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{{short description|American singer-songwriter (born 1947)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2011}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2011}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
{{more footnotes|date=February 2010}}
| name = Ingrid Croce
{{primary sources|date=February 2010}}
| image =
| background = Solo singer
| birth_name = Ingrid Jacobson
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1947|04|27|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], United States
| genre =
| occupation = Singer, songwriter, restaurateur
| instrument =
| years_active = 1966–1984
| label = [[Capitol Records|Capitol]]/[[EMI]], Croce Music Group
| website = {{URL|https://www.ingridcroceart.com/}}
}}
'''Ingrid Croce''' ([[Maiden and married names|née]] '''Jacobson''', born April 27, 1947) is an American author, singer-songwriter, and [[restaurateur]]. Between 1964 and 1971, Ingrid performed as a duo with her husband, [[Jim Croce]], releasing the album ''[[Jim & Ingrid Croce]]'' in 1969.


==Biography==
{{Infobox musical artist
===Early life===
| name = Ingrid Croce
Ingrid Jacobson was born and raised in [[Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania, in a [[Jews|Jewish]] family that consisted of her parents, Shirley and Sidney, and twin sister, Phyllis. When Ingrid was eight years old, she worked at her grandmother's dress store in [[South Philadelphia]] as a helper and seamstress. Shirley played piano on a local television show that was titled ''The Magic Lady''. Ingrid learned to cook with her, and started singing in local clubs and on television by the time she was 10. Sidney was a [[general practitioner]], with his medical office in their home in [[West Philadelphia]]. In 1952, when Ingrid was five years old,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Betz |first=Spencer |date=18 February 2008 |title=A personal interview with Ingrid Croce |url=https://www.worshipweekly.com/ashes/4-interview-with-ingrid-croce.pdf |access-date=4 June 2024 |page=3 |via=First United Methodist Church of Arroyo Grande |quote=Because my parents were divorced when I was five …}}</ref> her parents divorced, and Ingrid was moved from school to school.<ref name="things">{{Cite news |last=Sanford |first=Jay Allen |date=August 22, 2012 |title=Learn a Few Things About Ingrid Croce |url=https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2012/aug/22/musician-interview-ingrid-croce/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240604164926/https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2012/aug/22/musician-interview-ingrid-croce/ |archive-date=June 4, 2024 |work=[[San Diego Reader]]}}</ref> By the age of 15, she was employed as the junior art therapist, assisting her father at the [[University of Pennsylvania]], where he did his [[Residency (medicine)|residency]] for his [[Psychiatry|psychiatric]] practice. When Ingrid was 16 years old, her mother died at the age of 36 due to [[breast cancer]] and a weak heart. Ingrid left high school and gymnastics, and moved to her father's home in the suburbs. Ingrid and Phyllis attended several high schools after their mother's death, and eventually graduated from [[Nether Providence High School]] in 1965. Ingrid attended the [[Rhode Island School of Design]] and [[Moore College of Art]], and travelled to [[Mexico]] in her senior year when Ingrid won a fellowship to study [[painting]] and [[pottery]] in [[San Miguel de Allende]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.ingridcroceart.com/bio | title=Meet Ingrid}}</ref>
| background = solo_singer
| birth_date = {{birth date|1947|04|27|mf=y}}
| origin = [[South Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| years_active = 1966 to date
| label = [[Capitol Records|Capitol]]/[[EMI|EMI Records]]<br>[[Croce Music Group]]<br>
| Url = [http://www.croces.com]}}


