Skip to main content
institutional access

You are connecting from
Lake Geneva Public Library,
please login or register to take advantage of your institution's Ground News Plan.

Published loading...Updated

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

Jim Croce 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…
DisclaimerThis story is only covered by news sources that have yet to be evaluated by the independent media monitoring agencies we use to assess the quality and reliability of news outlets on our platform. Learn more here.

Bias Distribution

  • There is no tracked Bias information for the sources covering this story.

Factuality Info Icon

To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium

Ownership

Info Icon

To view ownership data please Upgrade to Vantage

American Songwriter broke the news on Tuesday, July 21, 2026.
Too Big Arrow Icon
Sources are mostly out of (0)
News
Feed Dots Icon
For You
Search Icon
Search
Blindspot LogoBlindspotLocal