April 15, 2025 • 37 mins
The last name may be familiar, but A.J. Croce is as unique as they come. This seasoned multi-talented singer/songwriter/instrumentalist has spent nearly 40 years in the music business and has an impressive catalog of his own. He's played with the best of the best, and in addition to his wide array of talents and abilities, is also wonderfully warm, witty and wise.
Spend some time with us getting to know A.J. You'll fall in love a little, like I did. He's got a new album - Heart Of The Eternal - and tour dates coming up, so we have that to look forward to. (And don't we all need wonderful things to look forward to?!)
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Spring has sprung right on schedule, bringing gifts of all varieties,
new babies on the farm that are keeping me and
my kids amused, be mused, and busy, busy, busy. We
have baby goats and baby chicks and baby ducks, and
soon we'll hat some frizzle geese if all goes well,
(00:25):
so called because their feathers are curly. The fruit trees
are in bloom. Oh my goodness, everything is in bloom,
and there is absolutely nothing I would rather be doing
than working outside in my gardens, immersing myself in the
magic of it all. Buds and blooms and babies aren't
(00:48):
the only new things coming to us this spring. There's
a whole nursery full of new music, new albums, and
new tours to look forward to. One of the newest
by a man whose last name is known to us all,
but whose first name while we're just becoming familiar with. Singer,
songwriter and multi instrumentalist AJ Crochey is the son of
(01:13):
legendary singer songwriter Jim Crochey. AJ was only two years
old when he lost his father in a tragic airplane crash,
but he obviously inherited his dad's musical genes. He started
playing as a small child and has taken after his
(01:34):
father's footsteps as an amazing musician. From his childhood. Piano
became something of a lifeline for Croche, who suffered a
total loss of eyesight from ages four to ten and
turned to blind pianists like Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder
for much needed comfort and inspiration. Often referred to as
(01:57):
a piano virtuoso, aj toured with B. B. King at
just eighteen years old. After ten studio albums and thirty
years of touring and establishing his own career in the
early two thousands, aj todd himself guitar and several of
his father's classics. The fan response from dropping in a
(02:20):
song or two like Operator in his show was astounding
and deeply emotional. He then debuted a concert that celebrated
the legacy of his father's songs, stories, and music as
well as his own. The show featured two generations of
Croachy music and many songs by other artists, which connected
(02:40):
father and son as performers. For the past seven years,
Ajay's Croche Plays Crochy Tour has sold out performing arts
centers across America. In twenty twenty two, in celebration of
the fiftieth anniversary of Jim's breakthrough album You Don't Mess
Around With, AJ honored the memory of his father with
(03:03):
a fall tour featuring a seven piece ensemble and a
multimedia production. Over his fifty year career, the Nashville bass
singer songwriter has collaborated and performed with legends and luminaries
across a wide expanse of genres. He's played with Willie Nelson,
with Ray Charles, with the Neville Brothers, Bella Fleck, and
(03:27):
Ry Cooter, to name a few, all while building an
acclaimed catalog that blurs the boundaries between blues, soul, rock
and roll, Americana, and so much more. AJ Crochey's ten
albums have all charted on Top forty Blues, Americana and Jazz,
and he's landed twenty two singles on a variety of
(03:49):
top twenty charts. His songwriting and style of evolved from
jazz and blues on his debut in sophomore albums to
the roots rock of the recent collaborative recordings like Cantos
with Ben Harper and Just Like Medicine with Vince Gill.
Ajay's new album Heart of the Eternal, the latest collection
(04:11):
of Croche's songwriting and heart on sleeve emotions, was recently
released on March seventh. I am so fortunate to be
able to have these conversations, and more fortunate still that
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Someone today is somebody that we have loved, your family
(06:21):
and your family legacy, and now I'm learning so much
aj about you. I'm falling in love with you. So
welcome to love Someone with Delilah.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Thank you so much, Delilia. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
For our younger listeners, Please explain what the song operator
is about, well, cause when I told my grandkids I
got to interview you, and I told them about the
legacy of your late father, and I played my favorite
which is operator. They're like, what's an operator?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
They call them customer? Service representatives now do they.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Even have them now? Like, can you even call someone
now and ask for help?
Speaker 2 (07:07):
I think so, but it's probably through your your you know,
your service provider, whoever that is. You know, they've we've
got all these these titles and names that I don't know.
George Carlin would have a field day with now.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
So AJ Chroschy, tell us, tell us what you think
Dad was thinking about when he wrote operator and how
that worked back then, because seriously, young people today have
no idea.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Well, I'll tell you, Delilah, My father was stationed at
Fort Dix in New Jersey in nineteen sixty five and
he was waiting to use the payphone. Now it was
a phone booth, which is a totally different conversation.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, I think because of doctor who they might recognize
a phone booth.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
All right, So there was a phone booth and the
phone booth had no door on it. And for a
young songwriter who was ambitious and looking for great stories
and content and all of that, you know, he was
hearing these conversations of his fellow soldiers. And you know,
other people's tragedies can help you write a good song,
(08:18):
but they will not help you write a great song
because you really need to have some character building experience
of your own. And so it wasn't finished in sixty five.
It was finished in seventy two for his would be
his first album, and it was about a you know,
a conversation on the phone with the operator trying to
(08:39):
reach an X.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
So if tragedy builds character and character builds great song lyrics,
no wonder you are such a phenomenal lyricist.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Well, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Your whole life is like a hymn meets a blues
meets a country song, all wrapped into one.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I feel like it's odysseous, you know. Yes, one thing
gets in the way of another thing, which gets in
the way of another thing, which delays my trip home.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Right, but it seems like none of it has stopped you.
And I love that. I love that. Like I said,
I'm falling in love with you. I'm falling in love
with you because nothing slows you down. Well, it might
slow you down, but nothing seems to stop you from
what it is in your heart that you're going to do.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Well. I hope that's the case, you know. I feel
grateful for for the life that I have, the life
that I that I'm able to live, and yeah, we
all have tragedies and we all have challenges every day.