===With Jim Croce===
'''Ingrid Croce''' (born April 27, 1947) is an American author, singer-songwriter and restaurateur. She is the widow of singer-songwriter [[Jim Croce]] and the mother of singer-songwriter [[A.J. Croce]]. Between 1964 and 1971, Ingrid and [[Jim Croce]] performed as a duo and wrote together. In 1969, Capitol Records released their album, [[Jim & Ingrid Croce]], which has been re-released on CD. Their song, "Age", won a country music award in the late 1970s. Both "Age" and "Hey Tomorrow" are included in ''Jim Croce’s Platinum Albums'' on ABC Dunhill Records. Several of Jim and Ingrid Croce's co-written songs are now available on Home Recording, Americana and have been released on ''Down the Highway'' (1975), ''Have You Heard Jim Croce Live'' (DVD; 2002) ''The 50th Anniversary Collection'' (1992), ''The Definitive Collection: "Time in a Bottle"'' (1999; 2 CDs).
On November 29, 1963, when she was 16 years old, Ingrid met her future husband, [[Jim Croce]], at the [[Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center]]; Jim was a judge for an upcoming [[hootenanny]] that Ingrid had been auditioning to be a contestant for a role with The Rum Runners.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.facebook.com/ingridcroceart/photos/how-i-met-jim-croceit-was-a-snowy-night-two-days-before-christmas-in-1963-and-i-/653580074816160/ | title=Ingrid Croce Art}}</ref> Three years later, they got married in a [[Jewish wedding]].


When Jim and Ingrid Croce discovered they were going to have a child, Jim became more determined to make music his profession. He sent a cassette of his new songs to a friend and producer in [[New York City]], in the hope that he could get a record deal. When their son, [[A. J. Croce|Adrian James (A. J.)]], was born on September 28, 1971, Ingrid became a [[housewife]], while Jim traveled to promote his music.
==Schooling==
Ingrid Jacobson was raised in [[Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania. Just as Ingrid was turning sixteen, her mother died at the age of 36 from breast cancer and a weak heart. Ingrid had to leave high school and gymnastics and moved to her father's home in the suburbs. She and her twin sister, Phyllis, attended various high schools after the death of their mother. They graduated from [[Nether Providence High School]] in 1965. Ingrid attended [[Rhode Island School of Design]] and [[Moore College of Art]] and travelled to [[Mexico]] in her senior year when she won a Fellowship to study painting and pottery in [[San Miguel de Allende]]. {{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}


On September 20, 1973, a week before A. J.'s second birthday, and just as Jim Croce's songs were topping the music charts, Jim died in a plane crash in [[Natchitoches, Louisiana]].<ref name=mess>{{Cite news | url=https://www.pressrepublican.com/news/dont-mess-around-with-a-j/article_27b157b5-daa7-5038-afa1-f5e6ae9b021d.html | title=Don't mess around with A.J. | first=Robin | last=Caudell | work=[[Press-Republican]] | date=May 16, 2019}}</ref> After Jim died, Ingrid and A.J. spent time in [[Quepos]], Costa Rica.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.facebook.com/ingridcroceart/photos/a.217933465047492/1185707861603376/ | title=Ingrid Croce Art| website=[[Facebook]]}}</ref> After they moved to San Diego, she developed a [[Head Start program]] for Costa Rica, opened a children's school in [[Point Loma]], and wrote a children's book, ''Mirandome''. When A. J. was almost four years old, he was temporarily blinded by serious physical abuse by Ingrid's boyfriend.<ref>{{Cite news | last=Hislop | first=Christopher | date=March 5, 2015 | url=https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/local/portsmouth-herald/2015/03/05/spinning-yarns/35059509007/ | title=A.J. Croce brings live show to The Loft}}</ref>
==Early career==
At 8, she worked at her grandmother's dress store in [[South Philadelphia]]. Her mother, Shirley, played piano on her own local television show. Ingrid learned to cook with her and also started singing in local clubs and on television by the time she was 10.


In the early 1970s, Ingrid led the movement to revamp the [[Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego]].<ref name=hall>{{Cite web | url=https://www.sandiegowomenshalloffame.com/inductee/Ingrid-Croce | title=Ingrid Croce | work=San Diego Women's Hall of Fame}}</ref>
Ingrid's father, Sidney Jacobson, was a general practitioner with his medical office in their home in [[West Philadelphia]]. By the age of 15, Ingrid was employed as the “junior art therapist” assisting her dad at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] where he did his residency for his psychiatric practice.


