Bad, Bad Leroy Brown
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| "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" | ||
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| Single by Jim Croce | ||
| from the album 'Life and Times' | ||
| B-side | A Good Time Man Like Me Ain't Got No Business (Singin' The Blues) | |
| Released | April 1973 | |
| Format | 45 | |
| Recorded | 1972 | |
| Genre | Folk, Folk rock | |
| Length | 3:02 | |
| Label | ABC Records | |
| Writer(s) | Jim Croce | |
"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" is the title of a song written by American folk rock singer Jim Croce. Released from his 1972 album Life and Times, the song was a Number One pop hit for him, spending two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1973.
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[edit] Song info
The song is about a man from the south side of Chicago who, due to his size and attitude, has a reputation as the "baddest man in the whole downtown." One day, in a bar, he makes a pass at a pretty, married woman, whose husband proceeds to beat Leroy brutally in the ensuing brawl.
[edit] Inspiration
His inspiration for the song was a friend he met in his brief time in the Army:
I met him at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. We were in lineman (telephone) school together. He stayed there about a week, and one evening he turned around and said he was really fed up and tired. He went AWOL, and then came back at the end of the month to get his pay check. They put handcuffs on him and took him away. Just to listen to him talk and see how 'bad' he was, I knew someday I was gonna write a song about him.[1]
Croce explained the chorus reference to Leroy Brown being "meaner than a junkyard dog":
Yeah, I spent about a year and a half driving those $29 cars, so I drove around a lot looking for a universal joint for a '57 Chevy panel truck or a transmission for a '51 Dodge. I got to know many junkyards well, and they all have those dogs in them. They all have either an axle tied around their necks or an old lawnmower to keep 'em at least slowed down a bit, so you have a decent chance of getting away from them.[1]
The song inspired Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury to write the song "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" for the band's third album, Sheer Heart Attack, released a year after Croce died.
[edit] Chart history
"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" was released 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, Louisiana.
[edit] Cover versions
Frank Sinatra recorded a cover version of the song, which reached number 83 on the pop charts. Country music artist Anthony Armstrong Jones released a cover on Epic Records in 1973, reaching #33 on the U.S. county charts with it.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Jim Croce (2007). "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown". superseventies. http://www.superseventies.com/1973_2singles.html. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by "Will It Go Round in Circles" by Billy Preston |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single July 21 — July 28, 1973 |
Succeeded by "The Morning After" by Maureen McGovern |
