Thursday, February 2$, 1974
THE MICHIGAN DAIL.
Page Five
JIM CROCE:
Psthumus award? p
John Jackson
By LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES - Jim Croce
was killed in a plane crash last
September at the age of 30 be-
fore many people knew his
name. He now has two albums
topping the nation's sales charts,
a television special about to be
released and two nominations
for the music industry's highest
award, the Grammy.
His posthumous success is the
source of grief, anger and pain
to the men who worked to nur-
ture his career, record producers
Tommy West and Terry Cash-
man.
"All this success and all his
records selling," says Cashman.
"It would be nice if we could
call him up and say, "Hey Jim-
my, you're No. 1 again this
week!' We would enjoy that.",
"It makes us feel very help-
less," says West, who was
Croce's closest friend since col-
lege days when they sang to-
gether in glee club. "It's like a
guy in the Olympics making a
perfect dive and just before he
hits the water, the camera
stops."
Cashman and West encouraged
Croce to record his biggest hits,
"You Don't Mess Around With
Jim" and "Bad, Bad Leroy
Brown."
"We were at the point where
the fight was almost over," says
Cashman. "We were at the point
where we could enjoy the suc-
cess and the friendship."
Cashman and West were here
to see the finished product of a
90 minutes TV special in which
they appear. The show, "A Trib-
ute to Jim Croce," will be aired
on 120 stations across the nation
via syndication in March.
The show has much color film
of the mustachioed, craggy-
faced, gentle - humored Croce.
There are films of him perform-
ing, telling jokes and romping in
the grass with his wife, Ingrid,
and their now two-year old son.
The family shots are heartbreak-
ers - scenes of a young father
showing his son how to smell a
flower.
Croce's death is barely men-
tioned in the show, and Cashman
and West agree that' moribidity
is not what has made Croce a
star now.
"People are just beginning to
see what Jim was all about,"
says West. "The -records he
made showed about 20 per cent
of what he was."
The records represented a
struggle on Croce's part to re-
fine a style of his own. For
years, hehad been "just a fol-
kie," say his producers. His first
record album in the folk vein
was a flop and diminished his
confidence. "He lost his will to
work; he moved back-to Penn-
s'lvania and withdrew," recalls
West. For a time, Croce worked
as a truck driver.
In 9'0, Cashman and West in-
troduced Croce to a young gui-
tarist Maury Muelheisen, and to-
gether thev recorded some tapes.
"We both knew when we heard
the tapes that Jimmy had dis-
covered how to make himself
sound unique," says Cashman.
"Working with Maury he found
new cords and began writing
about what he was."
Muelheisen was the guitarist
on the record that put Croce in
the top ten - "You Don't Mess
Around With Jim."
His career began to take off.
"We knew a week before he
died that Jim was going to be a
gigantic star," says Cashman.
"The third album was great. TV
started to understand what he
was all about." A Croce ballad,
"Time In a Bottle," was used
as the theme of a TV movie.
Personal appearance dates in-
creased. One night, closing a
college date in Louisiana, he de-
cided to fly the 75 miles to Tex-
as for the next show. For rea-
sons still unknown, the light
plane he rode slid off the run-
way and crashed into a tree.
Dead inside the plane with Croce
was the' friend who had changed
his career, guitarist Muelheisen.
Cashman and West are running
out of unreleased Croce mater-
ial, and the third Croce album
is probably the last.
They have begun producing
other artists - Mary Travers ;
Dion, once of Dion and the Bel-
monts; and a singer named Hen-
ry Gross. They've also started
performing.
One of the toughest last obliga-
tions they 'will fulfill for Croce
is attending the Grammy
awards ceremony Saturday.
"If we win a Grammy, it's go-
ing to be hard not to have Jim-
my there," says Cashman. "It's
going to hurt not to be able to
say, 'Thank you, Jimmy."'
those
By JOAN BORUS
John Jackson is one of the re-
maining few of a vanishing
breed; the country blues player.
To hear Jackson play is to hear
the music of another era; it is
like hearing a reincarnation of
the late Mississippi John Hurt, a
forgotten black musician who
was rediscovered in the early
sixties by young white college
students during the height of the
folk music revival.
Indeed, Jackson's own history
very much parallels that of
John Hurt's. As a matter of fact,
it was through one of his songs
that John Jackson became estab-
lished professionally.
Back in 1964, Jackson was sit-
ting on his front porch in Vir-
ginia playing "Walk Right In,"
a popular jug-band tune, for the
neighbor kids. Pretty soon the
mailman came by and wanted to
know how to play it. After a bit
of persuasion, Jackson walked'
two blocks up the street to the
mailman's house, across the
street from the gas station.