From 1977 to 1981, Ingrid was the vice-consul of Costa Rica in San Diego. She wrote and sang songs, completed two solo albums, and started the publishing company Time in a Bottle. She sat on the board of the Woman's Bank and traveled to [[Israel]], where A. J. took his rites of passage. In 1983, Ingrid became a dedicated runner and finished the [[Stockholm Marathon]], taking third place in her category.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://twitter.com/ingridcroceart/status/1043210813744603137 | title=Ingrid Croce Art}}</ref>
==Success==
When [[Jim Croce]] and Ingrid discovered they were going to have a child, Jim became even more determined to make music his profession. He sent a cassette of his new songs to his friend and producer in New York City, in hope that he could get a record deal for his first professional solo album. When their son Adrian James Croce ([[A.J. Croce]]) was born in September 1971 Ingrid became a “stay-at-home” mom, while Jim went on the road to promote his music. Just two short years after Jim Croce's songs topped the music charts, his plane crashed in [[Natchitoches, Louisiana]]. When Jim died on September 20, 1973, A.J. was a week away from celebrating his second birthday.<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1154/is_n12_v80/ai_12959209 A legend in her own right – Ingrid Croce – Company Profile | Nation's Business | Find Articles at BNET]. Findarticles.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.</ref>


In 1984, while on the road promoting her albums, Ingrid lost her voice because of [[Neoplasm|tumors]] on her vocal cords. Two operations failed to restore her voice, ending Ingrid's singing career.<ref name=things/><ref name=life/>
==Aftermath of Jim Croce's fatal plane crash==
After her husband died<ref>{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p3992/biography|pure_url=yes}}</ref>, Ingrid followed many circuitous routes to re-define her personal vision for family, career and a home. After a move to San Diego, California as a family, she then spent some time with Adrian James in San Jose and [[Quepos, Costa Rica]]. When she returned to San Diego in 1974, she developed a [[Head Start program]] for [[Costa Rica]], opened a children’s school in [[Point Loma]] and wrote a children’s book, “Mirandome.” Then, when their son Adrian James was almost four, he suffered a brain tumor syndrome and went blind.<ref>[http://www.ajcroce.com ajcroce.com]. ajcroce.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.</ref>


===Restaurant business===
From 1977 to 1981, Ingrid served as Vice-Consul of [[Costa Rica]] in San Diego and wrote and sang her own songs, completing two solo albums, and establishing her first publishing company, “Time in a Bottle.” She sat on the board of the Woman’s Bank and traveled to [[Israel]] where A.J. took his rites of passage. In 1983, Ingrid became a serious runner, and won third place in her age category at the [[Stockholm Marathon]].
In 1985, at the suggestion of a friend, Ingrid opened a restaurant, Blinchiki, in [[Hillcrest, San Diego]]. The restaurant lasted less than a year.<ref name=life>{{Cite news | url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/tourism/sdut-gaslamp-restaurateurs-homage-to-jim-croce-2012may14-htmlstory.html | title=Jim Croce's widow talks about life after Jim | first=Lori | last=Weisberg | work=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]] | date=May 14, 2012}}</ref>


In 1985, Ingrid opened Croce's, and in 1987, she expanded it to include a jazz bar after obtaining a [[liquor license]]. That same day, Ingrid's house burned down.<ref name=life/>
Once litigation was over in 1981, Ingrid had set precedent for other recording artists. She was on the road promoting her two albums when in 1984 she became unable to sing, due to tumors on her vocal cords. After two failed operations, Ingrid was unable to sing again, and had to find a new profession and a way to earn a living.<ref>[http://www.artistfacts.com/detail.php?id=355 Jim Croce Artistfacts]. Artistfacts.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.</ref>


