British guitarist analyses Jim Croce's SUPERB story telling with Maury Muehleisen (One more time!)
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- Опубліковано 12 лют 2020
- Tonight we're looking again at Jim and Maury, this was a video I made almost exactly a year ago, but my pronunciation annoyed me, so I've tried again!
Original video - • Jim Croce - Operator -HQ
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"There's something in my eyes, you know it happens every time." Yeah, it happens every time I hear this masterpiece. Rest in peace, Jim and Maury, you gave us a lot of beauty in the short time you played for us.
I'd love to have Fil do an analysis of one of Maury's songs--such a sweet and pure voice.
Sigh. Taken from us far too soon. I miss this era terribly. Singer/songwriter/performers who could rip your heart out with one song, then make you laugh with the next. Jim and Maury were true masters.
Yes, those were the days when could sit and listing to a natural singer. No effects, no flashing lights, no gimmicks etc. 60,s & 70,s were like blessings in the music industry.
Few artists can make you forget the times you're personally feeling and take you somewhere special. Jim and Maury could do that.
"You can keep the dime" instant tears
@@tjvanpopta Agree 100 % I always think of all the great music we missed when they died !
Amen Carl. So many good songs in such a short period of time. Singing along with these tunes is a real treat.
Phil...Thank you for not interrupting and letting Jim and Maury take you into their song....they would have appreciated that!
They were magnificent, pure and talented and wore their heart on their sleeves!
In September of 1973, I had just turned 16 and over the previous year, my teenage mind quickly had embraced music. Jim Croce was it for me. One morning, I walked down the driveway to retrieve the morning paper and Jim's plane crash was on the front page. I was devastated! Still to this day, I have a warm spot for Mr Croce. RIP, Jim. 🙏
being a year younger and living in the UK, I'd heard Jim on Radio Luxembourg and became a fan. Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown was never released over here and I had just found a copy of 'You don't mess around with Jim' in a Portobello Road junk store had played it to death at home when I heard the news. Was devestated, but almost 50 years later, Jim's music is on my Itunes every single day.
I recently sang 'Time in a Bottle' and 'Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown' in a London pub's open mnic night to great acclaim and would love to sing Operator too.
@@Kings_New_Clothese Those must be tough to play live after all these years. ❤
Mr Croce had to drive a truck to make ends meet even later into his career and the people he met went into his songs. He had a very straight line from his heart to his vocal cords.
Awesome way to describe Jim Croce!!!!!
@@sheripetrey1882 Yes..one of a kind!! S. Philadelphia boy!
@@samburkes7552 He was more of a DeCo boy. Graduated from Upper Darby High School, was a substitute teacher in Chester, lived in Media and played regularly at the Riddle Paddock on Baltimore Pike in Lima, Pa. The Daily Times even stated in several articles after his death that he was born in Chester.
He did what he had to do, because of his parasite production contracts. His wife had to fight them after he passed away to get some of the money owed them. She said with two songs on top 40 and they paid them the same as before.
He's mostly known for "Speedball Tucker" but check out "Big Wheel" from his first album backed by his wife. It has a very Gordon Lightfoot vibe to it cf. "Long Thin Dawn"
"You can keep the dime" - what a great line, yet meaningless to virtually anyone born after this song was recorded XD
Telling a story where all the characters are multidimensional while only hearing the voice of the protagonist. It's a novella in just three verses and a chorus.
I always saw it as a mini movie.
Like Sylvia’s Mother
Find a pay phone today.
Plus "operator".
Well said, Caz.
The fact that Jim Croce is not in the rock and roll Hall of Fame is unfathomable. You would be hard pressed to find another talent who spent such a short time with us and accomplished as much as Jim did. As a musician I can tell you that playing and singing this song at the same time is no easy feat. Jim singing and playing combined with Maury's picking is excellence in action.
Fil, your analysis of this song is as usual spot on great job well done sir.
I was once at the Martin Guitar factory in Pennsylvania where I unexpectedlty met Maury's sister. She was there because the Martin Guitar Co was producing a signature series in honor of Maury. We talked a while and she offered me her 1st production guitar to play, which I did. We had such a great time and many memories shared. Amazing that Maury had so much talent and was only 24 when the plane crashed.