A young man named Chuck
Purdue, who was gas, became in-
terested and joined them. Jack-
son began playing a favorite of
his, John Hurt's "Candy Man,"
which apparently impressed
country
Purdue - he asked Jackson to
play more for him; Jackson said
he would think about it.
The next evening when he re-
turned from work, Jackson found
Purdue waiting for him on his
front porch. Very impressed by
this time, Purdue told Jackson
that he was going to meet John
Hurt and to get ready to leave
the next day. Jackson, who did-
n't believe that Hurt was still
alive didn't take the proposition
too seriously.
However, Purdue had meant
business, so Friday night saw
Jackson traveling to a folk fes-
tival in Washington, D.C. Sure
enough, Mississippi John Hurt
was alive and well, and not only
did Jackson get to meet him,
but he was invited to play too.
Before he had finished, some-
one was already proposing a re-
cord. Six months later a record
on the Arhoolie label was re-
leased and Johl's been playing
and traveling ever since.
John has become very much in
demand and his travels have in-
cluded such diverse spots as the
John Prine
to play Ark
John Prine, hailed by many
as the finest songwriter of the
70's, will play two sets at the
Ark on Sunday, March 10, 1974
at 9 and 11.
Tickets will go on sale at the
Ark starting Monday afternoon,
March 4, 1974 at 1.
plays
blues
first Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz
Festival, all over Europe and
more recently Latin America. In
fact, he managed to leave Chile
a half hour before the airport
was seized.
'According to Jackson, his for-
eign audiences have been "fan-
tastic." Not only do they pay
more attention to such musicians
-in Chile John played at all
sorts of schools and colleges
and was featured on television-
but they are also better inform-
ed. "You seem to find so many
young people that know so much
about the older music," he said.
"They can name people that I
never heard of that used to play
back in the '20's and '30's.
Born in southwestern Virginia
of sharecropper parents, Jackson
grew up and remained in the
same area for twenty-five years
until he moved to nearby Fair-
fax, which he still makes his
home. He started playing the
guitar at age five, being taught
by a convict who came to draw
water f r o m the plantation
stream, Later sources came
from old 78's brought by travel-
ling salesmen from nearby Cul-
pepper. These consisted largely
of Blind Lemmon Jefferson, Jim-
my Rodgers, Blind Blake and
Blind Roy Phil.
When he's not travelling or
recording, John takes odd jobs
in Fairfax - he's been a grave-
digger among other things. How-
ever, he's been spending less
time at home and more and
more away engaged in such di-
verse activities as college con-
certs, television shows and folk
festivals. He plans to make an-
other tour of Latin American this
May, thus exposing more peo-
ple to the music of a different
era.
Attention
Advertisers
Let your voice
reach the students
of Michigan
ADD THE AIRWAVES OF
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Doily Photo by STUART HOLLANDER
John Ja ckson
WABX AIRWAVES:
Gregg to leave Alirnan Band
By WABX
Music trade magazines a r e
filled with rumors that the All-
man Brothers Band will soon
be losing Gregg Allman. Gregg
is the leader of the band and
the only remaining Allman. He is
rumored to be on the verge of
splitting the group and going solo.
Allman will set out on a national
tour near the end of February
pool. Someone called the police
and all four were handcuffed and
taken to jail. They were released
later on $100 bail. According to
the group's manager, Stewart
Young, "The policeman spanked
them on their bottoms and told
them never to do that again."
Dan Hicks is now working
without the Hot Licks. He is
Short notes: Mick Jagger ap-
pears on the new Carly Simon al-
bum "Hotcakes" . . . Chicago
will start a major tour in March
J. Geils was profiled in the
February issue of "Guitar Play-
er" magazine . . . Ringo Starr's
version of the oldie "You're Six-
teen" was certified gold . . .
Deep Purple begins its tour
of the U.S. with two new mem-
is quoted as saying "We may be
the loudest they ever measured,
but compared to Grand Funk and
Black Sabbath, we're quiet." He
then added, however, "Were
louder now than we were before."