In the late 1980s, Ingrid became a board member of the California Restaurant Association, San Diego County Chapter, and the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.sandiegoville.com/2014/05/the-story-straight-from-source-ingrid.html | title=The Story Straight From the Source | work=SanDiegoVille | date=May 27, 2014}}</ref>
===The Birth of Croce's Restaurant & Jazz Bar in San Diego===
Needing a job, Ingrid invited a friend to her home to help write her resume. Her friend suggested Ingrid should open a restaurant. The next day Ingrid got a business license, signed a lease and opened her first restaurant, ''Blinchiki''. She learned on the job about the hospitality industry, and in 1985 sought space for rent in [[downtown San Diego]]'s [[Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego|Gaslamp Quarter]], which was gentrifying and undergoing redevelopment. She hadn't been in downtown San Diego since 1973, when retailers and urbanites were [[white flight|fleeing the city]] for the sprawling suburbs. Upon learning of a space available at the corner of Fifth and F where she and Jim had stopped in front of the [[The Keating Hotel|Keating Building]] and Jim had joked about opening 'Croce's Restaurant & Jazz Bar', Ingrid decided to build a restaurant and bar there as a tribute to Jim and call it ''Croce's''.<ref>[http://www.classicbands.com/IngridCroceInterview.html Interview With Ingrid Croce]. Classicbands.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.</ref>


In 2004, Ingrid launched San Diego Restaurant Week to improve the dining scene in San Diego. Twice per year, the event draws 250,000 guests to 150 participating restaurants.<ref name=hall/>
===The Growth of Croce's===
During her first three years in business downtown, from 1985–1988, Croce's expanded five times, adding Croce’s Jazz Bar, a second restaurant, a rhythm and blues bar, Croce’s Top Hat Bar and Grille, Upstairs at Croce’s, and Croce’s Catering and Event Planners. In the late 80’s, Ingrid became a board member of the California Restaurant Association, San Diego County Chapter and The San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau. She learned a lot from the civic work she did with her community… ”But little did I know back then that my hard work in building a restaurant and bar would lead me to my wonderful husband, Jimmy Rock, who has been my love and partner since we married in 1988.”


In 2014, Ingrid moved the restaurant to [[Bankers Hill, San Diego]], and renamed it Croce's Park West. The restaurant had dining, bar, and terrace areas, and a large room at the back for live music. The restaurant closed two years later.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/restaurants/sdut-croces-park-west-bankers-hill-closes-2016jan26-story.html |title=Another Croce's restaurant comes to an end | first=Lori | last=Weisberg |work=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]] | date=January 26, 2016}}</ref>
===Croce's Publishing===
In 1996, Ingrid Croce wrote “Thyme in a Bottle”, her autobiographical cookbook with memories and recipes from Croce’s Restaurant, published by Harper Collins.<ref>[http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/foodday/fd1097/fd102197.html Thyme In A Bottle Cookbook: Pumpkin Soup and Macaroni and Cheese]. Globalgourmet.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.</ref> When the book sold out, guests to her restaurant and website were encouraging and Ingrid re-issued the book through her own publishing company, Avalanche Records and Books in 1998.


===Publications===
In 2003, the thirtieth anniversary of Jim’s passing both Ingrid and son A.J. Croce, a talented singer-songwriter and accomplished pianist, worked together to produce the first-ever DVD of Jim Croce, “Have You Heard Jim Croce Live”, later, a CD, “Have You Heard Jim Croce Live”, the CD “Jim Croce, Home Recordings, Americana,” and “Facets” Jim Croce’s first recorded album from 1966. These products were distributed originally, worldwide, through Shout Factory and Sony and are all currently available through CMG (Croce Music Group). In 2004, Ingrid published “Time in a Bottle,” a photographic memoir of Jim’s song, with the lyrics and her favorite photos in collaboration with her husband Jim Rock and Deborah Ogburn.
In 1996, Ingrid wrote ''Thyme in a Bottle'', an autobiographical cookbook with memories and recipes from Croce's Restaurant.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ingridcroceart.com/signed-books/p/thyme-in-a-bottle | title=Thyme in a Bottle | work=Ingrid Croce Art}}</ref> When the book sold out, guests to her restaurant and website were encouraging, and Ingrid re-issued the book in 1998 through her own publishing company, Avalanche Records and Books.


