In 1973 I was a big fan of Jim Croce. I had Croce albums and listened to them quite a bit. I think Croce’s death in an airplane crash was the first celebrity death that really impacted me, and maybe it was the most painful. At 14, I enjoyed the imagery of his lyrics and the catchi-ness of the tunes, and most of my time listening to him was while playing games of some sort with my brothers at home.
Age is one of his most poignant and melodic songs. He had other songs that were hits that aren’t nearly as good. I don’t know why this happened, it’s not like the record company stopped putting out Croce 45s after he died. For the record, I can’t stand Time in a Bottle. And yet it was one of his biggest hits.
When I listen to Age, I remember playing marbles… yes marbles… with my brothers. The winner would keep the marbles, and in 1973 we spent a few weeks of playing marbles after school, we were all trying to win all the marbles. Literally. And it was fun. And in the end, the winner had a worthless container of marbles, never to be played with again, that eventually were sold in a garage sale.