It is possible that no other musician has made as big an impact on San Diego as the late Jim Croce, who passed away in 1973. He is practically synonymous with downtown thanks to his namesake restaurant, Croce’s, opened by his wife, Ingrid Croce, in 1985. Meanwhile, his music is still heard on radio, TV and in movies. Such classics as “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” have been covered by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Dolly Parton, making them an indelible part of America’s pop culture. Recently, Ingrid published a new, 190-page book, “Anthology,” detailing the stories behind 40 of Jim Croce’s best-loved tunes. With full music and lyrics included, and lots of rare photographs, it’s the ultimate book for Croce aficionados. Though “Anthology” was only recently issued by music publishing giant Hal Leonard, the seeds of the project go back more than 30 years to Ingrid’s days on the East Coast folk circuit. Listening to other performers made her realize there were two tales within a piece of music: “Not just in the song, but also about how the song was written. I always thought this would be interesting to others,” she said. The opening of Croce’s 25 years ago confirmed that thought. “Over the years, people came up and told me things like, ‘I’ve always loved this song, what did he write it about?’” The stories in “Anthology” include several tales of songs co-written by Jim and Ingrid, including “Child of Midnight,” offering wonderful first-hand insight. Additional information came from sources as diverse as period press interviews and old love letters between the two. Though “Anthology” features all the hits, including “Time in A Bottle,” “Operator” and “I’ll Just Have to Say I’ll Love You in a Song,” it also includes a wealth of catalog material ripe for rediscovery. The songs were chosen “because they told stories and they resonated with me,” Ingrid said. She describes the book as being like “a family album.” “I included the first songs that he wrote, I included songs along the way, I used songs from every album that he released,” Ingrid said. “I included things that really told the story of our lives in his music.” Keeping songs and stories in a timeline was important, but only to a point. “I tried very hard to be chronological about the stories but in some cases it was impossible, as a song might have been started and written over a long period of time. Like for instance, ‘You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,’ was started when Jim was a teenager,” Ingrid said. “He listened to Lieber & Stoller and people of that period; rhythm and blues as well as what was played at the time on his parent’s Victrola. That history really found its way into the song, all of that background. You can hear it in there when you go back and listen to it.” While she is happy to have the stories behind the songs told, she notes that the book’s biggest audience will be musicians wanting to learn how to play the songs themselves. The introduction of Jim Croce’s music to new generations is key to Ingrid’s projects. “My work has been to keep Jim’s music and his memory out there,” she said. “That’s in appropriate places. I’m not interested in selling something I don’t believe in. I don’t want to see wine or perfume out there for ‘Time in a Bottle.’ I don’t want something out there that’s not quality.” In addition to several “Best Of” compilations, over the past decade there have been several Jim Croce-related releases from the archives, notably the 2008 DVD collection of live and television clips, “Have You Heard.” The disc has sold more than 100,000 copies to date. Ingrid promises more archival releases will eventually see the light of day. “There is a lot going on, even besides Croce’s Restaurant and Jazz Bar, which takes most of my time. I’ve got to kind of fit in the rest when I can,” she laughed.