Friends And Family Of Jim Croce Mark The Anniversary Of His Death With Tribute Concert
By John McDevitt
UPPER DARBY, Pa. (CBS) - Tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of the death of legendary entertainer and Philadelphia native Jim Croce. He died in a plane crash in Louisiana while on tour. There's a tribute concert for Croce Saturday in Upper Darby, where friends and family will be among participants.
"And I heard on the radio here's a song from a local boy, Jim Croce, I was screaming and hollering. "That's my buddy! That's Jimmy! He finally did it!"
Michael DiBenedetto of Williamstown NJ, will be among those sharing memories of Jim Croce.
He'll tell the story about the inspiration for his friend song "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" which stemmed from a real-life pool hall incident.
"And there was a negative experience that Jimmy had with that, and that formed the basis for You Don't Mess Around with Jim."
Mike met Croce in the 60s when they were freshman at Villanova. He performed on Jim's first album playing guitar, piano and accordion.
The "Time In A Bottle: A Tribute To Jim Croce" concert is 7:30pm at Upper Darby High School where Croce attended.
Family and Friends of Croce will participate. The Villanova Spires choral group which Croce was a member of while at the University will also perform.
Tickets are 20-dollars and under. Proceeds go to Upper Darby Arts and Education Foundation for a scholarship fund in Croce's name. For more information, visit http://www.udfoundation.org/