It's just part of life. And how we deal with
them and the humor that we that we you know,
that we bring to it is a huge part of
(09:54):
who we are. And you know, how we how we
deal with those challenges is really the definition of character
and our individual character.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
How many kids you said you got kids in California?
Speaker 2 (10:08):
I have two, My daughter's thirty five and my son's
twenty eight.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
And how hard did you work, dad to make sure
that their life would never ever be as riddled with
heartache and pain as yours was.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Of course, we do the best we can. You know,
we're never going to do everything perfect. We're never gonna
you know, we have this ambition and goal, I think
as parents to protect our children from everything in the world.
But the reality is is that you actually need to
live and have those experiences and have those challenges that
(10:43):
encourage you to build character, you know, just like that
song or just like so many and you know, it
was important to me that my kids understood that life
is a challenge. That's okay, you know you're going to win.
Someone lose some it's all right.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
And did either one of them get the gifted gene
that dad passed on to you?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Well, I was fortunate because I can't. I'm a fifth
generation musician. My great great grandparents were musicians, and great
grandparents grandparents my mother of course, on my mother's side
and father's side, my grandmother. My son is a natural,
but he chose to go more into acting and writing
(11:25):
than music. And while I always felt like it was
important for him to have music to fall back on,
which is ironic.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
That wait, wait, wait, wait wait, aj Crochey just said
perhaps the most iconic line I have heard in my
career interviewing, especially musicians. You wanted your son to have music.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
To fall back on. That's right, that's right.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
What person in the history of my show has I've
ever uttered those words? They always say I wanted them
to have, you know, computer skills to fall back on.
I wanted them to have their bachelor's degree, their master's degree.
I wanted them to have accounting to fall back on.
You know, nobody ever since I wanted them to have
(12:18):
music to fall back on, except somebody who is so
incredibly gifted it is second nature.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Well, I think it's one of those things where, you know,
when I started out, I mean, for the first thirty
years of my career, I did not play my father's music.
I learned the standards. I learned all the old rock
and roll standards from the fifties and sixties. I mean,
I was playing jazz and blues and rock and roll
and old country stuff.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
And didn't you go on tour in your teens with
BB King?
Speaker 2 (12:50):
I did, yeah, I mean, and before that, I was,
you know, I was playing and touring around a bit,
starting when I was sixteen with Floyd Dixon, and then
my first sessions here in Nashville when I was seventeen
for Cowboy Jack Clement with Elvis's group, filling in for
Jerry Lee, and then Bbking at eighteen. But that's not
(13:12):
what I was going to say. What I was going
to say is that learning other people's music at when
you're starting out and understanding that people love to hear
love to hear it, and and there's always a gig
somewhere that you can that you can play. I was
never above any gig. You know, it could be a wedding,
a party, it could be a concert. But I just
(13:36):
felt like, I want to be able to do this.
I love it. It's a calling. And I just felt
like I knew that, you know, with a little practice,
you can you can make you can make a little
money at it. You know, even if it's just fifty
or one hundred bucks a night, it's better than nothing.
And I just thought it was important for them to
(13:58):
know that.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
You know, so music to fall back on, but your
son shows acting and writing, yes, well the writing gene
definitely come on.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Yeah, come on, yeah, you know, it's all these skills
develop at different times. I started off as a piano player,
and then the songwriting came into play, and the singing
came into play, and then I picked up guitar, and
then you know, I was playing different instruments. Some of
it was out of necessity. The singing came out of necessity,
(14:32):
almost because I was writing. And it was just one
thing led to another, and I mean, I'm just really
dedicated to the art of what I do, and I
and I take it really seriously. So it was just
a process. I got better at each thing at different
times and sort of figured out who I was, maybe
a little later than some young artists who start as
(14:55):
young as I did. But but I was good at
a young age.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
And you did not fall into the trap that so
many other young artists, at least it doesn't appear you
fell into the trap of so many young artists who
think they're all that and think they are above playing
any gig, and think that you know that that they
(15:22):
are God's gift to the world and we don't hear
from them anymore.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
You really have to be humble in this in this field,
because you're going to get humbled. You know, it is
a roller coaster. And I told that to my son
growing up. I said, you know, you have to you're
going to be in entertainment. You have to understand you're
going to hear no ninety nine percent of the time
and having a thick skin and just understanding that if
(15:48):
you work hard and you take your work seriously and
you love what you do, then it's all going to
work out.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Hardest know you ever heard, like, was there ever somebody
you wanted to tour with or something you really thought
was meant for you made for you, And they they said.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
No, Yeah, I mean there were plenty of those around,
you know, all through my career even today, but they weren't.
It didn't break my heart.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Now you had enough of life breaking your heart. Agents, Yeah, yeah,
exactly I did.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
And you know, and so like, in all honesty, I
can't think of a of a moment, you know. I've
had plenty of people say that, you know, or festivals
or venues or tours or things that didn't work, Labels
that didn't want me, or agents that didn't want to
book me, managers that didn't want to work with me.
(16:54):
That was fine, that's par for the course. That's what
you get with this. You know, a huge part of
this line of work is timing. And you probably know
that as well as anyone that where you are when
you're there plays a big role in it. And some
of it's out of our control.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Altogether, all of it is out of my control. I
learned that, you know, over and over and over again.
I still learn it to this day. It's all in
the hands of somebody much more powerful than I am.
Anything I try on my own falls flat. But when
everything comes together and that perfect perfect, and you know
(17:36):
it when you step into it. I mean, I watched
the video they did with you, and you were talking
about how you resisted playing your dad's music, and then
the time was right, and it feels like it was
divinely appointed. Right now, our world is so divided and
(17:59):
everything is so angry. I was talking with a friend
the other day. I met her thirty five years ago
in Boston, and her best friend is having a serious
mental health crisis, like serious over the political nature of
the world right now, so upset. They cannot work, they
(18:19):
cannot function. And I just feel like that anger and
that hatred is being fomented and fanned and encouraged. And
you and sharing your dad's music, which was which was
nothing but goodness and love. You know, the biggest angry
(18:39):
thing is bad, badly right.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Brown someone else? I mean, you know, for me, I
stay out of it. I stay out of the politics
of today because I've always felt that the approach that
Will Rogers had and the Widows and the sort of
(19:03):
Mark Twain perspective of it, we're all we're all heroes
and all we're all villains, and we're all a lot
of things. And so the idea of being able to
bring everyone together and include everyone in our mutual humanity
(19:23):
is my job. That is what I want to do.
