Challenge of Music - 1973 Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

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Thank you Erin, of Treasures Found: Inspiration is Everywhere, for hosting the "Challenge of Music Blog Hop". I chose a song that has a strong narrative and which allows me to visualize a piece of jewellery that would have been included in a music video, if a video had ever been made.

I had a difficult time selecting a year for this challenge - The two most important years in my life are 1982 and 1984 - the years my children were born. But did I really like the music during those years? Not so much. I never was a fan of 80's music- and the hits were not stellar in my opinion (sorry). My kids grew up listening to 50s and 60s music in the car - they wanted "bumper" music - the base would resonate through the back seat and the more it vibrated, the more they liked it. Another epic year for me was 1979 which was when I got married - the music was better - but just not as inspirational to me as was 1973.

1973 was the year I was graduating from high school, beginning four years at university (first time away from home) and listening to 'Bad, Bad Leroy Brown' by Jim Croce. With a strong baseline, my kids really thought this song was great bumper music. Click The Song to hear what soon became Croce's biggest single. "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"  hit No. 1 on the American charts in July 1973. I had my song - I remember listening to it - making decisions that would affect my life forever.

Croce was born in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 10, 1943, to James Albert and Flora Mary (Babucci) Croce.

On Thursday, September 20, 1973, during Croce's Life and Times tour and the day before his ABC single "I Got a Name" was released, Croce, Muehleisen, and four others were killed when the chartered Beechcraft E18S they were traveling in crashed, while taking off from the Natchitoches Regional Airport, in Natchitoches, Louisiana.

It was hard for me to decide the actual year that this song may have been set - my mental image takes me way back to the late 50s when the women wore crystal necklaces and matching earrings - so my piece uses those influences.  My image of Doris is that of a beautiful women who has minimal taste (forget Tiffany's). Her style would most likely be over the top. I imagine Doris as a smoker, a gum chewer and with an attitude that says 'You better respect me, 'cause I'm the wife of a jealous man'.

I see Doris wearing a tight low cut dress and a necklace of "sparkly jewels" that she believes sets her above the others in the bar. But I also tried to update her 50's look somewhat, for today, by adding in some non-sparkly stuff too. Hope you like what I made!