Shelly Finkel and Jim Kop-
lik, the promoters of the Wat-
kins Glen Festval, have announ:-
ed the finalization of negotia-
tions for an exclusive contract
with the Ontario Motor Speedway
near L.A. for the site of a one-
day concert. The conceit is ten-
tatively scheduled for over the
Memorial Day weekend. r h e
speedway is over 800 acres with
the stage area to be over 130
' WA L R TSerrC . c " "r' r ro r 4? ' 'i ii4
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by himself. Adding to the rumor
is the fact that Dicky Betts is
releasing his first solo album,
backed by the rest of the group,
with the exception of Gregg All-
man. The group's manager has
denied the rumors of an up-
coming split.
Janis Joplin's beneficiary is
suing to collect on her $200,000
life insurance policy. The mak-
ers of the policy, The Associat-
ed Indemnity Corporation, claim
that since Janis committed sui-
cide, they aren't required to pay.
The suit asks for payment of
the face value of the policy plus
$47,500 in interest. Janis w a i
found dead in Los Angeles in 1970
from a heroin overdose. T h e
company has stated that w h e-
ther the overdosetwas purpose-
ful or accidental, it remains that
she took her own life. They also
claim that they had not been in-
formed of Joplin's hospitaliza-
tion prior to her'obtaining the
policy, and that would make
the policy void. The Los Angeles
corner, Thomas Noguchi, says
that while she died from an over-
dose of heroin, it does not ne-
cessarily imply that she was
committing suicide.
Emerson, Lake and Palmer
had some trouble in Salt Lake
recently. Greg Lake, a 1 o n g
with road manager, Alex King,
concern promoter, Jerry Pom-
pele, and valet, Brian Magoo de-
cided to finish off their sauna
with a nude swim in the motel
working with a three-piece band
and billing himself as "lone-
some". The new repetoire includ-
es everything from Nat King
Cole ballads to new originals.
Included in his new group is
Jaime Leopold, from the Hot
Licks band.
Grace Slick and Paul Kantner
will start a tour next month
without the rest of the Jefferson
Airplane group. The new group
will be called Jefferson Starship.
Guitarist, Craig Chaquico, and
bassist Peter Kaukonen will re-
place Jorma and Jack, who are
on an extended European vaca-
tion. There will be another Jef-
ferson Airplane L.P. released
soon, but this tour appears to
mark the end of the Airplane's
live performances.
ARTi1
ENDS THURSDAY
"Behind the
Green Door"
rated X
ART 2
ENDS THURSDAY
"Campus Girls"
and
"The Sexuolist"
rated X
Art 1 & 2 Theatres
31 N. Washington
YPSILANTI 482-3300
bers . . . Glen Hughes on bass
and David Coverdale as I e a d
singer. Coverdale was an un-
known singer, who was working
in a boutique. He had sung in a
campus rock show back in 1969,
where Ian Paice, Ritchie Black-
more and Jon Lord all remem-
bered seeing him. He sent in a
tape, they liked it, and Cover-
dale got the job. Deep Purple
deny they are the world's loud-
est rock band, as claimed in the
Guiness Book of Records. Paice
People! Music! Food!
BACH CLUB
PRESENTS
Stan BAPTISTA, trumpet
1st choir, University philormonia!
Barbara FAYROIAN, viola
Randy BLOUSE, piano
PERFORMING
BACH: Sonata No. 2 in
D, for viola and piano
HUMMEL: Concerto in
E flat for trumpet
TORELLI: Concerto in D
for trumpet
Thurs., Feb. 28, 8 p.m.
E. Quad, Greene Lounge
EVERYONE INVITED
No Musical Knowledge Needed
ADMISSION: 50c
Luscious
HOMEMADE BANANA
NUTBREAD
served afterword
Further info: 482-5858
acres, and is equipped to hand'e
over 100,000 people. M PIN BOWLING
March 2-10
Daily Classifieds WIN A FREE GAME
Bring Quick Results Michigan Union
WORFGANG STAUDTE'S 1957
DIR UNTERTAN
A biting satire of the German stereotype of the eternal "subordinate" who turns ty-
rant when he has the chance. Set in the time of the Kaiser and based on the Hein-
rich Mann (Thomas' brother) novel. One of the b e s t of the post-war German
films.
Friday: Bette Davis' OF HUMAN BONDAGE
Tonight at ARCHITECTURE
cinema guld and 9:05 AUDITORIUM
Adm. $1
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NOW SHOWING-FIRST TIME TOGETHER!
WINNERS OF 7 ACADEMY
AWARD NOMINATIONS!
JACK LEMMON
(Best Actor) ---AND---
& JACK GILFORD
(Best Supporting TATUM O'NEILL
Actor) in J A ar l.I, . I Im
AP Photo
Jim Croce
Jack Lermnnni
mcsstiMN.. nt
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