It was 39 years ago today…

…that singer-songwriter Jim Croce died in a plane crash in Natchitoches, Louisiana.

Croce had performed that night at Northwestern State University and was scheduled to spend the night in Natchitoches and fly to Dallas the next day, but due to a last minute change of plans, Croce and guitarist Maury Muehleisen left immediately after the show. Their plane crashed shortly after taking off, killing all six passengers on board. Jim Croce was 30-years-old.  In another day or so he was scheduled to appear in Las Cruces.