Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

The song's titular character is a tall man from the South Side of Chicago whose size, attitude, and tendency to carry weapons have given him a reputation for which he is adored by women and feared and respected by men. 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. He is also known to carry a .32 caliber handgun in his pocket and a razor in his shoe (shown in the music video as an old-fashioned straight razor). 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". 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". Record World called it "another story-song similar to the one that started it all for [Croce], 'You Don't Mess Around With Jim. ==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": ==Track listing==

North American 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 UK 7" Single (Vertigo 6073 258) • "Roller Derby Queen" – 3:28 • "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" – 3:02 International 7" Single (Vertigo 6073 256) • "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" – 3:02 • "Hard Time Losin' Man" – 2:24 == Personnel ==

According to liner notes of the album • Jim Croce – lead vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar • Maury Muehleisen – acoustic lead guitar • Tommy West – piano, backing vocals • Joe Macho – bass guitar • Gary Chester – drums • Ellie Greenwich – backing vocals • Tasha Thomas – backing vocals • Willie McCoy – 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, Louisiana. 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". Weekly charts Year-end charts All-time charts == Certifications ==

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Jim Croce|title=Bad, Bad Leroy Brown ==Frank Sinatra version==

The song was covered by Frank Sinatra as the closing track on his 1974 studio album ''Some Nice Things I've Missed'', which mostly consisted of covers of popular songs released during his brief retirement in the early 1970s. Sinatra's version was released as a single on Reprise Records in March 1974 and was a minor hit in the US, peaking at Number 83 on the Hot 100 that June. As with most tracks on the album, Sinatra's version was produced and conducted by Don Costa. Sinatra's version also reached Number 106 in the Cashbox charts and Number 31 on the US Adult Contemporary charts, the highest chart position for Sinatra's version. Charts ==Sylvie Vartan version (in French)==

In 1974, the song was adapted into French as "Bye Bye Leroy Brown" by Michel Mallory and was recorded by French pop singer Sylvie Vartan and was released as a non-album single on RCA Records in June 1974. Vartan's version peaked at peaked at Number 17 on the French Belgian charts on September 14, 1974. Charts == Other notable versions ==

• Queen recorded a sequel of sorts to the song called "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" on their 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack. ==References==