Maury Muehleisen
Encyclopedia
Maury Muehleisen was an American-born musician, songwriter, and artist best known for his studio work, live accompaniment, and impact on the music of Jim Croce
. His unassuming style and exquisite guitar skills were a perfect balance to Croce’s seemingly rough-hewn experiences, stage presence, and songwriting style. He died in the same plane crash that took Croce's life.
. He received classical piano training at the early age of nine, and began playing guitar when he was 17. His proficiency on the guitar developed at a very rapid pace. He briefly attended Glassboro State College
in Glassboro, New Jersey
.
and Tommy West
, successful artists in their own right, who offered to produce an album of Maury’s songs. At that time, Croce was relatively distant from the music industry and was working a series of odd jobs in order to make ends meet. With Maury’s “Gingerbreadd” LP due to be released within a few months, it was then that, through a mutual friend, Muehleisen and Croce were introduced and developed an immediate and lasting rapport. With steady gigs and a growing fan base, Muehleisen invited Croce to back him up as a second guitarist at local Philadelphia-area venues just prior to the release of the “Gingerbreadd” album in November 1970 by Capitol Records.
Though commercial results were minimal, the intricacy of the music and songwriting began to have a significant impact—the emergence of a new structural sophistication and commercial appeal—on the musical development of Croce’s own songwriting catalogue. The result was a sound captured by Cashman and West’s sparse but highly effective production on Croce’s three albums—“You Don't Mess Around with Jim
”; “Life and Times”; and “I Got a Name
,” which was released posthumously.
The resulting commercial success of the music vaulted Croce and Muehleisen into an 18-month series of relatively constant touring, both in the United States and abroad; seven national television appearances, including the Tonight Show, American Bandstand
, The Dick Cavett
Show, and the Helen Reddy Show; as an opening act for Randy Newman, Woody Allen, and Loggins and Messina
; and numerous radio interviews. A typical concert venue was supported entirely by Muehleisen and Croce in a two-guitar acoustic duet, playing to audiences sometimes as large as 10,000 people (Chicago’s Ravinia Folk Festival – July 1973). Croce’s gregarious stage presence was balanced by Maury’s reserved and humble nature. Occasionally, producer Tommy West
would join them onstage, typically on the TV appearances, playing the piano.
With constant touring becoming a grind, and a #1 record on the charts (“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”), Muehleisen and Croce returned to New York’s “The Hit Factory” in the summer of 1973 to record Croce’s third record as a single artist. Recording sessions were sandwiched between tour stops, and the final song was finished on September 14, 1973. Interestingly enough, one of Croce’s last songs recorded was a song penned by Muehleisen, titled “Salon and Saloon,” one of the few songs on Croce’s solo albums where he was not the prime song writer (the “I Got a Name” LP included two other non-Croce-written tunes.) Croce was also later posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
.
Working to meet obligations for touring, Muehleisen and Croce left New York to head to the Southeast United States to continue their tour. On September 20, 1973, they found themselves in the college town of Natchitoches, Louisiana
at Northwestern State University. Their entourage—the pilot, Muehleisen, Croce, and Croce’s road manager and his booking agent—arrived by a small chartered plane. This particular performance was based on Croce's commitment to meeting an obligation for a concert he missed earlier in the year due to a brief illness. Croce charged the same amount for the show that he had agreed to prior to the significant rise in his success and having recently placed the #1 Billboard single in July 1973.
Delivered at Northwest Louisiana State's Prather Hall, and with their typical show behind them (opened by Maury's engine-revving introduction to "Rapid Roy"; Croce’s usual popular between-song banter; and a closing song of "Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown," Croce's #1 hit), the group was joined by the opening-act comedian and headed to the same local airport they had arrived at earlier that day for a flight to the following day’s concert venue in Sherman, Texas. An interesting fact from the last concert's set list is that Croce and Muehleisen played the song "Thursday," written by the very individual who had originally introduced them to each other, Joe Salviuolo. Joe had met Muehleisen while Joe was a teacher at Glassboro State College and writing/performing under the name Sal Joseph, and included on the album, "I Got a Name." Croce also introduced the song "I Got a Name" that evening by mentioning that it had been written by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox for the movie "The Last American Hero
," who had also contributed the #1 hit "Killing Me Softly with His Song
" to Roberta Flack
.
into the trees on a clear runway with excellent visibility. A later investigation placed the sole blame for the accident on pilot error
.