Jim and Maury were musically matched...Jim wrote those songs and Maury gave them beautiful instrumental depth.
Maury wrote "Salon and Saloon". The last song they ever recorded. Such a moving and emotional song. My favorite.
It was when they started playing together that Jim's career really took off.
So true! And Maury seemed so content to just sit in the shadow and support Jim with his hauntingly subtle background vocals as well... Just an awesome pair ripped from us so far too-soon... sad!
@@richardperkins5046 absolutely.
I saw Jim in July 1973 at Pine Knob in Michigan. He played by himself sitting on a stool. I was only 20 at the time. At that point in my life, time was full of infinite possibilities. The loss of Jim was unfathomable to me. How could you just see someone, and they were gone? At 70, it's a question I never ask anymore.
Jim Croce and Gordon Lightfoot are the epitome of songwriter-storyteller musicians. They sing as if they are just talking to you and telling you a story. What talent. Probably the two best lyricists ever along with people like Glenn Frey and a few others.
And let’s not forget some of James Taylor’s early work. He wrote storytelling songs, and so did Harry Chapin.
And now Jim and Gordon can be telling the angels their stories.
Thanks for the GL shoutout. I have been screaming from the rooftops for 50 years that he never got his due credit. May they RIP.
And Marty Robbins
Jim's wife should not have had to sue the record company multiple times in multiple states to get some of the millions of dollars owed to her late husband years after his death. Sad sad sad.
So talented. It is like the most talented among us just weren't meant to endure the mediocrity of this world.
Amen :(
Boone Docker, if that isn’t the truth
Bravo.
Very well said...Jim was a true story teller with a voice that translated perfectly, with beautiful guitar to accompany.
Beautiful
Fil, your analysis videos are simply the best I’ve ever seen anywhere. But not only can you take the music apart, it is plainly apparent that you are also a huge fan as well and can simply enjoy these performances like the rest of us. Please don’t ever lose that passion! It really comes across in your videos and makes them 10 times more enjoyable to watch.
Thanks!
Avicenna10 - this is true. Fil is tops. The best.
Well said...saw him at UCLA back in the day...
Avicenna10 I love Fil. Music penetrates his soul.
Agreed.
Jim and Maury were certainly two of the great talents of the 20th century and this song “Operator” will always be one of my all-time favorites!
If I could put time in a bottle....
I'd SELL it!
It's save...but yes. Great song.
@@aileenburke6460 You're correct. It was the result of me typing fast.
I was a little girl when he died. I remember feeling the loss of the songs that wouldn't be heard. Really love his talent. Thanks for bringing me
back to this time.
Seems like Prince. Nonstop writer.
I was 11 years old.
Time In a Bottle is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard.
One of my favorites
Written for his son
Sometimes I can't listen to that song all the way through. That opening sequence just gets me!!
@@kelvendyson1508 - that’s the kind of song I ask myself why didn’t I write it ?
Thank you!! I've loved him since I was 12. I'm now 59.
Same here luv cept I've got seven years on ya ...... =^>
@@davidcantwell2489 what is your favorite Croce song?
Hey Susie howyadoin kiddo
That would have to be Photographs and Memories. And yours ?
Did you delete a comment to me? It shows in my notifications but doesn't go anywhere.
I was 13. Maybe it is because at that age we begin to really coalesce into the music animals we will become. Simple, heartfelt, little flash but deep beauty. That was the music. Jim and Maury didn't beat you over the head with gimmicks. they wrote, played guitar and sang straight into your soul, heart and head. Another commentor said that musicians aren't made for the music industry. That is more truth than can be contained in a book. If there is another plane of existence, I hope to go there in the end of this one and sit and smile while hearing their music again.
I MISS HIM
Whenever I see videos of Jim and Maury performing together, it's like a golden moment frozen in time. It's a little harder with this wonderful song, Operator, because these days people don't relate to making a long distance call assisted by an operator from a pay phone. But the story within the song still holds up. When I see other videos of Jim and Maury performing (One Less Set of Footsteps, Time in a Bottle, I've Got a Name, etc), I'm always struck by how timeless their music is. It's just two extremely talented guys wearing jeans and playing acoustic guitars in front of a live audience. No elaborate production and no gimmicks. Just songs written and sang from the heart. Their music is still so relevant. The sentiment is still fresh and not dated. Great analysis, Fil!
