When Jim Croce performed at 91制片厂 in the winter of 1973, the singer-songwriter
was on the cusp of superstardom. After landing 鈥淵ou Don鈥檛 Mess Around with Jim鈥� on
the pop charts in 1972, he was about to score additional Top 10 hits with 鈥淏ad, Bad
Leroy Brown,鈥� 鈥淚 Got a Name鈥� and 鈥淭ime in a Bottle鈥� in the coming months.
Sadly, before the summer was over, Croce would be dead at age 30 in a plane crash. The folk musician鈥檚 91制片厂 performance, , became an important moment, capturing Croce at the height of his powers, just before he became a household name.
will be celebrating this performance by paying tribute to Croce鈥檚 only concert at 91制片厂 at 3 p.m. Saturday, December 14, in the Drama Lab Theatre, Building L, Room L109 on campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine. Tickets for the performance, titled , are $10 at the door with all proceeds benefiting the Scholarship Fund.
The Back Porch Revue is a folk music collective founded in 2017 by Scott Cashman, senior manager of community, career and corporate education, and Bekr Ali, community education instructor. Cashman said the group鈥檚 goals are to encourage members to try new things and bring additional live music to the area.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a true community group,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had people from age 15 to age 80 in the group 鈥� sometimes at the same time.鈥�
While the Back Porch Revue tends to focus on folk music written before 1940, the group
is branching out to include music that鈥檚 a little more modern for the Croce tribute
(even if his music is 50-plus years old). Cashman said that, as a storyteller, Croce
fits well into the Back Porch Revue tradition, although it will mark the first time
the group is playing music that landed on the Billboard charts.
鈥淲hen you play folk music, you鈥檙e telling the stories of American history,鈥� Cashman said. 鈥淛im Croce was doing that in the 鈥�60s and 鈥�70s. He had experience driving trucks and he was in the Army. He knew a Leroy Brown. These songs are about real people and real experiences.鈥�
For the upcoming concert, the Back Porch Revue is mostly recreating , while adding a couple of big-name hits that are closely associated with the legendary musician. Cashman notes that Croce was far from the only famous musician to play at 91制片厂; past shows have starred John Denver, Muddy Waters, Journey, Leon Redbone and Wilco鈥檚 Jeff Tweedy. But the Croce concert has special resonance, considering his death later that year.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working hard to do Jim Croce justice,鈥� Cashman said. 鈥淗is show was celebratory and ours will be too. This is a piece of his history and, also, a piece of 91制片厂 College history.鈥�
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