That's what I hope to achieve with every concert. It's
not just the music. It's the communication of the songs.
It's the communication of the love I feel for what
I do, but also for the fact that we are
together and we have this brief moment to forget about
(19:47):
the world outside that theater and to be one group
of people, undivided.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
And the people that come to your show. What an
eclectic myth. Talk about span the spectrum. Because I never
got to play your dad on the air, I never
got to interview your dad on the air as Jim Crochy.
I always played him as the late Jim Crochy because
(20:14):
he passed a year before I started my career. Okay, right,
so I never once got to introduce him as you know,
here's Time in a Bottle by Jim Crochy, right, the
late Jim Crochy.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
His career was eighteen months.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
That just blows my mind. That blows my mind because
he was such a giant during all of the seventies.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Yeah, it's it's kind of amazing how it's passed down
through the generations and young people are really love the music.
And some people have found it through me and some
have found it through the movies that I've licensed to
for many years, and you know, I was really happy
to work behind the scenes with my father's catalog and
(21:04):
his legacy. It was important to me to be able
to contribute always in the last thirty some years. But
it was it was really just the timing of it
that allowed me to really put together a show that
was more than just more than just a tribute. It
was it wasn't just about my father. It was about
(21:26):
two generations, a father and a son, and the adventures
and experiences of those two generations, how they connected and
how they were disconnected. And I think it was through
all of those connections that this that show that that
you saw, you know that I was I was performing
last year, and that I you know that I still
(21:50):
obviously I still perform his songs when I'm when I'm
playing concerts, But the last few years were really focused
on Crochy Blaze Crochy. It was it was my day
ads legacy tied and mind which is tied to his,
you know. And so it was work in progress and
it just got better and better because I started to
(22:13):
see all of these beautiful connections just as people and
being able to tell a story that my father never
had the time to tell and being able to communicate
to an audience that he was never able to reach
because he didn't live long enough. And so it was
a kind of a real magical experience in a lot
(22:36):
of ways, you know. And I avoided his music for
a lot of reasons. One of them was that I
felt there was no integrity in playing his music until
I made a name for myself. One was that I
felt like no one could do it better than him,
And another one was a little bit out of the
fear of Once I opened the floodgates of this, I
don't know that I'll be able to close them back
(22:57):
if I choose to do my own thing. Well, I
ever be able to just perform my own music again
if I opened this this Pandora's box. The fact is,
after three years of doing that show, I don't care
whether I close it. You know, it was so much fun.
The connections that I made with the audience and the
(23:19):
music itself was really profound, and I think people found
me interestingly through my father's music, which I never expected.
It was like the most surreal thing, and so, you know,
it was really beautiful.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
I wonder, did you ever feel I don't know where
your spirituality is, but did you ever feel like your
dad's spirit was was birthing this.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
I don't know about that, but I do There were
moments the only time I really some of the most
connected that I felt to him in a way were
when I was talking about telling the stories of where
these things, these songs came from, telling the stories of
where he came from. I think there was also the
(24:12):
times when I would improvise on a song of his,
and I just know in my heart that had he
had he survived, had he lived a long life or
longer life, that we would have performed together without a
doubt my mind, because of the connections that we have
(24:33):
in so many ways, I just don't I don't have
a question about it. I felt like there were moments
when I would improvise on a piece of his, a
song of his, and I went, Okay, this is where
this is where I take something of his and become myself.
I'm not I'm not a cover band, you know. I've
(24:55):
always been a stylist of songs. If I'm playing someone
else's I'm not going to try and hoppy there singing
or their voice. I'm gonna pay tribute to the melody
and the chord progression, and and and and the artist
that wrote it. But I have to make it my
own or else I'm not doing any any service to
(25:16):
the song or to the art.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
You think that there will ever be a day when
you get to perform with your.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Son, You never know. I don't know if it would
be playing music, you know, it could be. You never know,
but certainly, certainly it's possible. You never know.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
What if he wrote a movie about you and his
grandpa and him.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Well, that would be something I'd go that's great. Well, okay,
well I'll go too.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
So who lives on the farm that the pictures were
taken that your dad lived on when he wrote all
those beautiful songs. Who lives there now? Is it somebody
connected to you or just a random family?
Speaker 2 (26:05):
No? You know my family. You know, my father didn't
really have any money. He was We rented a one
bedroom apartment in the farmhouse. And the farmhouse is I
don't know who owns it now, but I know part
of it is, if not all of it, is like
an airbnb. Because there's a lot of fans that the
(26:26):
the old outhouse that is on the cover of you
don't mess around with Jim. That has the arch on
it that is still there, and there's you know, historic
plaque right there from the state of Pennsylvania saying that
it was you know where he had written all of
those songs. And we lived there for a couple of
(26:47):
years after my folks moved back from New York City.
It was an ill fated trip, and on the way back,
my father started New York's Not My Home and Box
number ten the songs that would end up on that
on that first album. And so we lived there and
then my father got an opportunity. This was in the
(27:08):
summer of seventy three, after Life and Times was number
one and Leroy Brown was number one, and he got
this opportunity to go out to the Tonight Show and
they asked if he would be interested in being the
guest host when Johnny wasn't there, because it was incredibly
funny and really personable, easy going, and so my folks
(27:31):
moved out to California, to San Diego actually because my
father preferred it to Los Angeles, and that was going
to be the gig, but when he passed, John Rivers
got the gig. So there's a lot that would have
been different and unique had things that you know turned
out differently.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
But it wasn't the plan.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
No, no, it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
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So did you grow up in California?