"You can keep the dime". Aww. Miss him.
Two Voices and Two Guitars, doesn't get any simpler or purer than that!
These guys are amazing artists. I love their music and will always be listening to it. When they died, Jim was 30yo while Maury was only 24yo.
Hi Fil! I absolutely loved Jim Croce! Every time I hear him I think about that plane crash, and how I still miss one of the greatest musicians ever! He was one of a kind! Lost him way too soon! He didn’t have to anything fancy...just a guitar, and that voice was enough for me! Time in a Bottle was my favorite! Everything he did was magical though!✌️
A great entertainer with a gift of a story telling voice that matches the sound of the guitar
My low teen hero on the radio and on tapes I recorded from FM radio station I used to listen to all the time.His voice.
Jim Croce is one if not my favorite artist. The way the words make a story in your mind, the way the guitar works with his voice and not the other way around is something of legend. The imagery alone can make you laugh, cry, tear up, or even put a pep in your step is completely unmatched. There will be no one like him. Miss you every day Jim. ❤️
Maury's harmony is so perfectly blended.
Jim Croce was a near-contemporary of mine but should be ancient history to you, so I think it's wonderful you can fully appreciate this very good singer and truly great composer. You are helping to keep his memory and music alive. I try not to think of the decades of great music that were lost in that crash, not to mention the unspeakable tragedy for his wife and son
So sad we lost them both. I love their music, but everytime I listen it is bittersweet. 😪
Also, James Taylor used to hang out at Jim's place for jam sessions before either were either known in the mainstream. I loved JT, but I feel Croce was jut one step higher level.
Two steps.
Back when Stereo Review magazine was published, I recall a reviewer writing that "Jim Croce was yet another James Taylor-like, blue-jeans-and-guitar wannabe." I was taken aback, to say the least, but filed it in the "Monday grump" file. Oh well, Stereo Review is history, but Jim Croce "just keeps rolling along.";)
@@Otokichi786 Taylor never wrote character songs based in the blues.
@@alwaysopen7970 3
JT's forte was live performance, at that he was brilliant.
Imagine how far these two gentlemen would have gotten had their lives and careers hadn’t been cut so painfully short. So much talent.
I like Jim Croce..generally I'm not a fan of Folk artists. But I think he was much bigger than that......thanks Fil
I was in High School ready to graduate when he died. We were listening to rock music, but a Jim Croce song united everyone. Almost no one gave it a thumb's down. BTW we didn't have thumb's up or down at the time, that came along later to mold our society into accepting that we can exclude other humans from being accepted. But Fil is really someone that has always remained inclusive in his attitude.
@@lawrencetaylor4101 about Fil and inclusivity. I agree. Fil covers cowboy movie songs, Beatles Carpenters, The Who, Righteous Brothers. A large range of styles.
Hi Fil !!!!
Such a tragic loss, my heart breaks whenever I think of him .... heavy sigh......
🥺 I'm not crying, you're crying! So beautiful. So sad to have lost these two in their prime. I love Maury's tasteful playing on this.
you're right, I am!
Crying too. Fil is emotional. That’s what music is all about. It’s in your soul where it sits forever!
Thanks Fil , Jim will always be remembered. Such a special musician. Made a huge impact on my life.
Makes me cry every time- thank you, Fil.😢😭
Hi MIchele...me too.
@@lynndow3185 😍😍...but we still love it so much, even tho our hearts ache!😭
Tears are in my eyes as I watched the video and read the comments. I was ten when this true original musician died.
The 70s was a Golden Age for songwriters and Jim was right up there with the best of them.
Jim Croce had only 18 months in the national spotlight between first hit and his death. Three incredible albums. Maury adds so much to the music. And his deadpan harmony on this song simply adds pathos to the story. Great analysis.
Jim had such a great voice. Maury and Jim played so well together. He has a song called "Age" that is really Great!