The pilot and all passengers were killed instantly at 10:45 PM EST on September 20, 1973, less than an hour after the end of their last concert. Early the following week, Muehleisen was interred in Trenton. Croce was also laid to rest in the Philadelphia area, even though he had recently relocated to San Diego. Family, friends, and fans were stunned to learn of the premature demise of the two men.
News of the premature deaths of the duo sparked a massive interest in Jim’s first two albums – “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” and “Life and Times” - as well as the “I Got a Name” single, which was released later that same week. This was followed closely by the release of the album of the same title. Sales soared and resulted in three gold records. A “Greatest Hits” package released in 1974 also proved to be extraordinarily popular. The catalogue became a staple of radio play, turntables, cassettes, and CDs for years, still receiving significant airplay in the first decade of the 21st century.
The music written by Croce, produced by Cashman and West, and impacted by Muehleisen’s musical prowess, has continued to remain popular throughout the years.
and used a Martin D-18 and D-35 in his studio recordings, both on "Gingerbreadd" and Croce's three albums. Extensive touring required something more durable, and eventually, both Muehleisen and Croce became some of the early artists to use Ovation Guitar
s (known for the unique "Lyrachord Bowl" structure on the back of the guitar), often seen on their later television appearances. Of note also was that Maury played some electric guitar on the "I Got a Name" album.
The dream of a guitar in memory of Maury Muehleisen became a reality in 2010. In January, Mary Muehleisen placed an order with Jon Garon of My Favorite Guitars, an authorized C. F. Martin & Co. custom dealer in Naples, Florida, http://www.myfavoriteguitars.com. The first of these guitars became available on May 28, 2010.
The C. F. Martin & Co. D-35 Maury Muehleisen Commemorative Custom Edition has the standard elements of a Martin D-35, such as Solid East Indian Rosewood back and sides. Paying homage to the fact that Maury's other Martin guitar was a D-18, there is a Solid Quilted Mahogany Wedge in the center of the back. The top is Premium - Grade 8 - Italian Alpine Spruce. A 1 3/4" neck was chosen as an element that a masterful fingerpicker such as Maury would have enjoyed.
Jim Croce
James Joseph "Jim" Croce January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973 was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11 singles...
. His unassuming style and exquisite guitar skills were a perfect balance to Croce’s seemingly rough-hewn experiences, stage presence, and songwriting style. He died in the same plane crash that took Croce's life.
Early life
Muehleisen was born into a large and close family in Trenton, New JerseyTrenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
. He received classical piano training at the early age of nine, and began playing guitar when he was 17. His proficiency on the guitar developed at a very rapid pace. He briefly attended Glassboro State College
Rowan University
Rowan University is a public university in Glassboro, New Jersey, USA with a satellite campus in Camden, New Jersey. The school was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a twenty-five acre tract of land donated by the town...
in Glassboro, New Jersey
Glassboro, New Jersey
Glassboro is a borough in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 19,068....
.
Recording
Muehleisen had written a significant catalogue of songs and was introduced to producers Terry CashmanTerry Cashman
Terry Cashman is a record producer and singer-songwriter, best known for his 1981 hit, "Talkin' Baseball." While the song is well recognized today, it was all but ignored by typical Top 40 radio during its chart life, making only the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.Cashman was the lead singer...
and Tommy West
Tommy West
-External links:* *...
, successful artists in their own right, who offered to produce an album of Maury’s songs. At that time, Croce was relatively distant from the music industry and was working a series of odd jobs in order to make ends meet. With Maury’s “Gingerbreadd” LP due to be released within a few months, it was then that, through a mutual friend, Muehleisen and Croce were introduced and developed an immediate and lasting rapport. With steady gigs and a growing fan base, Muehleisen invited Croce to back him up as a second guitarist at local Philadelphia-area venues just prior to the release of the “Gingerbreadd” album in November 1970 by Capitol Records.