Speaker 2 (29:18):
I did. Yeah. Yeah. I grew up in California and
I started playing at a young age. I was you know,
I lost my site when I was when I was four,
and Ray Charles became my gateway drug. I lost my
site and sort of gradually gained it back in my
left eye over a six year period of time. And
(29:40):
during that time I started playing piano and playing along
with the radio and with records, and it just became
my solace. It was my it was my escape, and
it was really wonderful. I listened to all kinds of
music and played along to everything that from what was
on the radio, whether it was the Stones or McCartney
or Yellow or Elton John or whatever it was in
(30:01):
the seventies that that I would hear and go, oh,
I want to play along with that, you know, and
then all the old stuff, you know, because I you know,
Ray Charles introduced me to Charles Brown, which introduced me
to King Cole Trio, and going back to you know,
Jelly Roll Morton and all of those stride piano players.
I became a student of the art, a student of
(30:24):
the instrument, and then you know, at sixteen, Floyd Dixon
asked if I'd go out. He was a blues singer
and whatnot, and wrote hay bar Tender and wine wine,
wine and drinking songs. When Scott's you try to know
where his head was that right? And I would open
(30:45):
for him and then we'd finish his show with those
old thirties boogies, foreheaded boogies, and and that kind of
introduced me to entertaining for larger audiences and different groups
of people, more more diverse. And it was just one
thing led to another. May accident when I was seventeen
heard me play May wrote Heartbreak Hotel, and she heard
(31:09):
me and she called cowboy Jack Clement, who was the
staff producer for Son Records, produced Elvis and Jerry Lee
and Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison and so many others,
and he hired me. And I came to Nashville at
seventeen for my first first session and I walk in
and it's Elvis's comeback band from sixty eight sitting on
(31:31):
the couch there, and Jerry Lee Lewis just walked out,
and I'm going, oh my god, I don't know if
I'm ready for this, and he just made me feel
at home, and that was it. I was off and running.
I had no manager, no agent, no no anything. I
just knew what I wanted to do.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Well, I'm glad you ran with it. What a gift
you are to all of us, What a gift to
your dad was. What a gift you are. And I
love your passion. I love your You know, it's one
thing to be passionate, it's another thing to be passionate
with dedication and conviction. There's a lot of passionate musicians.
There's a lot of passionate artists who are bubbling with passion,
(32:14):
but they don't have the ability to stick to it.
And the like you said, you became a student of
your craft. You became a student of every great pianist,
whatever genre you studied them. You practice, You put in
the heavy lifting, the heavy work. So you're one part genius,
(32:38):
but you're also one part student who was willing to
pay your dues. And always I've met so many people
who are genius but not willing to be a student.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
Yeah, I think to really say that someone is passionate
about something, it sort of rings hollow unless they have
that depth of character or or intention. Without that intention,
it's just that that's just enthusiasm. It's not passion and
and and I'm all for enthusiasm, that's that's great. But
(33:14):
if you want to contribute something that's going to last
the test of time, or at least make your your
time worth putting, putting your energy and love and life
into it, then then it's it's got to be. It's
got to have depth to it.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
So if somebody wants to come see you or wants
to listen to AJ Croachy, how do they find you?
Speaker 2 (33:38):
You can go to ajcroachemusic dot com. You can go
to my Instagram at aj Crochy, you can go follow
me on on Facebook aj Crochy and and of course
you can find my music everywhere. You can find it
on Apple or Spotify. The new album is called Heart
of the Eternal. I recorded it with Shooter Jennings, which
(34:00):
was an amazing and fun experience. I'll be touring in
June all over the US. Another tour in the fall,
and I hope I can see everyone. You know. I
was just in your neck of the woods in November,
and I'm sure I'll be back there before too long.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
Okay, stay, wait, wait, wait here, Heart of the Eternal June,
You're going to hit the road again. Yes, so all
the all the outdoor venues.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
All kinds of all kinds of places, indoor, outdoor, all
of the above, all of the above, and then yeah,
and then we'll be hitting more of the big East
Coast places. Town Hall in New York City in the fall,
of the Ryman in Nashville in the fall.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Oh, I love the Ryman. It's so great, one of
my favorite venues in the whole world.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
It's amazing, it is. I love that place. I get
chills just thinking about it.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
It's unparalleled.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Agree it, you know, and and it's interesting. Town Hall
in New York City has a very similar feel on
the stage, but there's something more well church like about
the arriving because it was Yeah, but the acoustics are
just amazing. Every you know, everywhere you sit, there's not
(35:20):
a bad scene. I love it.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Well, we love you. Thank you for spending time with us.
God bless you.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Thank you so much, Delilah. It's really been a privilege,
and I'm really grateful help spread the word and and
all that. About the new music, I'm I'm I'm really
happy about it. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
You are a gifted fun funny They should have you
hosting a late night TV show. I know your dad
is qu for that, but you would be brilliant. Your
energy and your your quickness, you would be brilliant.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Oh thank you well. Pass the word on. I'm all
I'm all for it.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
AJ is fresh off his widely popular Croachey Plays Crochee's
fiftieth anniversary tour, which, on the memory of his father Andy,
launched his year long Heart of the Eternal tour in February.
I hope it comes to my little corner of the
world because I would love to catch this guy in person.
(36:21):
I recommend that you do too. You can learn more
about AJ, his life, his music, his touring schedule, as
well as purchase his music merchandise, and get tickets for
the Heart of the Eternal Tour at Ajcroachymusic dot com.
Ajcroachymusic dot com. While you're there, check out the CBS
(36:43):
Sunday Morning segment on AJ. It's very moving. Made me cry.
What are you paying attention to this spring? Because of
all the noises of the world, which, by way of survival,
we have to be cognizant of. Are you still taking
time to rejuvenate yourself to refresh your soul. Music is
(37:06):
a pretty wonderful way of doing that. Getting outside, even
just for a few minutes each day, is also an
incredible lift for your spirits. Pay attention, maybe watch an
ant hard at work, or the antics of a squirrel.
Wonder at how the dandelion was able to push itself
up through the crack and all that hard concrete hope
(37:29):
surrounds us. And I want you to find hope this spring.
I want you to focus on it. I want you
to breathe it in and join me every evening on
the airwaves, where we'll keep each other company each and
every night.