In 2003, 30 years after Jim Croce's death, Ingrid and A. J. Croce released the [[DVD]] ''Have You Heard Jim Croce Live'', with an album of the same name, in addition to the albums ''Jim Croce, Home Recordings, Americana'', and ''[[Facets (album)|Facets]]'' (Jim Croce's first album from 1966).<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/jim-croce-have-you-heard-jim-croce-live/2030108739/ | title=Jim Croce: Have You Heard - Jim Croce Live | work=[[TV Guide]] | year=2003}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.popmatters.com/crocejim-haveyouheard-2495858660.html | title=Jim Croce: Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live [DVD] | first=Hank | last=Kalet | work=[[PopMatters]] | date=March 7, 2004}}</ref> [[KPBS (TV)|KPBS]] broadcast the documentary ''The Legacy of Jim Croce'', which featured commentary by Ingrid and A. J., and included segments from the DVD.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/arts-culture/2010/11/19/legacy-jim-croce | title=The Legacy Of Jim Croce | work=[[KPBS (TV)|KPBS]] | date=November 19, 2010}}</ref>
===San Diego Restaurant Week===
In 2004, Ingrid’s determination to build San Diego as a top tier dining destination led her to launch the most successful dining event in the city’s history – San Diego Restaurant Week . Now in its sixth year, the event draws 200,000 guests to close to 200 restaurants twice a year.


In 2004, Ingrid published ''Time in a Bottle'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/enwiki/w/jim-croce-time-in-a-bottle-ingrid-croce/1015961605 |title=Jim Croce - Time in a Bottle| work=[[Barnes and Noble]]}}</ref> a photographic memoir of Jim Croce's songs, accompanying lyrics, and her favorite photos, compiled in collaboration with her husband, Jim Rock, and Deborah Ogburn.
===Today===
PBS is currently airing ''The Legacy of Jim Croce'' with commentary by Ingrid and A.J. Croce and with segments from their DVD, ''Have you Heard Jim Croce Live''. Ingrid Croce is currently developing a PBS special project that has been spawned from her new songbook, ''"Jim Croce Anthology: 'The Stories behind the Songs'"''. This TV project is scheduled for distribution on PBS in 2010. {{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}


==Awards and honors==
Ingrid Croce was nominated and inducted into the Women's Hall of Fame in 2012 for the title of Spirit Of The Women's Hall Of Fame. The annual Women's Hall of Fame induction is co-hosted by Women's Museum of California (Located in San Diego), Commission on the Status of Women, UC San Diego Women's Center, and San Diego State Women's Studies.<ref name="Women's Museum of California">{{cite web|title=San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame|url=http://womensmuseumca.org/whof/|publisher=Ashley Gardner|accessdate=04/27/2012}}</ref>
* San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame, 2012<ref name=hall/>

==Honor==
Ingrid Croce was nominated and inducted into the San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame in 2012 by Women's Museum of California, Commission on the Status of Women, University of California, San Diego Women's Center, and San Diego State University Women's Studies.


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

4. <references /> http://www.singlemoms.org/jfy/cover_story.htm, You Don't Mess Around with Jim or Ingrid Croce either! by Spencer Betz


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.ajcroce.com A.J. Croce Official Website]
* [https://www.ingridcroceart.com/ Ingrid Croce's Website]
*[http://www.jimcroce.com Jim Croce Official Website]
* [https://jimcroce.com/ Jim Croce Official Website]
*[http://www.croces.com Croce's Restaurant & Jazz Bar]
*[http://www.ingridslist.com Ingrid's list Website]
*[http://www.seedlingrecords.com A.J. Croce's record label]


