ten albums on the radio including on Top 40, Americana, and Blues. A virtuoso piano player, he has performed at a TED Talk and gave a master class at the University of Barcelona. Croce has performed on major talk shows and news programs including The Late Show, The Tonight Show, The Today Show, CNN, MTV, and VH1. He’s toured with such esteemed artists as Willie Nelson, Lenny Kravitz, Earth, Wind, and Fire, and B.B. King. While his last album, Just Like Medicine, paired him with producer and soul legend Dan Penn and an all-star cast of players and guests like Vince Gill and Steve Cropper, his new album was born of memories—of favorite artists and shows, but mostly, of late-night gatherings with groups of friends, many of them fellow musicians, with Croce at the piano taking requests. Croce revisits these musical evenings on By Request (out on Compass Records) with 12 personally curated covers that traverse decades and genres, propelled by his spirited, piano mastery and emotive vocals. With a rich catalog of original compositions A.J. first recorded and released a composition of his fathers with a never- before-recorded song "Name of the Game" on his Just Like Medicine release. In 2018 he covered the 1973 hit “I Got A Name” for a Goodyear commercial with Dale Earnhardt Jr. A.J. Croce is excited for the series of performances of ‘Croce Plays Croce’. The upcoming ‘Croce Plays Croce’ Tour dates are scheduled throughout this year with the special 50th Anniversary shows. 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.