Jim Croce

Gifted balladeer Jim Croce finally scored a Top 10 hit with "You Don't Mess Around with Jim." So he wrote some toughly upbeat sequels including "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, " which soared to No. 1 in 1973 (and rivals Nilsson's "Coconut" as the elementary-school set's favorite song of the decade). Country-rocker "One Less Set of Footsteps" equals anything Jackson Browne or the Eagles did, while "Roller Derby Queen" is beloved by those who dream of being crushed by statuesque women on skates. Croce shows his softer side with "These Dreams" and the beautiful "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way."