After Croce was killed in a plane crash in September 1973, the song was aired frequently on radio, and demand for a single release built.

The single of "Time in a Bottle" became Croce's second and final track to reach number one in the United States.

[4] Cash Box magazine called the song "a sweet, tender ballad filled with Croce’s magical vocal touch".

"[6] "Time in a Bottle" was the third posthumous Billboard number-one hit after "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding and "Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin.

[7] After the single finished its two-week run at the top of the charts in early January 1974, the album You Don't Mess Around with Jim became No.