Spring has sprung right on schedule, bringing gifts of all varieties,
new babies on the farm that are keeping me and
my kids amused, be mused, and busy, busy, busy. We
have baby goats and baby chicks and baby ducks, and
soon we'll hat some frizzle geese if all goes well,
(00:25):
so called because their feathers are curly. The fruit trees
are in bloom. Oh my goodness, everything is in bloom,
and there is absolutely nothing I would rather be doing
than working outside in my gardens, immersing myself in the
magic of it all. Buds and blooms and babies aren't
(00:48):
the only new things coming to us this spring. There's
a whole nursery full of new music, new albums, and
new tours to look forward to. One of the newest
by a man whose last name is known to us all,
but whose first name while we're just becoming familiar with. Singer,
songwriter and multi instrumentalist AJ Crochey is the son of
(01:13):
legendary singer songwriter Jim Crochey. AJ was only two years
old when he lost his father in a tragic airplane crash,
but he obviously inherited his dad's musical genes. He started
playing as a small child and has taken after his
(01:34):
father's footsteps as an amazing musician. From his childhood. Piano
became something of a lifeline for Croche, who suffered a
total loss of eyesight from ages four to ten and
turned to blind pianists like Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder
for much needed comfort and inspiration. Often referred to as
(01:57):
a piano virtuoso, aj toured with B. B. King at
just eighteen years old. After ten studio albums and thirty
years of touring and establishing his own career in the
early two thousands, aj todd himself guitar and several of
his father's classics. The fan response from dropping in a
(02:20):
song or two like Operator in his show was astounding
and deeply emotional. He then debuted a concert that celebrated
the legacy of his father's songs, stories, and music as
well as his own. The show featured two generations of
Croachy music and many songs by other artists, which connected
(02:40):
father and son as performers. For the past seven years,
Ajay's Croche Plays Crochy Tour has sold out performing arts
centers across America. In twenty twenty two, in celebration of
the fiftieth anniversary of Jim's breakthrough album You Don't Mess
Around With, AJ honored the memory of his father with
(03:03):
a fall tour featuring a seven piece ensemble and a
multimedia production. Over his fifty year career, the Nashville bass
singer songwriter has collaborated and performed with legends and luminaries
across a wide expanse of genres. He's played with Willie Nelson,
with Ray Charles, with the Neville Brothers, Bella Fleck, and
(03:27):
Ry Cooter, to name a few, all while building an
acclaimed catalog that blurs the boundaries between blues, soul, rock
and roll, Americana, and so much more. AJ Crochey's ten
albums have all charted on Top forty Blues, Americana and Jazz,
and he's landed twenty two singles on a variety of
(03:49):
top twenty charts. His songwriting and style of evolved from
jazz and blues on his debut in sophomore albums to
the roots rock of the recent collaborative recordings like Cantos
with Ben Harper and Just Like Medicine with Vince Gill.
Ajay's new album Heart of the Eternal, the latest collection
(04:11):
of Croche's songwriting and heart on sleeve emotions, was recently
released on March seventh. I am so fortunate to be
able to have these conversations, and more fortunate still that
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Someone today is somebody that we have loved, your family
(06:21):
and your family legacy, and now I'm learning so much
aj about you. I'm falling in love with you. So
welcome to love Someone with Delilah.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Thank you so much, Delilia. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
For our younger listeners, Please explain what the song operator
is about, well, cause when I told my grandkids I
got to interview you, and I told them about the
legacy of your late father, and I played my favorite
which is operator. They're like, what's an operator?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
They call them customer? Service representatives now do they.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Even have them now? Like, can you even call someone
now and ask for help?
Speaker 2 (07:07):
I think so, but it's probably through your your you know,
your service provider, whoever that is. You know, they've we've
got all these these titles and names that I don't know.
George Carlin would have a field day with now.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
So AJ Chroschy, tell us, tell us what you think
Dad was thinking about when he wrote operator and how
that worked back then, because seriously, young people today have
no idea.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Well, I'll tell you, Delilah, My father was stationed at
Fort Dix in New Jersey in nineteen sixty five and
he was waiting to use the payphone. Now it was
a phone booth, which is a totally different conversation.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, I think because of doctor who they might recognize
a phone booth.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
All right, So there was a phone booth and the
phone booth had no door on it. And for a
young songwriter who was ambitious and looking for great stories
and content and all of that, you know, he was
hearing these conversations of his fellow soldiers. And you know,
other people's tragedies can help you write a good song,
(08:18):
but they will not help you write a great song
because you really need to have some character building experience
of your own. And so it wasn't finished in sixty five.
It was finished in seventy two for his would be
his first album, and it was about a you know,
a conversation on the phone with the operator trying to
(08:39):
reach an X.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
So if tragedy builds character and character builds great song lyrics,
no wonder you are such a phenomenal lyricist.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Well, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Your whole life is like a hymn meets a blues
meets a country song, all wrapped into one.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I feel like it's odysseous, you know. Yes, one thing
gets in the way of another thing, which gets in
the way of another thing, which delays my trip home.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Right, but it seems like none of it has stopped you.
And I love that. I love that. Like I said,
I'm falling in love with you. I'm falling in love
with you because nothing slows you down. Well, it might
slow you down, but nothing seems to stop you from
what it is in your heart that you're going to do.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Well. I hope that's the case, you know. I feel
grateful for for the life that I have, the life
that I that I'm able to live, and yeah, we
all have tragedies and we all have challenges every day.
It's just part of life. And how we deal with
them and the humor that we that we you know,
that we bring to it is a huge part of
(09:54):
who we are. And you know, how we how we
deal with those challenges is really the definition of character
and our individual character.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
How many kids you said you got kids in California?
Speaker 2 (10:08):
I have two, My daughter's thirty five and my son's
twenty eight.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
And how hard did you work, dad to make sure
that their life would never ever be as riddled with
heartache and pain as yours was.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Of course, we do the best we can. You know,
we're never going to do everything perfect. We're never gonna
you know, we have this ambition and goal, I think
as parents to protect our children from everything in the world.
But the reality is is that you actually need to
live and have those experiences and have those challenges that
(10:43):
encourage you to build character, you know, just like that
song or just like so many and you know, it
was important to me that my kids understood that life
is a challenge. That's okay, you know you're going to win.
