SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - Making music is all Jim Croce ever wanted to do.
"If you remember back then, things weren't like they are now. People weren't just trying to get famous back then, they really loved playing music," Ingrid Croce said.
Ingrid, along with her husband of the last 25 years, Jimmy Rock, have co-authored the book "I Got a Name: The Jim Croce Story."
"We wrote it together. We discovered a lot about each other. It was a wonderful experience," Jimmy said.
The book reveals the stories behind the music.
"For instance, 'I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song,' which was written after an argument about money," Ingrid said.
The biography gives readers a first-hand account of Jim's career.
"Mostly what I remember is his smile and how much he wanted people to truly feel comfortable and good about the music, about the stories themselves," Ingrid said.
"I Got a Name: The Jim Croce Story" is filled with unflinching revelations. Ingrid candidly discusses the son she lost and her rape, chronicles Jim's two grueling years on the road, basically estranged from his wife and son A.J., earning only a few hundred dollars a week even though he had best-selling albums. And eventually, his death aboard a private plane in Louisiana.
"I was kind of a widow before I became a widow," Ingrid said.
Ingrid Croce and Jimmy Rock will autographing copies of "I Got a Name: The Jim Croce Story" Tuesday evening at Warwick's book store in La Jolla starting at 7:30 p.m.
"We saw Jim's journey as an heroic journey," Ingrid said.
It was a journey that touched all of our lives, warmed our hearts and still resonates in our souls.