My favorite song of his.
Jim and Maury never got the credit they so richly deserved.Due to the tragedy that took them away from us too soon.Good to see you are righting that wrong here.
He made it look effortless. Fantastic.
Indeed. It's actually quite tricky to even play Jim's guitar part, let alone the 2nd guitar.
Really great harmony vocals by Maury here. Sounds perfect.
Such an amazingly talented duo. "Operator" always makes me tear up. Especially, "There's something in my eyes. You know it happens everytime I think about a love that I thought would save me." Just so moving. Thanks Fil.
I was 14 when I cut the cellophane on this album…..what a storyteller….Maury’s guitar work is just outstanding 👏👏👏thanks Fil 🥂
I love his play on words and how they flow together. He makes it all look so seamless and easy. It shows what an incredible artist he was.
Yes,we lost one of the Best. I can see myself sitting in our front porch, looking at nothing but cotton fields, listening to the radio, and this song is playing. Beautiful memories because of a beautiful song and a great singer.
The Duel styles of picking for Perfection the vocal and Harmony were perfection the emotions in the words perfection how can you get any better than that performance I don't see how you can. And did you notice the he's that crochet played and sang never missed anything in the midst of all that was going on they still had the Dynamics perfect timing between the two styles of picking and Maury's lead playing just incredible
It was a great lost to music when we lost Jim and Maury
My 15 yr old son discovered this song after I played some folk tunes and unexpectedly found that he loves it. Proves the timeless sound of Croce.
I'm blown away every time I watch this video (which I do often) at how a couple of guys with guitars can sit there and produce such a complete sound, and do it so perfectly. There's nothing to hide behind. It's just amazing to me.
I loved Jim Croce! His "Time in a Bottle" still moves me to tears.
To this day my fingers just start moving automatically when this tune starts up. Operator was my introduction to Jim Croce. Then, just a few months after I heard this song for the first time he was gone. I was just staring to play and Jim and Maury would remain my primary influences. I did my best to pattern my picking style after them but honestly, I never came close. I did manage to pull off a passable version of this number by borrowing a bit of what each of them were doing but I was playing solo so it only went so far.
Jim and Harry Chapin were the two great musical storytellers from my youth. Other bands like The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band would dip their toes in the water from time to time and produce a tune like Mr. Bojangles but those two stayed at the craft. Alas, we lost them both too soon. I was fortunate enough to see Harry play live twice and one of my lasting memories is catching a glimpse of his little boy jumping up and down backstage while Harry and the band played Cat's in the Cradle. But I only saw Jim on TV. If you stayed up late on Friday night back in those days you would catch him on shows like In Concert and Midnight Special.
It was so tragic that Maury died with him but maybe God just didn't want Jim performing as a solo artist in Heaven. The melodies the two of them made were certainly heavenly and it saddens me that the industry doesn't produce or promote great acoustic artists anymore. I know they are out there. RIP Jim and Maury. Maybe when God decides I can come home you can teach me how to do that step down in D correctly.
Fil, you REALLY said it when you talked about the music industry and how musicians are paid. I like how you explained that musicians are doing if for the love of music. In an interview, Ringo was asked what he would be doing if the Beatles had never become famous. He said that he would still be playing if even in the back of a strip joint and that he decided this is what he wanted to do, paid lots of money or not.
Croce was one of a kind.
Another masterpiece 😎🇺🇸✌
I simply love Jim. The way he delivers the lyrics is timeless. He's so relaxed in his guitar playing. It's as if you could put him in front of a campfire while he entertains the other campers. It has that cozy intimate feel.
Fil, thanks for this one. I was a huge Jim Croce fan. I hope his music and songs are never forgotten. He will live on forever.
The Bible says that "there is going to be a resurrection", so your comment is literally true according to it. He can then take over from where he left off here, and be listened to "forever", if he wants to keep on singing for us. Sure hope he does.... Can hardly wait to see what he and Maury do next.....
He should always be mentioned with the Greats. What a writer, singer, and musician.
There is not one Jim Croce song that I haven't like. The lyrics of all his songs tells a story and that takes great talent.