{{Jim Croce}}
{{Jim Croce}}
{{Women's Museum of California}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME =Croce, Ingrid
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH =April 27, 1947
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croce, Ingrid}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croce, Ingrid}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesswomen]]
[[Category:20th-century American singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century American women singers]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]
[[Category:American restaurateurs]]
[[Category:American twins]]
[[Category:American women restaurateurs]]
[[Category:American women singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Jewish American songwriters]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American restaurateurs]]
[[Category:American singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Writers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Moore College of Art and Design alumni]]
[[Category:Moore College of Art and Design alumni]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania]]

[[Category:Writers from Philadelphia]]
[[nl:Ingrid Croce]]

Latest revision as of 05:42, 25 December 2024

Ingrid Croce
Birth nameIngrid Jacobson
Born (1947-04-27) April 27, 1947 (age 77)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, restaurateur
Years active1966–1984
LabelsCapitol/EMI, Croce Music Group
Websitewww.ingridcroceart.com

Ingrid Croce (née Jacobson, born April 27, 1947) is an American author, singer-songwriter, and restaurateur. Between 1964 and 1971, Ingrid performed as a duo with her husband, Jim Croce, releasing the album Jim & Ingrid Croce in 1969.

Biography

[edit]

Early life

[edit]

Ingrid Jacobson was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a Jewish family that consisted of her parents, Shirley and Sidney, and twin sister, Phyllis. When Ingrid was eight years old, she worked at her grandmother's dress store in South Philadelphia as a helper and seamstress. Shirley played piano on a local television show that was titled The Magic Lady. Ingrid learned to cook with her, and started singing in local clubs and on television by the time she was 10. Sidney was a general practitioner, with his medical office in their home in West Philadelphia. In 1952, when Ingrid was five years old,[1] her parents divorced, and Ingrid was moved from school to school.[2] By the age of 15, she was employed as the junior art therapist, assisting her father at the University of Pennsylvania, where he did his residency for his psychiatric practice. When Ingrid was 16 years old, her mother died at the age of 36 due to breast cancer and a weak heart. Ingrid left high school and gymnastics, and moved to her father's home in the suburbs. Ingrid and Phyllis attended several high schools after their mother's death, and eventually graduated from Nether Providence High School in 1965. Ingrid attended the Rhode Island School of Design and Moore College of Art, and travelled to Mexico in her senior year when Ingrid won a fellowship to study painting and pottery in San Miguel de Allende.[3]

With Jim Croce

[edit]

On November 29, 1963, when she was 16 years old, Ingrid met her future husband, Jim Croce, at the Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center; Jim was a judge for an upcoming hootenanny that Ingrid had been auditioning to be a contestant for a role with The Rum Runners.[4] Three years later, they got married in a Jewish wedding.

When Jim and Ingrid Croce discovered they were going to have a child, Jim became more determined to make music his profession. He sent a cassette of his new songs to a friend and producer in New York City, in the hope that he could get a record deal. When their son, Adrian James (A. J.), was born on September 28, 1971, Ingrid became a housewife, while Jim traveled to promote his music.

On September 20, 1973, a week before A. J.'s second birthday, and just as Jim Croce's songs were topping the music charts, Jim died in a plane crash in Natchitoches, Louisiana.[5] After Jim died, Ingrid and A.J. spent time in Quepos, Costa Rica.[6] After they moved to San Diego, she developed a Head Start program for Costa Rica, opened a children's school in Point Loma, and wrote a children's book, Mirandome. When A. J. was almost four years old, he was temporarily blinded by serious physical abuse by Ingrid's boyfriend.[7]

In the early 1970s, Ingrid led the movement to revamp the Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego.[8]

From 1977 to 1981, Ingrid was the vice-consul of Costa Rica in San Diego. She wrote and sang songs, completed two solo albums, and started the publishing company Time in a Bottle. She sat on the board of the Woman's Bank and traveled to Israel, where A. J. took his rites of passage. In 1983, Ingrid became a dedicated runner and finished the Stockholm Marathon, taking third place in her category.[9]