Someone lose some it's all right.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
And did either one of them get the gifted gene
that dad passed on to you?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Well, I was fortunate because I can't. I'm a fifth
generation musician. My great great grandparents were musicians, and great
grandparents grandparents my mother of course, on my mother's side
and father's side, my grandmother. My son is a natural,
but he chose to go more into acting and writing
(11:25):
than music. And while I always felt like it was
important for him to have music to fall back on,
which is ironic.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
That wait, wait, wait, wait wait, aj Crochey just said
perhaps the most iconic line I have heard in my
career interviewing, especially musicians. You wanted your son to have music.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
To fall back on. That's right, that's right.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
What person in the history of my show has I've
ever uttered those words? They always say I wanted them
to have, you know, computer skills to fall back on.
I wanted them to have their bachelor's degree, their master's degree.
I wanted them to have accounting to fall back on.
You know, nobody ever since I wanted them to have
(12:18):
music to fall back on, except somebody who is so
incredibly gifted it is second nature.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Well, I think it's one of those things where, you know,
when I started out, I mean, for the first thirty
years of my career, I did not play my father's music.
I learned the standards. I learned all the old rock
and roll standards from the fifties and sixties. I mean,
I was playing jazz and blues and rock and roll
and old country stuff.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
And didn't you go on tour in your teens with
BB King?
Speaker 2 (12:50):
I did, yeah, I mean, and before that, I was,
you know, I was playing and touring around a bit,
starting when I was sixteen with Floyd Dixon, and then
my first sessions here in Nashville when I was seventeen
for Cowboy Jack Clement with Elvis's group, filling in for
Jerry Lee, and then Bbking at eighteen. But that's not
(13:12):
what I was going to say. What I was going
to say is that learning other people's music at when
you're starting out and understanding that people love to hear
love to hear it, and and there's always a gig
somewhere that you can that you can play. I was
never above any gig. You know, it could be a wedding,
a party, it could be a concert. But I just
(13:36):
felt like, I want to be able to do this.
I love it. It's a calling. And I just felt
like I knew that, you know, with a little practice,
you can you can make you can make a little
money at it. You know, even if it's just fifty
or one hundred bucks a night, it's better than nothing.
And I just thought it was important for them to
(13:58):
know that.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
You know, so music to fall back on, but your
son shows acting and writing, yes, well the writing gene
definitely come on.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Yeah, come on, yeah, you know, it's all these skills
develop at different times. I started off as a piano player,
and then the songwriting came into play, and the singing
came into play, and then I picked up guitar, and
then you know, I was playing different instruments. Some of
it was out of necessity. The singing came out of necessity,
(14:32):
almost because I was writing. And it was just one
thing led to another, and I mean, I'm just really
dedicated to the art of what I do, and I
and I take it really seriously. So it was just
a process. I got better at each thing at different
times and sort of figured out who I was, maybe
a little later than some young artists who start as
(14:55):
young as I did. But but I was good at
a young age.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
And you did not fall into the trap that so
many other young artists, at least it doesn't appear you
fell into the trap of so many young artists who
think they're all that and think they are above playing
any gig, and think that you know that that they
(15:22):
are God's gift to the world and we don't hear
from them anymore.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
You really have to be humble in this in this field,
because you're going to get humbled. You know, it is
a roller coaster. And I told that to my son
growing up. I said, you know, you have to you're
going to be in entertainment. You have to understand you're
going to hear no ninety nine percent of the time
and having a thick skin and just understanding that if
(15:48):
you work hard and you take your work seriously and
you love what you do, then it's all going to
work out.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Hardest know you ever heard, like, was there ever somebody
you wanted to tour with or something you really thought
was meant for you made for you, And they they said.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
No, Yeah, I mean there were plenty of those around,
you know, all through my career even today, but they weren't.
It didn't break my heart.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Now you had enough of life breaking your heart. Agents, Yeah, yeah,
exactly I did.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
And you know, and so like, in all honesty, I
can't think of a of a moment, you know. I've
had plenty of people say that, you know, or festivals
or venues or tours or things that didn't work, Labels
that didn't want me, or agents that didn't want to
book me, managers that didn't want to work with me.
(16:54):
That was fine, that's par for the course. That's what
you get with this. You know, a huge part of
this line of work is timing. And you probably know
that as well as anyone that where you are when
you're there plays a big role in it. And some
of it's out of our control.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Altogether, all of it is out of my control. I
learned that, you know, over and over and over again.
I still learn it to this day. It's all in
the hands of somebody much more powerful than I am.
Anything I try on my own falls flat. But when
everything comes together and that perfect perfect, and you know
(17:36):
it when you step into it. I mean, I watched
the video they did with you, and you were talking
about how you resisted playing your dad's music, and then
the time was right, and it feels like it was
divinely appointed. Right now, our world is so divided and
(17:59):
everything is so angry. I was talking with a friend
the other day. I met her thirty five years ago
in Boston, and her best friend is having a serious
mental health crisis, like serious over the political nature of
the world right now, so upset. They cannot work, they
(18:19):
cannot function. And I just feel like that anger and
that hatred is being fomented and fanned and encouraged. And
you and sharing your dad's music, which was which was
nothing but goodness and love. You know, the biggest angry
(18:39):
thing is bad, badly right.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Brown someone else? I mean, you know, for me, I
stay out of it. I stay out of the politics
of today because I've always felt that the approach that
Will Rogers had and the Widows and the sort of
(19:03):
Mark Twain perspective of it, we're all we're all heroes
and all we're all villains, and we're all a lot
of things. And so the idea of being able to
bring everyone together and include everyone in our mutual humanity
(19:23):
is my job. That is what I want to do.
That's what I hope to achieve with every concert. It's
not just the music. It's the communication of the songs.
It's the communication of the love I feel for what
I do, but also for the fact that we are
together and we have this brief moment to forget about
(19:47):
the world outside that theater and to be one group
of people, undivided.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
And the people that come to your show. What an
eclectic myth. Talk about span the spectrum. Because I never
got to play your dad on the air, I never
got to interview your dad on the air as Jim Crochy.
