After moving back to Pennsylvania with his wife Ingrid, Jim Croce met fellow singer-songwriter Maury Muehleisen, a professional affiliation that would have a profound effect on his career.

Croce joined Muehleisen’s gigs as a second guitarist and took some cues for his own songwriting by supporting his friend’s. Muehleisen ended up returning the favor and became a staple on Croce’s albums and a key part of his touring band. Every Jim Croce song I know well post-dates his partnership with Muehleisen.

Croce’s next album, 1972’s You Don’t Mess Around With Jim, was his breakout. The record camped out on the Billboard 200 and placed two singles in the top 20 of the Hot 100 — the title track at #8, and ‘Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)’ at #17.

Nearly half of Croce’s eventual greatest hits album came from this album, including ‘Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy),’ ‘Time in a Bottle,’ ‘Photographs and Memories,’ and today’s SOTD (a touching glimpse at his experience in the Big Apple).

‘Time in a Bottle’ would be released shortly after Croce’s 1974 death, reaching #1 and catapulting this album to the top of the charts for more than a month.