Reed was born on the 20th March 1937 in Atlanta, Georgia, the second child of Robert and Cynthia Hubbard. Reed's parents separated four months after his birth, and he and his sister spent seven years in foster homes or orphanages. Reed was reunited with his mother and stepfather in 1944.
By high school (O'Keefe High School, Atlanta, Georgia) Reed was already writing and singing music, having picked up the guitar as a child. At the age of eighteen he was signed by publisher and record producer Bill Lowery to make his first record, "If the Good Lord's Willing and the Creeks Don't Rise". At Capitol Records, he recorded both country and rockabilly singles with little success, until label mate Gene Vincent covered his "Crazy Legs" in 1958. By 1958, Lowery signed Reed to his National Recording Corporation, and he recorded for NRC as both artist and as a member of the staff band, which included other NRC artists Joe South and Ray Stevens.
Reed married Priscilla Mitchell in 1959. They have two daughters, Charlotte Elaine Reed Stewart, and Seidina Ann Reed Hinesley.
After a two-year stint in the military, Reed moved to Nashville in 1961 to continue his songwriting career, which had continued to gather steam while he was in the armed forces, thanks to Brenda Lee's 1960 cover of his "That's All You Got to Do". He also became a popular session and tour guitarist. In 1962, he scored some success with the singles "Goodnight Irene" and "Hully Gully Guitar", which found their way to Chet Atkins, who produced Reed's 1965 "If I Don't Live Up to It".
In 1967 Reed had his first chart hit with "Guitar Man", which Elvis Presley soon covered. Presley had gone to Nashville to record in 1967, and one of the songs he was working on was "Guitar Man," which Reed had written and recorded. Jarvis hired Reed to play on the session. Reed also played the guitar for Presley's "Too Much Monkey Business" (1968), recorded at the same session. After Presley recorded another of Reed's songs, "U.S. Male", the songwriter recorded an Elvis tribute, "Tupelo Mississippi Flash", which became his first top-twenty hit.
After releasing the 1970 crossover hit "Amos Moses", a hybrid of rock, country, and Cajun styles, which reached number eight on the U.S. pop charts, Reed teamed up with Atkins for the duet LP Me & Jerry. During the 1970 television season, he was a regular on the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and in 1971 he issued his biggest hit, "When You're Hot, You're Hot", which was also the title track of his first solo album and reached number nine on the pop charts.
A second collaboration with Atkins, Me & Chet, followed in 1972, as did a series of top-forty singles, which alternated between frenetic, straightforward country offerings and more pop-flavoured material. A year later, he scored his second number-one single with "Lord, Mr. Ford" (written by Dick Feller), from the album of the same name.
Reed was featured in animated form in a December 9, 1972 episode of Hanna-Barbera's The New Scooby-Doo Movies, "The Phantom of the Country Music Hall". He sang and played the song "Pretty Mary Sunlite", which is played throughout the episode as Scooby and the gang search for Reed's missing guitar.
In the mid-1970s, Reed's recording career began to take a back seat to his acting aspirations. In 1974, he co-starred with his close friend Burt Reynolds in the film W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings. While he continued to record throughout the decade, his greatest visibility was as a film star, almost always in tandem with headliner Reynolds; after 1976's Gator, Reed appeared in 1978's High Ballin and 1979's Hot Stuff, which won the Best Picture award from the Pawn Shop Association of America. He also co-starred in all three of the Smokey and the Bandit films; the first, which premiered in 1977, landed Reed a number-two hit with the soundtrack's "East Bound and Down".
Reed also hosted a television variety show, filming two episodes of The Jerry Reed Show in 1976. The show featured music performances and interview segments, but did not contain the comedy skits that usually were a part of variety shows of the 1970s. Guests included Tammy Wynette, Ray Stevens, and Burt Reynolds.
Reed died on the 31st August 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee, of complications from emphysema.
BAD
Jerry Reed Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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 mens just call him "Sir"
And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And 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 it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And 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
And Leroy Brown learned a lesson
'Bout messin' with the wife of a jealous man
And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And 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 it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
The song "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" by Jerry Reed is about a tough and flashy man named Leroy Brown from the South side of Chicago. The lyrics describe how Leroy is known to be the baddest man in the entire town, feared by everyone including women and men. He stands tall at six foot four and is notorious for his gambling habits and love for fancy clothes and diamond rings, which he likes to show off to everyone around him. Leroy drives a custom Continental and Eldorado, and carries a razor in his shoe and a 32-guage gun in his pocket just for fun.
The second verse describes a particular incident when Leroy was shooting dice at a bar and took notice of a beautiful girl named Doris. He began to flirt with her, unknowingly getting involved with a jealous man's wife. The two men quickly got into a fight, resulting in Leroy being badly beaten up to the point where he looked like a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces.
In the end, the lyrics reinforce the idea that Leroy Brown is the toughest and baddest man around, and that anyone who crosses him is in for a world of hurt.
Overall, the song tells a story of a legendary figure who is both feared and admired for his strength and flashy lifestyle. It reflects the culture of toughness and bravado that is often associated with the South side of Chicago.
Line by Line Meaning
Well the South side of Chicago
The southern part of Chicago is known for being dangerous and violent.
Is the baddest part of town
This area is considered to be the most dangerous part of the town.
And if you go down there
If you go to this part of town.
You better just beware
You need to be careful and cautious.
Of a man named Leroy Brown
There is a man in this area called Leroy Brown.
Now Leroy more than trouble
Leroy is a lot more than just trouble.
You see he stand 'bout six foot four
Leroy is about six feet four inches tall.
All the downtown ladies call him "Treetop Lover"
Leroy is well-known among downtown women and they refer to him with the nickname "Treetop Lover".
All the mens just call him "Sir"
Men show respect to Leroy and call him "Sir".
And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
Leroy Brown is a very bad man.
The baddest man in the whole damn town
He is considered to be the most dangerous man in the entire town.
Badder than old King Kong
He is worse than the infamous giant gorilla, King Kong.
And meaner than a junkyard dog
Leroy is much more vicious and cruel than a junkyard dog.
Now Leroy he a gambler
Leroy is a gambler.
And he like his fancy clothes
Leroy likes to wear expensive and stylish clothing.
And he like to wave his diamond rings
He enjoys showing off his diamond rings to other people.
In front of everybody's nose
He likes to flaunt his wealth and status in front of others.
He got a custom Continental
Leroy owns a customized Lincoln Continental car.
He got an Eldorado too
He also owns a Cadillac Eldorado car.
He got a 32 gun in his pocket for fun
Leroy carries a .32 caliber gun with him just for the fun of it.
He got a razor in his shoe
Leroy also carries a razor blade in his shoe.
Well Friday bout a week ago
About a week ago on a Friday.
Leroy shootin' dice
Leroy was playing a dice game.
And at the edge of the bar
There was a woman named Doris sitting at the bar.
Sat a girl named Doris
This girl's name was Doris.
And ooh that girl looked nice
Leroy found her attractive.
Well he cast his eyes upon her
Leroy looked at her with interest.
And the trouble soon began
This led to trouble for Leroy.
'Bout messin' with the wife of a jealous man
Leroy made the mistake of getting involved with a married woman and her husband, who was very jealous, found out.
Well the two men took to fightin'
Leroy and the jealous husband got into a physical fight.
And when they pulled them from the floor
When other people finally managed to separate them.
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
Leroy was beaten up so badly that he looked like a puzzle with some pieces missing.
With a couple of pieces gone
Some parts of his face and body were damaged or injured during the fight.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: James Croce
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind