The version in this movie is an alternate take, with a totally different arrangement. It's not the version you can hear on the record.
This happens frequently; the movie version is a rough demo or just a different take.
I noticed that also. It's like they took Croce's single, stripped out the vocal, and added a heavy string score until you can barely hear his voice.
I remember seeing that "I Got a Name" was the theme to this film for years, and I'm glad to have finally seen the movie. I wonder how Croce's song came to be the theme to this film? It just seems kind of out of place here. This was before pop songs became a heavy part of film soundtracks, so I guess they didn't think it needed to be a strong match. The Carpenters' "Bless the Beasts and the Children" a few years earlier was a better fit to the film of the same name.
The versions are different because one exists to serve the film... and the record is designed for the radio. The composer Charles Fox, a veteran film scorer, had to duck the song in and out of dialogue and sound effects and fit it into 3 specific spaces in the picture, as opposed to a record which just plays for 3 minutes straight. The song was written by Fox & Norman Gimbel (who won the Grammy that very year for Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly"). They wrote "I Got A Name" specifically for the movie. The original singer Albert Hammond ("It Never Rains In Southern California") dropped out, so they had to make a fast decision who would replace him. They picked Jim Croce over John Denver (both wanted to do it). The song was climbing into the top 5 on the charts when Jim Croce sadly died in a plane crash. (Ironically John Denver died 20 years later in a plane crash). It remains the only Croce song that he didn't write himself. At one point, the movie was re-released as "I Got A Name". This Jim Croce record is currently featured in the new Quentin Tarantino picture "Django Unchained". (I read Charlie Fox's memoirs which just came out and he talked about the process of this and all his other films in depth, and it was very interesting, it's called "Killing Me Softly; My Life In Music")
shareInteresting info on the origins of the song. I can't imagine anyone other than Croce singing it though. I love it.
"I don't want your watch, man. I want your friendship!" - Lightfoot
Small correction - Croce's guitarist Maury Muehleisen wrote the dramatic piano ballad "Salon and Saloon," which also appears on Croce's "I Got a Name" album.
shareThe versions are different because one exists to serve the film... and the record is designed for the radio. The composer Charles Fox, a veteran film scorer, had to duck the song in and out of dialogue and sound effects and fit it into 3 specific spaces in the picture, as opposed to a record which just plays for 3 minutes straight. The song was written by Fox & Norman Gimbel (who won the Grammy that very year for Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly"). They wrote "I Got A Name" specifically for the movie. The original singer Albert Hammond ("It Never Rains In Southern California") dropped out, so they had to make a fast decision who would replace him. They picked Jim Croce over John Denver (both wanted to do it). The song was climbing into the top 5 on the charts when Jim Croce sadly died in a plane crash. (Ironically John Denver died 20 years later in a plane crash). It remains the only Croce song that he didn't write himself. At one point, the movie was re-released as "I Got A Name". This Jim Croce record is currently featured in the new Quentin Tarantino picture "Django Unchained". (I read Charlie Fox's memoirs which just came out and he talked about the process of this and all his other films in depth, and it was very interesting, it's called "Killing Me Softly; My Life In Music")
shareThanks very much for the explanation, Marshalllevenstein! With all due respect to John Denver, I think they made the right choice of singer for the song. I read a review of Charles Fox's memoir a few years ago, and I plan to seek it out and read it soon.
The music industry has changed so much in the past four decades, as has the film industry, that the use of the song (as well as the song itself) seems positively quaint here. I didn't realize it was used in "Django Unchained." "I Got a Name" took on a life of its own with Croce's death, far surpassing the recognition of this film. Until fairly recently, I was aware of this film only from its mention on the Croce single and LP/collections it appeared on.
It happens to be the 70th anniversary of Jim Croce's birth as I write this. His was the first celebrity death to affect me, and he had played my hometown shortly before the plane crash. I wish I had dragged my mother to that show because I was too young to go on my own. Coincidentally, I found another VHS copy of this film today at a record store for the entirely reasonable price of 50 cents, and I bought another copy even though my previous one plays just fine.
I wish I got to see him in person myself... but there are some great youtube videos of him singing live. In his memoir, Charles talks about Croce always having a book in his back pocket that had all the airplane schedules so if they finished a show early they could find the fastest flight. And it was one of those flights that took his life. He seemed like an awesome guy. PS: the book is in paperback now and I've found copies on amazon for as little as a few dollars plus shipping.
That's a very sad story about how Jim Croce's efficiency also indirectly contributed to his early death. There are indeed many great clips of him in concert on YouTube. He made a handful of television appearances in the '70s, and it seems to me that shows like "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert" would rerun the segments long after he had passed.
I will seek out "Killing Me Softly." Charles Fox is a tremendous talent from an era that still valued songwriters. And surprisingly, it looks like used hardcover copies of his books are available for even less on Amazon.com (77 cents vs. $2.47, all with the $3.99 shipping charge).
I just saw this movie for the first time and I didn't know that Jim's song (because he made it his own) originated here. I've always loved the song and noticed immediately that it was a different arrangement for the film itself. Beautiful. Simply Beautiful. Much respect to Mr. Fox and Mr. Gimbel as well of course.
shareIt is indeed a beautiful song. I suspect most people don't realize it originated in this largely forgotten film. This is a decent movie, but "I Got a Name" stands on its own regardless of its origins.
share