Sal Joseph

Hi,

My name's Ron Gletherow, and I'm "caretaking" this page for my best friend and musical mentor, the late Joe Salviuolo, AKA Sal Joseph.

Any true Jim Croce fan knows his name. He's the mysterious "Sal Joseph", writer of the song "Thursday" that Jim recorded on his "I Got A Name" album. Other than that brief credit, very little is known about the man, otherwise known as Joe Salviuolo. His nickname in college was "Sal" and he later chose the full name "Sal Joseph" for songwriting credits, to simplify matters and to "Make sure they spelled my name right on my royalty checks".

Sal was born and raised in Southbridge, Massachusetts where he now resides. He left for college in 1959 to attend Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where he attained his bachelor's degree in education. He later went on to achieve a master's degree in communications from the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania. He received a second master's degree, in folklore, from that university.

During his time at Villanova, fate brought him together with Jim Croce and ultimately changed both of their lives. Very few people know what a vital role Sal played in the development of Jim Croce's musical career. Apart from being a strong influence on which direction Jim's music took, Sal was also a very dear friend.

Sal and Jim met in college, became best friends, played and sang together and continued that close friendship until the day Jim died in 1973. Sal was Jim's first record producer. He produced "Facets", which is now a collector's item, but the album never received recognition and was only sold locally and given to family and friends. It seemed that Jim's musical career was over - that is, until he met Maury Muehleisen.

It was Sal who introduced Jim to Maury. Maury was a student of Sal's while he was teaching communications at Glassboro State College. Sal instantly recognized Maury's musical genius and they became good friends, playing and singing together at local coffee houses. Sal was so sure of Maury's talents and potential that he quit his job as communications professor and gave up his tenure to manage Maury full time. Maury achieved some success as a solo artist and recorded an album,"Gingerbreadd", for "Capitol Records". Unfortunately, his record did not achieve the recognition it deserved,and Maury had hoped for. Around this time, Jim recorded an album with his wife, Ingrid, which also failed to gain success. Meanwhile, Maury was playing gigs, but needed a back-up guitarist. Sal suggested he try out his old college buddy, Jim Croce, as his side-kick. Their chemistry was instantaneous, and magical. The two became inseparable. Jim soon began writing new songs in a whole new style, incorporating the unique "Maury" sound into his songs. Soon Maury became Jim's back-up guitarist, and the rest is history.

As for Sal himself, he remained in the music business. In 1980 he worked with Rich Fagan, who went on to become a successful singer-songwriter, and now resides in Nashville. From there, in 1985, Sal went on to host and produce "Folkl Point", a series of folk concerts produced on video. All during this time Sal continued to write his music, from traditional folk songs to the most haunting ballads.

Sal's music contains echoes of both Jim and Maury, along with definitive undertones of Bob Dylan, yet it is a style which is immediately recognizable as his own.

These are some of the songs written during and after (and about) Sal's association with Jim Croce. To think that many of these songs have yet to become hits is an absolute CRIME!!

Please listen to my friend, a great singer/songwriter, and I promise you won't be disappointed.

God Bless,

Ron Gletherow