Another sad ending to a wonderful artist. Had he lived, we would have been graced with a plethora of fantastic songs. Thanks Fil, you are the best. ❤❤
Thanks!
Thank you, Fil for another Jim Croce review. Everything about this song is perfect. I remember riding the school bus home when the bus driver told us Jim was dead. After the initial shocked response, everyone sat quietly with their own thoughts. We hadn’t known him long, but his loss was profoundly felt by all of us. Now you have introduced us to Maury and I feel like I’m losing another great musician now. Even though their lives were cut short, their music always makes me smile. 💕
His sudden death hit many of us hard over here, as he had only just begun to be allowed to show what he could do. Hadn’t realized he’d planned to give it up. xx
Spot on!
He was a great story teller/vocalist!
Such a loss
His voice still gives me goosebumps after all these decades!
Jim Croce struck a cord with me.. no pun. I lost my dad in 1972 when I was 11, and his "Time in a bottle" in 1973 when I was 12 brought tears to my head then.. and 50 years later at 62 still in 2023 brings tears to these old eyes for sure. .. A plane crash in 1973 added to the strange childhood of that time passage. Your reaction and Analysis made this like looking in a rearview mirror through the corridors of time like a residual that still flies in my memory's of that America ago. Rock-on 🤘
I'm sorry for your loss 💚💚💚
@@indierockyhockey .. Ty
Oh my goodness! I was just watching a Jim Croce documentary last night. He was...so beautiful.
These guys died on their way to a college where I live. I was in the 8th grade and had asked my dad if I could go over to the college the next day and get a couple of tickets. He said yes and I was really looking forward to the concert. The next morning my mom was making breakfast and she always had the radio on one of the local radio stations and as I sat down to eat they announced his death. Downer.
Croce is severely underrated
this song is a masterpiece. lyrically. musically. content-wise. viewpoint-wise. just in every shape and way imaginable.
It is so difficult to sing this song and do the guitar pluckings at the same time. That's how talented these two legends who were gone too soon.
Thank you so much for not stopping the song mid stream. Love these two brilliant artists. They worked very well together. Sad loss on many levels. Suspicious even. Love your review man. Thanks for what you do. Bless you
I was 3 years old when he passed. Through the years it still brings me a joy to listen to him and at the same time my heart is broke as well. Truly miss the both of them. Wonderful story telling and masterful guitar playing. R.I.P. Miss the both you dearly.
High school... The best storytellers Jim and James (Taylor). Good memories and still making new ones
One thing missing from a single song analysis of Croce is how good he was at between songs banter on stage. There was no dead time in his show as he tended to tell stories between the songs, usually to set up the next song.
The guitar banter and and just outright musicianship between Jim and Maury were second to none !!! Jim wrote incredible lyrics and melodies !!! Thanks Fil !
What gets me about "Operator" is that it's in a major key. The lyrics and phrasing just intensify the heartbreak.
Croce was able to tell a story in a straightforward way where no one was to blame. As I have grown older, I realize that bad things "just happen" even if I do everything just "right."
Jim Croce had that sense of world weariness that made him seem like he was talking just to you.
Most people know Jim for songs like Bad Bad Leroy Brown,Don't Mess Around with Jim,but for me This was the shit that kept me listen to his records.him and Maury together was all they needed.few people today want to do a straight acoustic performance I miss it just wood wire and voice.
Spiders and Snakes. Had that on a 45 record. Was around 8 or 9 years old. Time in a bottle and Operator pure classics
When the shot goes up to his head you wouldn’t even know he was playing such complicated guitar he plays so effortlessly. I think that allows him to concentrate on singing so well easy for the great ones .These guys were the best
God I loved Jim Croce. He sounds like Arlo in this one, fantastic song writer!!❤️
The NTSB findings found that the 49 year old pilot had a heart attack due to jogging from his hotel to the airport (no taxis is that town) and he had a heart condition, and that happened right at takeoff and the tree caught them and killed all aboard. After the fact, the airport cut down all the trees near the runway.