In 1984, while on the road promoting her albums, Ingrid lost her voice because of tumors on her vocal cords. Two operations failed to restore her voice, ending Ingrid's singing career.[2][10]

Restaurant business

[edit]

In 1985, at the suggestion of a friend, Ingrid opened a restaurant, Blinchiki, in Hillcrest, San Diego. The restaurant lasted less than a year.[10]

In 1985, Ingrid opened Croce's, and in 1987, she expanded it to include a jazz bar after obtaining a liquor license. That same day, Ingrid's house burned down.[10]

In the late 1980s, Ingrid became a board member of the California Restaurant Association, San Diego County Chapter, and the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau.[11]

In 2004, Ingrid launched San Diego Restaurant Week to improve the dining scene in San Diego. Twice per year, the event draws 250,000 guests to 150 participating restaurants.[8]

In 2014, Ingrid moved the restaurant to Bankers Hill, San Diego, and renamed it Croce's Park West. The restaurant had dining, bar, and terrace areas, and a large room at the back for live music. The restaurant closed two years later.[12]

Publications

[edit]

In 1996, Ingrid wrote Thyme in a Bottle, an autobiographical cookbook with memories and recipes from Croce's Restaurant.[13] When the book sold out, guests to her restaurant and website were encouraging, and Ingrid re-issued the book in 1998 through her own publishing company, Avalanche Records and Books.

In 2003, 30 years after Jim Croce's death, Ingrid and A. J. Croce released the DVD Have You Heard Jim Croce Live, with an album of the same name, in addition to the albums Jim Croce, Home Recordings, Americana, and Facets (Jim Croce's first album from 1966).[14][15] KPBS broadcast the documentary The Legacy of Jim Croce, which featured commentary by Ingrid and A. J., and included segments from the DVD.[16]

In 2004, Ingrid published Time in a Bottle,[17] a photographic memoir of Jim Croce's songs, accompanying lyrics, and her favorite photos, compiled in collaboration with her husband, Jim Rock, and Deborah Ogburn.

Awards and honors

[edit]
  • San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame, 2012[8]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Betz, Spencer (February 18, 2008). "A personal interview with Ingrid Croce" (PDF). p. 3. Retrieved June 4, 2024 – via First United Methodist Church of Arroyo Grande. Because my parents were divorced when I was five …
  2. ^ a b Sanford, Jay Allen (August 22, 2012). "Learn a Few Things About Ingrid Croce". San Diego Reader. Archived from the original on June 4, 2024.
  3. ^ "Meet Ingrid".
  4. ^ "Ingrid Croce Art".
  5. ^ Caudell, Robin (May 16, 2019). "Don't mess around with A.J." Press-Republican.
  6. ^ "Ingrid Croce Art". Facebook.
  7. ^ Hislop, Christopher (March 5, 2015). "A.J. Croce brings live show to The Loft".
  8. ^ a b c "Ingrid Croce". San Diego Women's Hall of Fame.
  9. ^ "Ingrid Croce Art".
  10. ^ a b c Weisberg, Lori (May 14, 2012). "Jim Croce's widow talks about life after Jim". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
  11. ^ "The Story Straight From the Source". SanDiegoVille. May 27, 2014.
  12. ^ Weisberg, Lori (January 26, 2016). "Another Croce's restaurant comes to an end". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
  13. ^ "Thyme in a Bottle". Ingrid Croce Art.
  14. ^ "Jim Croce: Have You Heard - Jim Croce Live". TV Guide. 2003.
  15. ^ Kalet, Hank (March 7, 2004). "Jim Croce: Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live [DVD]". PopMatters.
  16. ^ "The Legacy Of Jim Croce". KPBS. November 19, 2010.
  17. ^ "Jim Croce - Time in a Bottle". Barnes and Noble.
[edit]
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