Though commercial results were minimal, the intricacy of the music and songwriting began to have a significant impact—the emergence of a new structural sophistication and commercial appeal—on the musical development of Croce’s own songwriting catalogue. The result was a sound captured by Cashman and West’s sparse but highly effective production on Croce’s three albums—“You Don't Mess Around with Jim
You Don't Mess Around with Jim
-Notes:-Notes:-Notes:*A Tracks 1-12 correspond to the original 1972 album-Personnel:*Jim Croce - guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals, background vocals*Maury Muehleisen - guitar, vocals*The Briggs - background vocals...
”; “Life and Times”; and “I Got a Name
I Got a Name
-Songwriting:Croce's wife Ingrid Croce has an autobiographical cookbook, Thyme In A Bottle, in which she writes interesting anecdotes about Jim. What she wrote about "I'll Have To Say 'I Love You' in a Song" is this....
,” which was released posthumously.
The resulting commercial success of the music vaulted Croce and Muehleisen into an 18-month series of relatively constant touring, both in the United States and abroad; seven national television appearances, including the Tonight Show, American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
, The Dick Cavett
Dick Cavett
Richard Alva "Dick" Cavett is a former American television talk show host known for his conversational style and in-depth discussion of issues...
Show, and the Helen Reddy Show; as an opening act for Randy Newman, Woody Allen, and Loggins and Messina
Loggins and Messina
Loggins and Messina are an American rock-pop duo consisting of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina who achieved their success in the early to mid 1970s...
; and numerous radio interviews. A typical concert venue was supported entirely by Muehleisen and Croce in a two-guitar acoustic duet, playing to audiences sometimes as large as 10,000 people (Chicago’s Ravinia Folk Festival – July 1973). Croce’s gregarious stage presence was balanced by Maury’s reserved and humble nature. Occasionally, producer Tommy West
Tommy West (producer)
Tommy West is an American record producer and singer-songwriter.-Early career:...
would join them onstage, typically on the TV appearances, playing the piano.
With constant touring becoming a grind, and a #1 record on the charts (“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”), Muehleisen and Croce returned to New York’s “The Hit Factory” in the summer of 1973 to record Croce’s third record as a single artist. Recording sessions were sandwiched between tour stops, and the final song was finished on September 14, 1973. Interestingly enough, one of Croce’s last songs recorded was a song penned by Muehleisen, titled “Salon and Saloon,” one of the few songs on Croce’s solo albums where he was not the prime song writer (the “I Got a Name” LP included two other non-Croce-written tunes.) Croce was also later posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
.
Working to meet obligations for touring, Muehleisen and Croce left New York to head to the Southeast United States to continue their tour. On September 20, 1973, they found themselves in the college town of Natchitoches, Louisiana
Natchitoches, Louisiana
Natchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...
at Northwestern State University. Their entourage—the pilot, Muehleisen, Croce, and Croce’s road manager and his booking agent—arrived by a small chartered plane. This particular performance was based on Croce's commitment to meeting an obligation for a concert he missed earlier in the year due to a brief illness. Croce charged the same amount for the show that he had agreed to prior to the significant rise in his success and having recently placed the #1 Billboard single in July 1973.
Delivered at Northwest Louisiana State's Prather Hall, and with their typical show behind them (opened by Maury's engine-revving introduction to "Rapid Roy"; Croce’s usual popular between-song banter; and a closing song of "Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown," Croce's #1 hit), the group was joined by the opening-act comedian and headed to the same local airport they had arrived at earlier that day for a flight to the following day’s concert venue in Sherman, Texas. An interesting fact from the last concert's set list is that Croce and Muehleisen played the song "Thursday," written by the very individual who had originally introduced them to each other, Joe Salviuolo. Joe had met Muehleisen while Joe was a teacher at Glassboro State College and writing/performing under the name Sal Joseph, and included on the album, "I Got a Name." Croce also introduced the song "I Got a Name" that evening by mentioning that it had been written by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox for the movie "The Last American Hero
The Last American Hero
The Last American Hero is a 1973 sports drama film based on the true story of American NASCAR driver Junior Johnson...