I always played him as the late Jim Crochy because
(20:14):
he passed a year before I started my career. Okay, right,
so I never once got to introduce him as you know,
here's Time in a Bottle by Jim Crochy, right, the
late Jim Crochy.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
His career was eighteen months.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
That just blows my mind. That blows my mind because
he was such a giant during all of the seventies.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Yeah, it's it's kind of amazing how it's passed down
through the generations and young people are really love the music.
And some people have found it through me and some
have found it through the movies that I've licensed to
for many years, and you know, I was really happy
to work behind the scenes with my father's catalog and
(21:04):
his legacy. It was important to me to be able
to contribute always in the last thirty some years. But
it was it was really just the timing of it
that allowed me to really put together a show that
was more than just more than just a tribute. It
was it wasn't just about my father. It was about
(21:26):
two generations, a father and a son, and the adventures
and experiences of those two generations, how they connected and
how they were disconnected. And I think it was through
all of those connections that this that show that that
you saw, you know that I was I was performing
last year, and that I you know that I still
(21:50):
obviously I still perform his songs when I'm when I'm
playing concerts, But the last few years were really focused
on Crochy Blaze Crochy. It was it was my day
ads legacy tied and mind which is tied to his,
you know. And so it was work in progress and
it just got better and better because I started to
(22:13):
see all of these beautiful connections just as people and
being able to tell a story that my father never
had the time to tell and being able to communicate
to an audience that he was never able to reach
because he didn't live long enough. And so it was
a kind of a real magical experience in a lot
(22:36):
of ways, you know. And I avoided his music for
a lot of reasons. One of them was that I
felt there was no integrity in playing his music until
I made a name for myself. One was that I
felt like no one could do it better than him,
And another one was a little bit out of the
fear of Once I opened the floodgates of this, I
don't know that I'll be able to close them back
(22:57):
if I choose to do my own thing. Well, I
ever be able to just perform my own music again
if I opened this this Pandora's box. The fact is,
after three years of doing that show, I don't care
whether I close it. You know, it was so much fun.
The connections that I made with the audience and the
(23:19):
music itself was really profound, and I think people found
me interestingly through my father's music, which I never expected.
It was like the most surreal thing, and so, you know,
it was really beautiful.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
I wonder, did you ever feel I don't know where
your spirituality is, but did you ever feel like your
dad's spirit was was birthing this.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
I don't know about that, but I do There were
moments the only time I really some of the most
connected that I felt to him in a way were
when I was talking about telling the stories of where
these things, these songs came from, telling the stories of
where he came from. I think there was also the
(24:12):
times when I would improvise on a song of his,
and I just know in my heart that had he
had he survived, had he lived a long life or
longer life, that we would have performed together without a
doubt my mind, because of the connections that we have
(24:33):
in so many ways, I just don't I don't have
a question about it. I felt like there were moments
when I would improvise on a piece of his, a
song of his, and I went, Okay, this is where
this is where I take something of his and become myself.
I'm not I'm not a cover band, you know. I've
(24:55):
always been a stylist of songs. If I'm playing someone
else's I'm not going to try and hoppy there singing
or their voice. I'm gonna pay tribute to the melody
and the chord progression, and and and and the artist
that wrote it. But I have to make it my
own or else I'm not doing any any service to
(25:16):
the song or to the art.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
You think that there will ever be a day when
you get to perform with your.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Son, You never know. I don't know if it would
be playing music, you know, it could be. You never know,
but certainly, certainly it's possible. You never know.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
What if he wrote a movie about you and his
grandpa and him.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Well, that would be something I'd go that's great. Well, okay,
well I'll go too.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
So who lives on the farm that the pictures were
taken that your dad lived on when he wrote all
those beautiful songs. Who lives there now? Is it somebody
connected to you or just a random family?
Speaker 2 (26:05):
No? You know my family. You know, my father didn't
really have any money. He was We rented a one
bedroom apartment in the farmhouse. And the farmhouse is I
don't know who owns it now, but I know part
of it is, if not all of it, is like
an airbnb. Because there's a lot of fans that the
(26:26):
the old outhouse that is on the cover of you
don't mess around with Jim. That has the arch on
it that is still there, and there's you know, historic
plaque right there from the state of Pennsylvania saying that
it was you know where he had written all of
those songs. And we lived there for a couple of
(26:47):
years after my folks moved back from New York City.
It was an ill fated trip, and on the way back,
my father started New York's Not My Home and Box
number ten the songs that would end up on that
on that first album. And so we lived there and
then my father got an opportunity. This was in the
(27:08):
summer of seventy three, after Life and Times was number
one and Leroy Brown was number one, and he got
this opportunity to go out to the Tonight Show and
they asked if he would be interested in being the
guest host when Johnny wasn't there, because it was incredibly
funny and really personable, easy going, and so my folks
(27:31):
moved out to California, to San Diego actually because my
father preferred it to Los Angeles, and that was going
to be the gig, but when he passed, John Rivers
got the gig. So there's a lot that would have
been different and unique had things that you know turned
out differently.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
But it wasn't the plan.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
No, no, it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
We have more to talk about, but first a shout
out to one of today's podcast sponsors. I'm so glad
to get to share all that Mercy Ships is doing
in the world with you. They travel to medical deserts,
providing free, life changing surgeries to people in need, led
(28:16):
by an all volunteer crew. They've been putting their faith
into action for almost fifty years. Mercy Ships is all
about impact. They performed nearly one hundred and twenty thousand
free surgeries to date and touched more than two million lives.
But more than the numbers, it's about dreams restored and
(28:39):
lives renewed. It's about loving someone. You can be a
part of this amazing organization. When you support Mercy Ships,
you experience the joy and transformation a mother seeing her
child for the first time, a child finally able to
run and play and dream and.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Just be a kid.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Visit mercyships dot org to give or learn about the
other ways you can get involved. That's Mercyships dot org.
So did you grow up in California?
