Shortly before his father's death in a 1973 plane crash, Croce's family moved west to San Diego, California, where his mother, Ingrid, raised him.
At the age of four, Croce was completely blinded, as the result of a brain tumor. Between the ages of four and ten, Croce gradually regained vision in his left eye. It was during this difficult time in Croce's life that he began to play the piano. "I learned to play music by listening and playing along to the radio and to records..." Croce says, "At some point I was given the music of Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder as inspiration, which it was, and has been ever since."
Croce's first paying gig was at the age of 12, when he was paid $20 to perform at a Bat-Mitzvah party. By the age of 16, Croce was performing regularly at San Diego nightclubs, as a sideman and band leader. Croce reflects, "I was into every kind of music... you might say I was unfocused, but I consider an eclectic taste in music to be the foundation of versatility." Croce's house burned down when he was age 15.
Ron Goldstein and Peter Bauman of Private Music signed Croce to his first record deal at age 19. He recorded two CDs for Private Music: his self-titled debut, "A.J. Croce," produced by T-Bone Burnett and John Simon, and "That's Me In The Bar," produced by Jim Keltner, and featuring artists such as Ry Cooder, David Hidalgo, and Keltner himself.
Croce's third release, "Fit To Serve," was recorded in Memphis, and produced by Jim Gaines, who had previously produced Van Morrison, Santana, and The Steve Miller Band. Croce then took a musical turn with the release of his album Transit. He explained, "I had been playing blues-based music for a long time, and I was ready to try something new." Transit was compared by critics to the work of John Lennon, Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, and Van Morrison. Glen Starkey of New Times labeled Croce "a song crafter of the first order."
A fifth CD, titled "Adrian James Croce" was released in the summer of 2004, and a sixth CD, Cantos, in 2006.
Croce has performed as an opening act for artists such as Carlos Santana, Rod Stewart, Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, James Brown, Ben Harper, Dave Matthews, Earth, Wind and Fire and Ray Charles. He has also performed on such national venues as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and Austin City Limits.
Too Soon
A.J. Croce Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We both know it ain't right
Maybe we just fell in love too soon
You like to dance, I like to sing
You want romance, you think it?s everything
Maybe we just fell in love too soon
Was it just infatuation?
One little miscalculation
We both expected too much
there's what you want and what you get
There's satisfaction and there's regret
Maybe we just fell in love too soon
Here we are in this great big room
You want the stars, I want the moon
Maybe we just fell in love too soon
In A.J. Croce's song "Too Soon," the first verse sets the tone immediately with the line "Here we go again tonight, we both know it ain't right," suggesting that the singer and their partner are caught in a cycle of repeatedly making the same mistake of being together when they know it's not a good idea. The next line, "Maybe we just fell in love too soon," introduces the central idea of the song - that the relationship began too hastily and the two parties are now suffering the consequences. The second verse elaborates on this idea with the lines "Was it just infatuation? Did we get caught in the rush? One little miscalculation, we both expected too much," indicating that they didn't take the time to fully assess their feelings for each other and rushed into things without fully considering the consequences.
The chorus then returns with the line "Maybe we just fell in love too soon," emphasizing the central thesis of the song. The final verse brings up the idea that the two parties have different goals and desires ("There's what you want and what you get, there's satisfaction and there's regret / Maybe we just fell in love too soon"), and that these differences are what ultimately caused the relationship to fail. The last two lines, "Here we are in this great big room, you want the stars, I want the moon," further emphasize this idea of differing desires and expectations.
Overall, "Too Soon" is a song about the consequences of falling in love too quickly without fully considering the ramifications or compatibility of the relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Here we go again tonight
Starting another evening like the previous ones
We both know it ain't right
We are aware this situation is not correct
Maybe we just fell in love too soon
Our love may have developed too quickly
You like to dance, I like to sing
Our interests differ
You want romance, you think it's everything
You value romantic gestures above all else
Was it just infatuation?
Was our love purely based on a temporary attraction?
Did we get caught in the rush?
Were we blinded by passion?
One little miscalculation
One small mistake
We both expected too much
We had unrealistic expectations
There's what you want and what you get
Desire and reality don't always align
There's satisfaction and there's regret
Both positive and negative outcomes from our choices
Maybe we just fell in love too soon
Our love may have developed too quickly
Here we are in this great big room
Together in this vast space
You want the stars, I want the moon
Our desires are difficult to meet simultaneously
Maybe we just fell in love too soon
Our love may have developed too quickly
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@arnabchatterjee9085
Loved Jim since I heard him in my school days and now love his son too. He has his own sound !🙏
@jasonw6688
I just learned of A.J. Croce today and looked up his discography. I started with this album and love it so far. Wish this album was on Spotify; others are but not this one. 🤔
@SEOTeamBerlin
wow thx for uploading, I used to have all of Jim Croce's records and have listened to the songs hundreds &more of times. Only recently I found out about A.J., good music 😍
@dianemauer6185
Criminally underrated. Why is it the talented people get overlooked while the crappy 'performers' get all the top ratings? Love the range of music AJ performs. He's really a Renaissance music man.
@chriskendrick6702
A.J. is awesome; and I've owned this CD for years. Love the track "Five" (slide in to ~30:33); he plays Hammond, synth and piano on that one with the power of any 88-key star (think S. Wonder / E. John / L. Russell). It is strange how some musical artists garner millions of fans, while a guy or gal with immense talent, like A.J., just presses on in relative obscurity. It is for the love of the music!
@girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288
Yes, I picked up that Hammond organ sound on several tracks! Good sound, a nod to the classics. 🎵🎶🎵🎶
@chriskendrick6702
I finally got to hear A.J. in person; he's on a tour billed "Croce Plays Croce," and warmed DC from the stage at Warner Theater last night . . . @@girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288
@DADunkin200947
In 71 I was a kid in South Texas getting in trouble singing Leroy Brown in the whole damn town. Church kids don't cuss. All I heard was the crash, crash, crash. AJ got the chops and the ivories down for the business. Thank you.
@daviddecouto960
A criminally under-appreciated LP. Amazing.
@drew-shourd
Solid writing here, retired professional drummer from Los Angeles here, imo his voice has many flavors, mostly from the 1980’s British pop scene, like Elvis Costello and especially Glenn Tolbrook the lead singer from Squeeze.