One Less Set of Footsteps

"One Less Set of Footsteps"
Single by Jim Croce
from the album Life and Times
B-side	"It Doesn't Have to Be That Way"
Released	January 8, 1973[1]
Format	7" 45 RPM
Genre	Folk rock
Length	2:46
Label	ABC
Writer(s)	Jim Croce
Producer	Terry Cashman
Jim Croce singles chronology
"Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" (1972) "One Less Set of Footsteps" (1973) "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" (1973)

"One Less Set of Footsteps" is a 1973 single written and recorded by Jim Croce. It was released in 1973 and was the first single released from his album Life and Times. It reached a peak of 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent ten weeks on the chart.

Content

The song is about a man who is telling his lover that if she wants him to walk out on their relationship he will and that there will be "one less set of footsteps" at her house and he will move on and leave. They both realize the relationship is not working out. "One Less Set of Footsteps" is an ultimatum for the end of the romance.

Live performances

A live version of the song was released on his album "Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live".

Covers

• The song "One Less Set of Footsteps" was covered by Jerry Reed on his 1980 album "Jerry Reed Sings Jim Croce".
• In 1992 Crystal Gayle covered it on her album "Three Good Reasons".
• Larry Stewart also covered the song on the compilation album Jim Croce: A Nashville Tribute in 1997.
• The Ventures covered it on "The Ventures Play the Jim Croce Songbook"

Track listing

7" Single (ABC-11346)^[2]

1. "One Less Set Of Footsteps" - 2:46
2. " It Doesn't Have to Be That Way" - 2:30

Chart performance

Chart (1973)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	37
Canadian RPM Top Singles	41[3]
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary	27[4]
U.S. Cash Box Top 100	30[5]
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	8[6]

References

1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles & John Peel Great Rock Discography
2. ^ Jim Croce - One Less Set Of Footsteps / It Doesn't Have To Be That Way
3. ^ Top Singles - Volume 19, No. 7, March 31 1973
4. ^ Adult Contemporary - Volume 19, No. 10, April 21 1973
5. ^ Cash Box Top 100 3/24/73
6. ^ One Less Set of Footsteps