Speaker 2 (29:18):
I did. Yeah. Yeah. I grew up in California and
I started playing at a young age. I was you know,
I lost my site when I was when I was four,
and Ray Charles became my gateway drug. I lost my
site and sort of gradually gained it back in my
left eye over a six year period of time. And
(29:40):
during that time I started playing piano and playing along
with the radio and with records, and it just became
my solace. It was my it was my escape, and
it was really wonderful. I listened to all kinds of
music and played along to everything that from what was
on the radio, whether it was the Stones or McCartney
or Yellow or Elton John or whatever it was in
(30:01):
the seventies that that I would hear and go, oh,
I want to play along with that, you know, and
then all the old stuff, you know, because I you know,
Ray Charles introduced me to Charles Brown, which introduced me
to King Cole Trio, and going back to you know,
Jelly Roll Morton and all of those stride piano players.
I became a student of the art, a student of
(30:24):
the instrument, and then you know, at sixteen, Floyd Dixon
asked if I'd go out. He was a blues singer
and whatnot, and wrote hay bar Tender and wine wine,
wine and drinking songs. When Scott's you try to know
where his head was that right? And I would open
(30:45):
for him and then we'd finish his show with those
old thirties boogies, foreheaded boogies, and and that kind of
introduced me to entertaining for larger audiences and different groups
of people, more more diverse. And it was just one
thing led to another. May accident when I was seventeen
heard me play May wrote Heartbreak Hotel, and she heard
(31:09):
me and she called cowboy Jack Clement, who was the
staff producer for Son Records, produced Elvis and Jerry Lee
and Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison and so many others,
and he hired me. And I came to Nashville at
seventeen for my first first session and I walk in
and it's Elvis's comeback band from sixty eight sitting on
(31:31):
the couch there, and Jerry Lee Lewis just walked out,
and I'm going, oh my god, I don't know if
I'm ready for this, and he just made me feel
at home, and that was it. I was off and running.
I had no manager, no agent, no no anything. I
just knew what I wanted to do.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Well, I'm glad you ran with it. What a gift
you are to all of us, What a gift to
your dad was. What a gift you are. And I
love your passion. I love your You know, it's one
thing to be passionate, it's another thing to be passionate
with dedication and conviction. There's a lot of passionate musicians.
There's a lot of passionate artists who are bubbling with passion,
(32:14):
but they don't have the ability to stick to it.
And the like you said, you became a student of
your craft. You became a student of every great pianist,
whatever genre you studied them. You practice, You put in
the heavy lifting, the heavy work. So you're one part genius,
(32:38):
but you're also one part student who was willing to
pay your dues. And always I've met so many people
who are genius but not willing to be a student.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
Yeah, I think to really say that someone is passionate
about something, it sort of rings hollow unless they have
that depth of character or or intention. Without that intention,
it's just that that's just enthusiasm. It's not passion and
and and I'm all for enthusiasm, that's that's great. But
(33:14):
if you want to contribute something that's going to last
the test of time, or at least make your your
time worth putting, putting your energy and love and life
into it, then then it's it's got to be. It's
got to have depth to it.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
So if somebody wants to come see you or wants
to listen to AJ Croachy, how do they find you?
Speaker 2 (33:38):
You can go to ajcroachemusic dot com. You can go
to my Instagram at aj Crochy, you can go follow
me on on Facebook aj Crochy and and of course
you can find my music everywhere. You can find it
on Apple or Spotify. The new album is called Heart
of the Eternal. I recorded it with Shooter Jennings, which
(34:00):
was an amazing and fun experience. I'll be touring in
June all over the US. Another tour in the fall,
and I hope I can see everyone. You know. I
was just in your neck of the woods in November,
and I'm sure I'll be back there before too long.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
Okay, stay, wait, wait, wait here, Heart of the Eternal June,
You're going to hit the road again. Yes, so all
the all the outdoor venues.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
All kinds of all kinds of places, indoor, outdoor, all
of the above, all of the above, and then yeah,
and then we'll be hitting more of the big East
Coast places. Town Hall in New York City in the fall,
of the Ryman in Nashville in the fall.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Oh, I love the Ryman. It's so great, one of
my favorite venues in the whole world.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
It's amazing, it is. I love that place. I get
chills just thinking about it.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
It's unparalleled.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Agree it, you know, and and it's interesting. Town Hall
in New York City has a very similar feel on
the stage, but there's something more well church like about
the arriving because it was Yeah, but the acoustics are
just amazing. Every you know, everywhere you sit, there's not
(35:20):
a bad scene. I love it.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Well, we love you. Thank you for spending time with us.
God bless you.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Thank you so much, Delilah. It's really been a privilege,
and I'm really grateful help spread the word and and
all that. About the new music, I'm I'm I'm really
happy about it. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
You are a gifted fun funny They should have you
hosting a late night TV show. I know your dad
is qu for that, but you would be brilliant. Your
energy and your your quickness, you would be brilliant.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Oh thank you well. Pass the word on. I'm all
I'm all for it.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
AJ is fresh off his widely popular Croachey Plays Crochee's
fiftieth anniversary tour, which, on the memory of his father Andy,
launched his year long Heart of the Eternal tour in February.
I hope it comes to my little corner of the
world because I would love to catch this guy in person.
(36:21):
I recommend that you do too. You can learn more
about AJ, his life, his music, his touring schedule, as
well as purchase his music merchandise, and get tickets for
the Heart of the Eternal Tour at Ajcroachymusic dot com.
Ajcroachymusic dot com. While you're there, check out the CBS
(36:43):
Sunday Morning segment on AJ. It's very moving. Made me cry.
What are you paying attention to this spring? Because of
all the noises of the world, which, by way of survival,
we have to be cognizant of. Are you still taking
time to rejuvenate yourself to refresh your soul. Music is
(37:06):
a pretty wonderful way of doing that. Getting outside, even
just for a few minutes each day, is also an
incredible lift for your spirits. Pay attention, maybe watch an
ant hard at work, or the antics of a squirrel.
Wonder at how the dandelion was able to push itself
up through the crack and all that hard concrete hope
(37:29):
surrounds us. And I want you to find hope this spring.
I want you to focus on it. I want you
to breathe it in and join me every evening on
the airwaves, where we'll keep each other company each and
every night.
Host
Delilah
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