Bad, Bad Leroy Brown


"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" is a song written by American folk rock singer Jim Croce. Released as part of his 1973 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. 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 last number-one single before his death on September 20 of that year.

Synopsis

The song's title character is a tall man from the South Side of Chicago whose size, attitude, and tendency to carry weapons have given him a fearsome reputation. He is said to dress in fancy clothes and wear diamond rings, and to own a custom Lincoln Continental and a Cadillac Eldorado, implying he has a lot of money. One day in a bar he makes a pass at a pretty married woman named Doris, whose jealous husband proceeds to beat Leroy brutally in the ensuing fight, which Leroy loses badly.
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."
According to Billboard, it is "filled with humorous lines and a catchy arrangement."

Inspiration

Croce's inspiration for the song was a friend he met in his brief time in the US Army:
He told a variation of this story on The Helen Reddy Show in July 1973:
Croce explained the chorus reference to Leroy Brown being "meaner than a junkyard dog":

Influence

and Bad Leroy Brown used ring names inspired by the song.
On Croce's final album, I Got a Name, a "Leroy Brown" is credited as a backing vocalist.
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.
The song is quoted by rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard in his song "Snakes".
Lyrics for the song Rock n Roll Heaven, popularized by the Righteous Brothers, recall the song and Croce.
Loretta Lynn's album Van Lear Rose contains the song "Mrs. Leroy Brown", about a jealous wife exacting revenge on a cheating husband.
In the movie Crocodile Dundee II, Crocodile Dundee's friend, who has a self-perceived image as a "bad guy in the streets", is called Leroy Brown.

Recording

The recording session that produced the song was one of several that Croce did using session drummer Gary Chester.

Cover versions

7" Single
  1. "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" – 3:02
  2. "A Good Time Man Like Me Ain't Got No Business " – 2:03

    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. It was the second #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart to include a curse word in its lyrics, after the "Theme from Shaft".

Weekly charts

Chart Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 1001
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary9
U.S. Cash Box Top 1001
Canadian RPM Top Singles1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary3
Australia KMR11
Australia Go-Set Top 40 Singles19
Netherlands Dutch Top 4020
German Media Control Charts38

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications