Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

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"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" was a #1 hit in America in 1973 for Jim Croce from his album Life & Times.

“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”

Single by Jim Croce from the album Life & 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
Length	3:02
Label	ABC Records
Writer(s)	Jim Croce

The song is about an apparent criminal who, due to his size, harbors a reputation as the "baddest man in the whole damn town." One day, in a bar, he makes a pass at a pretty, married woman, whose husband proceeds to brutally beat Leroy in the ensuing bar fight.

His inspiration for the song was a friend he met in his brief time in the Army:

“

I met him at Fort Dix, New Jersey. 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]

”

[edit] Chart history

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

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

The song has been covered a number of times.

[edit] "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" in popular culture

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In the August 29, 2007 episode of TBS's House of Payne, the episode's title is "Sad, Sad Leroy Brown", referring to the fact that character Leroy Brown's house burned down and he had to move-in with the Payne family.
In the movie Home Alone 3 the parrot uses the phone to trick the bad guys, and sings this song for the answering machine.
The University of Georgia Redcoat Marching Band plays a rendition of the song after the Bulldogs make a sack or a play behind the line of scrimmage.
In an episode of Friends, Monica's boyfriend Richard plans to sing this song in the shower, but forgets if the song is "Fat, Fat Leroy Brown" or "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown". It also features in a later series when Phoebe is teaching Joey to play the guitar.
"Crocodile" Dundee II featured Charles S. Dutton as "Leroy Brown", who pretended to have a bad reputation because of the song.
In the Dis-Lodged episode of Psych, Shawn's dad is seen listening to the song in his truck at a stoplight while he is supposed to be sick.
Frank Sinatra recorded a cover version of the song, which reached chart number 83 in 1974.
When Frank Sinatra sings Mack the Knife he mentions that Mack is "badder than ol' Leroy Brown."
In the Season 1 episode Sunny, Like Sunshine of the NBC police drama Third Watch, two characters (Tyrone Davis, Jr and John 'Sully' Sullivan) were looking for a suspect in a possible kidnapping and, after asking someone on the street who might've seen anything, the man says his name is "Leroy Brown". Shortly after the initial encounter, Sully and Davis sing this in the squad car.