On This Day in 1973, Jim Croce Was at No. 1 With a Song Inspired by an AWOL Soldier—His Only Chart-Topper Before He Died

July 21, 2026, 11:34am

On this day (July 21) in 1973, Jim Croce started a two-week run at the top of the Hot 100 with “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.” Like his debut single, “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” this hit is about a big, tough guy who gets brought down a couple of pegs before the story ends. However, there is a kernel of truth at the center of this song. Croce met a man named Leroy Brown while he was in the National Guard who inspired this song.

Croce was a gifted singer/songwriter whose life and career were cut tragically short. He only released two albums before he died in a car wreck in September 1973. He saw some chart success before he left this world, though. His 1972 debut LP, You Don’t Mess Around with Jim, went to No. 1. The album’s title track peaked at No. 9, giving Croce his first of two hits before he died. “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” was the second. The album it came from, Life and Times, was also a top 10 hit.

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Jim Croce Was Friends with Leroy Brown

According to Songfacts, Jim Croce joined the National Guard in 1966, hoping it would keep him out of Vietnam. He planned to serve his one weekend a month and two weeks a year while continuing his education and launching his music career. That didn’t happen, though. Instead, he was almost immediately sent to Fort Dix in New Jersey for basic training. He was not a great soldier and had to repeat basic training. At least he didn’t go AWOL (Absent Without Leave). The same can’t be said for the inspiration for this song.

“He was not made to climb the tree of knowledge, as they say, but he was strong. So, nobody’d ever told him what to do,” Croce explained during an appearance on The Helen Reddy Show. “After about a week down there, he said, ‘Later for this,’ and decided to go home. So he went AWOL… But he made the mistake of coming back at the end of the month to get his paycheck.” They immediately put handcuffs on Brown. At that point, Croce knew he had to write a song about his pal.

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