Archive obit: Jim Croce and Maury Muehleisen, September 20, 1973
King Daevid MacKenzie
Singer Dies In Plane Crash
NATCHITOCHES, La., (UPI) – Investigators Friday said they found
marijuana in the wreckage of the plane crash that killed singer JIM
CROCE and five other persons, but a sheriff admitted the drug probably
was not involved in the accident.
“A lid (ounce) is all. There was some on two different ones,” said
Sheriff SAM JAMES. “I don't think that had anything to do with the plane
crash. He (the pilot) just didn't get enough altitude.”
The sheriff said the pilot's body was not carrying any drugs, but JAMES
ordered an autopsy.
The music industry expressed shock and sorrow at CROCE'S loss just as it
had over the premature deaths of Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Otis
Redding and Jim Morrison.
“For the music and the people who had seen JIMMY he was only beginning
to scratch the surface of what I think would have been a truly big
career,” said Tommy West, a CROCE producer in New York.
“I wouldn't call him a super star because that has overtones of rock
things and it went more beyond that. I think JIMMY could have been a
Will Rogers or a white Bill Cosby.”
“He didn't like the music business, he liked music.”
CROCE, 30, and his group, had performed a concert Thursday night at
Northwestern Louisiana State College, and were leaving for a Friday
appearance at Austin College in Sherman, Tex.
CROCE'S biggest hits had been “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” “Operator” and
“Don't Mess Around With Jim” which earned him a gold album.
“They were leaving the airport and got possibly 250 yards south of the
runway, 30 feet in the air, and hit this tree,” Sheriff James said. “For
some reason they didn't gain altitude fast enough.”
Investigators said the tree, a large pecan, was the only tree for
hundreds of yards.
“It flipped, landed upright and was turned completely around,” said
James of the twin-engined craft.
The pilot, ROBERT N. ELLIOTT, 57, of Dallas, was thrown from the
wreckage. The other victims were found in the plane.
Also killed were GEORGE STEVENS, 36, Inglewood, Calif., a comedian;
KENNETH D. CORTOSE, 28, Chicago, CROCE'S manager and booking agent;
MAURICE T. MUEHLEISEN, 24, Trenton, N. J., a musician; and DENNIS RAST,
30, Chicago.
The Morning Herald Hagerstown Maryland 1973-09-22
--
kdm
http://kingdaevid.podbean.com/
http://amp.az/home/User/KingDaevid
peace 'n oranges...
Matthew Kruk
news:530Bk.15904$Dj1....@newsfe01.iad...
> http://www3.gendisasters.com/louisiana/1962/natchitoches,-la-jim-croce-others-die-plane-crash,-sept-1973
> ...
> The music industry expressed shock and sorrow at CROCE'S loss just as it
> had over the premature deaths of Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding
> and Jim Morrison.
The early 70's kinda sucked ...
King Daevid MacKenzie
>> http://www3.gendisasters.com/louisiana/1962/natchitoches,-la-jim-croce-others-die-plane-crash,-sept-1973
>> ...
>> The music industry expressed shock and sorrow at CROCE'S loss just as it
>> had over the premature deaths of Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding
>> and Jim Morrison.
>> ...
>
> The early 70's kinda sucked ...
...oh, I dunno about that. The music was warmer, the movies more human,
and Oscar Robertson was still playing. On average, they worked for me a
helluva lot better than the last dozen years have...
busgal
>
> ...oh, I dunno about that. The music was warmer, the movies more human,
> and Oscar Robertson was still playing. On average, they worked for me a
> helluva lot better than the last dozen years have...
>
> --
>
> kdmhttp://kingdaevid.podbean.com/http://amp.az/home/User/KingDaevid
> peace 'n oranges...
Almost anything would be better then post 1996 most common denominater
commercal radio.
Matthew Kruk
> Matthew Kruk quotes me 'n sez:
>
>>> http://www3.gendisasters.com/louisiana/1962/natchitoches,-la-jim-croce-others-die-plane-crash,-sept-1973
>>> ...
>>> The music industry expressed shock and sorrow at CROCE'S loss just as it
>>> had over the premature deaths of Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Otis
>>> Redding and Jim Morrison.
>>> ...
>>
>> The early 70's kinda sucked ...
>
> ...oh, I dunno about that. The music was warmer, the movies more human,
> and Oscar Robertson was still playing. On average, they worked for me a
> helluva lot better than the last dozen years have...
Sorry, I should have been clearer. The music was great but the deaths of
such greats as noted ...
Evan Hulka
> http://www3.gendisasters.com/louisiana/1962/natchitoches,-la-jim-croc...
>
> Singer Dies In Plane Crash
>
> NATCHITOCHES, La., (UPI) – Investigators Friday said they found
> marijuana in the wreckage of the plane crash that killed singer JIM
> CROCE and five other persons, but a sheriff admitted the drug probably
> was not involved in the accident.
Anyone else find it eerie that, 35 years to the day of the Croce
crash, another popular performer and accompanist have been critically
injured in a similar plane accident? ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26803108/
)
Not to suggest that Jim Croce and Travis Barker are anything like
musical equals, though Barker is a hell of a drummer.
Hulka
MLW
> http://www3.gendisasters.com/louisiana/1962/natchitoches,-la-jim-croc...
>
>
Hard to believe that it has been 35 years since the crash....such a
great loss.
MLW
Kris Baker
"Evan Hulka" <ehu...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:0789d802-6e6f-45ed...@g17g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
On Sep 19, 10:42 pm, King Daevid MacKenzie <KingDae...@cox.net> wrote:
> http://www3.gendisasters.com/louisiana/1962/natchitoches,-la-jim-croc...
>
> Singer Dies In Plane Crash
>
> NATCHITOCHES, La., (UPI) – Investigators Friday said they found
> marijuana in the wreckage of the plane crash that killed singer JIM
> CROCE and five other persons, but a sheriff admitted the drug probably
> was not involved in the accident.
Anyone else find it eerie that, 35 years to the day of the Croce
crash,
-----------------
But it's not "to the day". The Baker-Goldstein flight
crashed late on Sep 19th; Croce crashed late on
Sep 20th.
It will "count" if one or more of them becomes on-topic on
Sep 20th.
Kris
J.D. Baldwin
In the previous article, King Daevid MacKenzie <KingD...@cox.net>
wrote:
> NATCHITOCHES, La., (UPI) - Investigators Friday said they found
> marijuana in the wreckage of the plane crash that killed singer JIM
> CROCE and five other persons, but a sheriff admitted the drug probably
> was not involved in the accident.
>
> "A lid (ounce) is all. There was some on two different ones," said
> Sheriff SAM JAMES. "I don't think that had anything to do with the
> plane crash. He (the pilot) just didn't get enough altitude."
So ... if only they'd been a little higher ... ?
--
_+_ From the catapult of |If anyone disagrees with any statement I make, I
_|70|___:)=}- J.D. Baldwin |am quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
\ / bal...@panix.com|to deny under oath that I ever made it. -T. Lehrer
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