Jim Croce released his fourth album, Life and Times, in July of 1973. The record was split pretty evenly between sentimental love songs and rollicking tracks about colorful characters inspired by people he’d met on the road.
Among the latter were ‘Roller Derby Queen’ and ‘Speedball Trucker,’ but the one that caught fire was ‘Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.’ The song became Croce’s first #1 hit and was nominated for two Grammys, including Record of the Year. Based on a friend Croce met during a brief stint in the National Guard, the song had a similar structure to his early hit ‘You Don’t Mess Around With Jim,’ in which the tough-guy protagonist is ultimately humbled.
Croce and guitarist Maury Muehleisen headed to London, road testing material that would be recorded on an upcoming album. That album, I Got a Name, would sadly be his last.
Is the baddest part of town
And if you go down there
You better just beware
Of a man named Leroy Brown
Now Leroy more than trouble
You see he stand ’bout six foot four
All the downtown ladies call him “Treetop Lover”
All the men just call him “Sir”
And he’s bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog
Now Leroy he a gambler
And he like his fancy clothes
And he like to wave his diamond rings
In front of everybody’s nose
He got a custom Continental
He got an Eldorado too
He got a 32 gun in his pocket for fun
He got a razor in his shoe
And he’s bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog
Well Friday bout a week ago
Leroy shootin’ dice
And at the edge of the bar
Sat a girl named Doris
And ooh that girl looked nice
Well he cast his eyes upon her
And the trouble soon began
Leroy Brown he learned a lesson ’bout messin’
With the wife of a jealous man
And he’s bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog
Well the two men took to fightin’
And when they pulled them from the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone
And he’s bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog
And he’s bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog
Badder than old King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog
Meet Me In Montauk 
Such a fun, classic song!
love this song and if I remember correctly I think we named our very large dog many years ago Leroy because of this song.