," who had also contributed the #1 hit "Killing Me Softly with His Song
Killing Me Softly with His Song
"Killing Me Softly with His Song" is a 1971 song composed by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel. It has been covered by numerous artists, most notably by Roberta Flack whose version topped the U.S...
" to Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
.
Death
The plane never made it to Sherman, Texas, not gaining enough altitude to clear an area of large pecan trees at the end of the runway. The official report of the accident hints that the charter pilot, Robert Newton Elliott, who had severe coronary artery disease, and who had run a portion of the three miles to the airport from a motel, may have suffered a heart attack causing him to crash the twin-engined Beechcraft E18SBeechcraft Model 18
The Beechcraft Model 18, or "Twin Beech", as it is better known, is a 6-11 seat, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft that was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas...
into the trees on a clear runway with excellent visibility. A later investigation placed the sole blame for the accident on pilot error
Pilot error
Pilot error is a term used to describe the cause of an accident involving an airworthy aircraft where the pilot is considered to be principally or partially responsible...
.
The pilot and all passengers were killed instantly at 10:45 PM EST on September 20, 1973, less than an hour after the end of their last concert. Early the following week, Muehleisen was interred in Trenton. Croce was also laid to rest in the Philadelphia area, even though he had recently relocated to San Diego. Family, friends, and fans were stunned to learn of the premature demise of the two men.
News of the premature deaths of the duo sparked a massive interest in Jim’s first two albums – “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” and “Life and Times” - as well as the “I Got a Name” single, which was released later that same week. This was followed closely by the release of the album of the same title. Sales soared and resulted in three gold records. A “Greatest Hits” package released in 1974 also proved to be extraordinarily popular. The catalogue became a staple of radio play, turntables, cassettes, and CDs for years, still receiving significant airplay in the first decade of the 21st century.
The music written by Croce, produced by Cashman and West, and impacted by Muehleisen’s musical prowess, has continued to remain popular throughout the years.
Guitars
Maury was a big fan of Martin GuitarsC. F. Martin & Company
C.F. Martin & Company is a US guitar manufacturer established in 1833 by Christian Frederick Martin. Martin is highly regarded for its steel-string guitars, and is a leading mass manufacturer of flattop acoustics with models that retail for thousands of dollars and vintage instruments that often...
and used a Martin D-18 and D-35 in his studio recordings, both on "Gingerbreadd" and Croce's three albums. Extensive touring required something more durable, and eventually, both Muehleisen and Croce became some of the early artists to use Ovation Guitar
Ovation Guitar
The Ovation Guitar Company, a holding of Kaman Music Corporation, is a guitar manufacturing company based in New Hartford, Connecticut, USA. Ovation primarily manufactures Steel-stringed acoustic guitars....
s (known for the unique "Lyrachord Bowl" structure on the back of the guitar), often seen on their later television appearances. Of note also was that Maury played some electric guitar on the "I Got a Name" album.
The dream of a guitar in memory of Maury Muehleisen became a reality in 2010. In January, Mary Muehleisen placed an order with Jon Garon of My Favorite Guitars, an authorized C. F. Martin & Co. custom dealer in Naples, Florida, http://www.myfavoriteguitars.com. The first of these guitars became available on May 28, 2010.
The C. F. Martin & Co. D-35 Maury Muehleisen Commemorative Custom Edition has the standard elements of a Martin D-35, such as Solid East Indian Rosewood back and sides. Paying homage to the fact that Maury's other Martin guitar was a D-18, there is a Solid Quilted Mahogany Wedge in the center of the back. The top is Premium - Grade 8 - Italian Alpine Spruce. A 1 3/4" neck was chosen as an element that a masterful fingerpicker such as Maury would have enjoyed.