I Got a Name

I Got a Name is the fifth and final studio album and first posthumous release by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, released in December 1973. It features the ballad "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song", which reached number 9 on the US singles chart, and the ballad "Salon and Saloon", the last song Croce recorded in his lifetime. The song, which is noted for its sparse piano-only vocal backing, was written by his guitarist and friend Maury Muehleisen and was included on the album as a gift to the writer. This would be Croce's final album, as he died in a plane crash on September 20, 1973.

"I Got a Name" was used as the theme for the films The Last American Hero and Invincible. It was a posthumous hit for Croce, reaching number 10 on the US singles chart.

The album reached number 2 on the US charts behind his earlier album You Don't Mess Around with Jim in first place.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jim Croce, unless stated otherwise:

Personnel

Credits taken from album's liner notes

• Jim Croce – rhythm guitar on tracks 2 to 6 and 8 to 11, lead vocals, backing vocals on tracks 1, 4, and 8

Additional musicians

• Leroy Brown – backing vocals on "Five Short Minutes"
• Gary Chester – drums on "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song"
• George Devens – percussion on tracks 1, 4, 6, and 9
• Steve Gadd – drums on tracks 3, 5, and 11
• Ellie Greenwich – backing vocals on "Top Hat Bar and Grille"
• Michael Kamen – ARP synthesizer and oboe on "The Hard Way Every Time"; ARP tuba synthesizer on "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues"
• Joe Macho – bass on tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 to 10
• Rick Marotta – drums on tracks 1, 2, 8, 9, percussion on track 10
• Bobby Matos – percussion on tracks 3, 5, and 10
• Terence P. Minogue – strings, backing vocals on "The Hard Way Every Time"
• Maury Muehleisen – lead acoustic guitar on tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, and 8 to 11, lead electric guitar on 4 and 9, backing vocals on 1, 5, and 8
• Henry Gross – lead and rhythm electric guitar on "Five Short Minutes", slide guitar on "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues"
• Marty Nelson – backing vocals on tracks 3, 6, and 10
• Alan Rolnick – backing vocals on "I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song"
• Tasha Thomas – backing vocals on "Five Short Minutes" and "Top Hat Bar And Grille"
• Tommy West – piano on tracks 1, 3, 7, 9, and 11, electric piano on track 6, keyboards on tracks 4, 8, and 10, rhythm guitar on tracks 1 and 4, and backing vocals on tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 11
• Stu Woods – bass on tracks 3, 5, and 11

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Certifications

References