My favorite musician (Todd Rundgren) is also from the western burbs.
That is sort of a coincidence.
I say sort of because I was introduced to the music by a high school teacher who had been Todd's classmate, and who knows whether I would have discovered the music otherwise. Todd has never exactly been a household name.
Philly is a music city, and those western burbs have spawned a fair amount of musical success stories (The Hooters and Cinderella come to mind from the 80's). Maybe you remember them, maybe not, but they had their moments in the sun.
Another musician hailing from those same streets (Upper Darby, to be more precise) achieved a lot wider fame although he tragically died quite young. But who doesn't know the words to Bad Bad Leroy Brown, even if it's only that last line, "Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces gone?"
Jim Croce died young sadly, but I think it is safe to say he is a household name. But I'm not here to talk about Jim today, either.
The man who is the focus of today's post is his son, A.J. Croce.
A.J. has been releasing finely crafted albums since 1993, and his second album, That's Me In The Bar, is today's vault entry (and is being reissued on vinyl this year).
So while I do tend to check out artists when I hear they are Philly-based, I am sure upon hearing this album you'll see that the music merits further listening.
THAT'S ME IN THE BAR
CHECKIN' IN
Vault key holders can hear the rest of the album. If you don't know about the Vault, you gotta ask.
