In his short career as a musician, Jim Croce released a collection of magnificent songs. The beautiful “I Got a Name” is undoubtedly one of such songs. The American singer-songwriter released the song as the lead single of his fifth and final studio album “I Got a Name” in 1973. But what’s the meaning and story behind Croce’s iconic song? Let’s find out!
The Meaning of the Song
“I Got a Name” is a song about embracing your own identity and pursuing your dreams, even if they get you nowhere or others consider you unconventional. The singer proclaims he’s going to live life to the fullest by taking control of his own destiny.
Despite sounding like a Croce record – and the song being the name of his fifth and final studio album – Jim Croce wasn’t the one who wrote “I Got a Name”. The song was written by songwriters Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel, who wrote the song for the movie The Last American Hero (1973). The movie is loosely based on the true story of NASCAR driver Junior Johnson and follows his journey from a small-town troublemaker to a racing sensation.
The Story Behind the Song
After writing the song, Charlie Fox approached Jim Croce and asked him if he wanted to record “I Got a Name”. According to Norman Gimbel, Croce accepted the offer “because his father had a dream for him but had died before his son’s first success.”
The recording sessions of the song were somewhat uncomfortable for Croce, as it was reportedly the first time he recorded a song without his guitar.
“When he stepped up to the studio microphone for the first time without his guitar, he felt a bit nervous,” Croce’s wife Ingrid wrote in her biography about Jim Croce. “His guitar was his shield, and he felt exposed without it.”
Read more: The 10 Best Jim Croce Songs of All Time
Despite the initial unease, Jim Croce was extremely satisfied with the end result of “I Got a Name”. As a result, he decided to include the song in his next studio album.
![The Meaning Behind I Got a Name by Jim Croce](https://songstoriesmatter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Jim_Croce_Wide_World_In_Concert-1-edited.jpg)
The Legacy of I Got a Name
“I Got a Name” was first heard in The Last American Hero in July 1973. The song was later released as the lead single of Jim Croce’s fifth studio album I Got a Name on September 21, 1973. Tragically enough, Jim Croce passed away in a plane crash a day prior to the release of the single. As a result, “I Got a Name” became his first posthumous release. The song reached the top 10 on both the US and Canadian charts.
Two-and-a-half months after Croce’s death, his final studio album I Got A Name was released. It featured some of his strongest work to date, including the title track and “I’ll Have to Say I Love You in a Song”. It makes you wonder what more Croce could’ve done had tragedy not occurred.
Over the years, “I Got a Name” became one of Jim Croce’s most celebrated songs. The song also remained culturally relevant, with appearances in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained and Marvel’s Logan. In 1994, Stone Temple Pilots released one of their biggest hits “Interstate Love Song”. The riff of the song is identical to the riff used in Jim Croce’s “I Got a Name”.
Interested in more stories behind Jim Croce? Click here