You nailed it. Your analysis is complete. You don’t hear it like this too often. Obviously you have a very very fine ear and music appreciation. Not too many comprehend the great skills needed to combine simultaneously fingerpicking and singing. When you put the video and you were listening Croce’s song I saw immediately such delightful on your face that I knew you perfectly understood the greatness of Jim Croce
I can still remember exactly where I was when I got the news of his death. I was still working late in the season at my summer gig restaurant job on the boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ. I was busy serving customers when I received the news about Jim. It made the emptiness of the summer's end feel even emptier.
. . . And that absolutely devastating line in his song "Operator" : "I think about the love that I thought would save me" It became my anthem for a sad & lonely truth, which was my lost summer of 1973.
Listening to this made me realize the scarcity of love songs today that don’t completely get on my nerves or stir real feelings. It’s the subtlety and emotional authenticity that are so moving. The way he expresses his gratitude to the operator so well captures the warm connection one might feel to an inadvertent stranger who is part of the chain in trying to desperately reach an indifferent loved one - just brilliant.
My very first album was Jim's. I was all of 9 years old. I still love him and miss him
Something about his voice is just so perfect.
When me and my wife were young and dating you can bet while we were out driving around Jim and Maury would be played sometime. Just great music and stories. His music is still very much on our playlist when we’re sitting out on the deck enjoying the summer. I love Roller Derby Queen among others. Gone way to soon.
Excellent, Fil. I loved Maury's tasty fill in lead.
After listening to your comments about the music industry, I’m beginning to see the symbolism in your “Wings of Pegasus” band name. Flying too close to the sun can be a difficult and dangerous thing.
Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot, Dan Fogelberg, James Taylor, and all the other great singer/songwriters from my time. You are right; you just don’t get that anymore. Thanks, Fil, for showcasing his great talent❣️
Totally agree! I'd add Harry Chapin, Don McLean and Cat Stevens to that list. The 70's truly had the most amazing singer/songwriters!
I’ll add the late great John Denver to your list.
One of his most beautiful songs. Maury's guitar lifting it up high, and making it instantly recognizable.
Great analysis as usual... That flow you were referring to was almost a third member of that team. I loved these guys including of course the unsung bandmate Maury who I believed should have received more credit than he did. I can still remember them dying in that crash and feeling crushed by it.
J Payne September 20, 1973 in Louisiana 😪 That was a sad day.
J Payne , such a sad moment. I remember it, too. 😢
Stationed at Iwakuni Japan, 1978-1979. A phone call home was a month's pay so we used the MARS(MILITARY AUXILIARY RADIO SYSTEM) station on base to call home. So many left with "something in their eyes".
Props to the operator too.
Jim's writing, style, and delivery have always been one of my favorites. He and John Prine are great story tellers. Using words, and phrasing, so well.
Jim Croce’s music was wonderful. His lovely storytelling & fancy guitar playing is greatly missed. ❤️❤️❤️✨✨✨ * I always learn so much from your video’s ROCK 🎸
I was in disbelief when I heard it on the radio. I've got a name was released after they died. It is so heartbreaking where the lyrics say so life won't pass me by. Still makes me cry
This video was from the old Kenny Rogers show in the very early seventies. Jim was one of the greatest folk singers of all time
I love jim and always find it funny to see photos of him because he looks so much like my buddy joe with a mustache. Taken way too soon, RIP Jim
Amazing song. The lyric the singing and guitar parts for both are technically great and song perfect
Jim Croce . James Taylor, Joni Micheal, Harry Chapin, Carlie Simon, Judy Colins
The singer song writer era was in my view the high point of popular music in America even today there spirt carries on through artist like Nora Jones and Ed Sheeran.
Agree with you fully. I'd add Cat Stevens, Gordon Lightfoot, Carole King and Don McLean to your list as well.
I'd add Paul Simon to that list to make it complete!
One of the great voices. Time in a Bottle won a guitar picking friend of mine a beautiful lady.
And there we have, I have loved this song for decades, also Photographs and Memories, either of which can still bring tears to my eyes. A lovely man gone far too soon 😥
This is REAL music. I listen to this song usually once a day. One of the most beautiful songs ever created. He was taken so soon. So sad. Imagine what else he could have created if they had not died so soon.