"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" is an uptempo,

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story song written by American

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

singer

Jim Croce James Joseph Croce (; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he released five studio albums and numerous singles. During this period, Croce took a series of odd jobs to p ...

. Released as part of his 1973 album '' Life and Times'', the song was a No. 1 hit for him, spending two weeks at the top of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in July 1973. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1973. Croce was nominated for two 1973 Grammy Awards in the Pop Male Vocalist and Record of the Year categories for "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown". It was his only number-one single before his death on September 20 of that year.

Synopsis

The song's titular character is a 6'4" tall man from the South Side of

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whose size, attitude, and tendency to carry weapons have given him a reputation in which he is adored by women and feared by men. He is said to dress in fancy clothes and wear diamond rings, and to own a custom

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and a

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, implying he has a lot of money. He is also known to carry a

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handgun in his pocket and a razor in his shoe. One day in a bar he makes a pass at a pretty married woman named Doris, whose jealous husband engages Brown in a fight. Leroy loses badly, and is described as looking "like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces gone". The story of a widely feared man being bested in a fight is similar to that of Croce's earlier song "

You Don't Mess Around with Jim ''You Don't Mess Around with Jim'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, released in April 1972. History and release The album was recorded over a three to four-week period for approximately $18,000, with most fundi ...

". According to '' Billboard'', it is "filled with humorous lines and a catchy arrangement." '' Cash Box'' described it as "a delightful new single in the same musical vein as his 'You Don't Mess Around with Jim' smash that started his career."

Inspiration

Croce's inspiration for the song was a friend he met in his brief time in the

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: He told a variation of this story on ''

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'' in July 1973: Croce explained the chorus reference to Leroy Brown being "meaner than a junkyard dog":

Track listing

7" Single (ABC-11359) # "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" – 3:02 # "A Good Time Man Like Me Ain't Got No Business (Singin' The Blues)" – 2:03

Personnel

* Jim Croce – rhythm guitar, vocals *

Maury Muehleisen Maurice T. "Maury" Muehleisen (January 14, 1949 – September 20, 1973) was an American musician, songwriter, and artist best known for his studio work, live accompaniment, and impact on the music of Jim Croce. He died in the same plane crash th ...

– acoustic guitar, backing vocals * Tommy West – bass, piano, backing vocals *

Gary Chester Gary Chester (born Cesario Gurciullo; October 27, 1924 – August 17, 1987) was an American studio drummer, author, and teacher. Beginning in the 1960s, he played on hundreds of records for bands such as The Coasters, The Monkees, and The Lovin ...

– drums * Joe Macho – bass * Willie "Slim" McCoy - backing vocals *

Terry Cashman Terry Cashman (born Dennis Minogue, July 5, 1941) is an American record producer and singer-songwriter, best known for his 1981 hit, " Talkin' Baseball". While the song is well recognized today and allowed Cashman the chance to meet the featured ...

– backing vocals *

Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", "Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", ...

– backing vocals *

Tasha Thomas Tasha Thomas ( – November 8, 1984) was an American singer and actress, known for her role as Aunt Em in the original Broadway production of ''The Wiz''. Thomas also had a hit single, "Shoot Me (With Your Love)", from her 1979 album, ''Midni ...

– backing vocals The recording session that produced the song was one of several for Croce which employed session drummer Gary Chester.

Chart history

"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" entered the charts in April 1973 and peaked at number one on the American charts three months later. It was still on the charts on September 20 when Croce died in a plane crash in Natchitoches,

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. It was the second #1 song on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop singles chart to include a curse word ("damn") in its lyrics, after the "

Theme from Shaft "Theme from ''Shaft''", written and recorded by Isaac Hayes in 1971, is the soul and funk-styled theme song to the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film ''Shaft''. The theme was released as a single (shortened and edited from the longer album version) two m ...

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Cover version and tribute

*In 1974 Frank Sinatra included the song on his album ''

Some Nice Things I've Missed ''Some Nice Things I’ve Missed'' is a 1974 album by American singer Frank Sinatra. Consisting mainly of songs made popular by other artists, the album's title reflects that Sinatra was catching up on songs that came out while he was in retiremen ...

''. This version was released as a single by Reprise Records and peaked at #83 on the Hot 100 in June of that year. *

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

recorded a sequel of sorts to the song called "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" on their 1974 album ''

Sheer Heart Attack ''Sheer Heart Attack'' is the third studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 8 November 1974 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States. Digressing from the progressive themes featured on ...

''.

References

{{Authority control 1973 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Jim Croce songs Songs about fictional male characters Songs about Chicago Frank Sinatra songs Anthony Armstrong Jones songs Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Boogie-woogie songs Songs written by Jim Croce Little Willie Littlefield songs ABC Records singles