On 21 July 1973, Jim Croce began a two-week run at No. 1 on the US Hot 100 with "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," a song about a tough-guy character who is ultimately taken down a peg. It would prove to be his only chart-topping single, as Croce died in a plane crash just two months later, in September 1973, cutting short a promising songwriting career after only two studio albums.

The song's title character was inspired by a real soldier Croce met while serving in the National Guard, whom he joined in 1966 partly to avoid being sent to Vietnam. According to Croce, the real Leroy Brown went absent without leave (AWOL) but was arrested when he returned to collect his paycheck, prompting Croce to write about him. His 1972 debut album, "You Don't Mess Around with Jim," reached No. 1 and its title track hit No. 9, while "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," from the album "Life and Times," became his second and final hit before his death.