Photo by Joshua Black Wilkins, Art by Darren Grealish/Seedling RecordsFolk-rocker Jim Croce died tragically in a 1973 plane crash at age 30, but he left behind many memorable songs, as well as a son, singer/songwriter A.J. Croce. Now, A.J.’s released a cover of his dad’s hit “I Got a Name,” which reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in ’73.
The track was released today as a digital single and via streaming services. The tune got its premiere on Billboard.com, and you also can check it out at A.J.’s official YouTube channel.
A.J.’s version of “I Got a Name,” written by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel, was recorded for a new Goodyear ad paying tribute to famed racecar driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. The commercial traces Earnhardt Jr.’s life, from watching his famous father race, through his own legendary career, to his recent retirement.
Croce says that the similarities between Earnhardt Jr.’s life and his own made contributing to the ad appealing to him.
“There aren’t a lot of people that grow up in the shadows of a famous musician, or race car driver,” he explains. “I get what he lived through, and he gets what I lived through.”
Like A.J., Earnhardt Jr. also lost his father tragically at a young age: in a car crash at age 49.
A.J.’s “I Got a Name” single features cover art inspired by the cover of his father’s I Got Name album, which was released posthumously in December 1973.
While A.J. occasionally performs his father’s music live at his “Croce Plays Croce” concerts, he says he isn’t interested in recording more of his dad’s tunes.
“I don’t know what the point would be,” he tells Billboard. “If you want to hear Jim Croce, go buy the records.”
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