You Don't Mess Around with Jim

You Don't Mess Around with Jim
You Don't Mess Around with Jim
Studio album by Jim Croce
Released	April 1972
Recorded	1971–1972, The Hit Factory, New York City
Genre	Folk rock
Length	33:22
Label	ABC (USA); Vertigo (UK)
Producer	Terry Cashman, Tommy West
Jim Croce chronology
Singles from You Don't Mess Around with Jim
	"You Don't Mess Around with Jim"; Released: July 1972; "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)"; Released: October 1972; "Time in a Bottle"; Released: November 1973;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[2]
Christgau's Record Guide	B–^[3]

You Don't Mess Around with Jim is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, released in April 1972.

History and release[]

The album was recorded over a three to four-week period for approximately $18,000, with most funding coming from the PolyGram Group in Baarn, the Netherlands on the basis of hearing an 8-song demo tape assembled by production team Cashman & West. The deal with PolyGram was made after team attorney Phil Kurnit approached a contact within the record company who then had PolyGram executives listen to the demo tape. After having the finished album rejected by up to 40 record labels, Croce was signed to ABC Records after Cashman & West had a chance meeting with ABC promotion man Marty Kupps. Kupps urged label head Jay Lasker to sign Croce after hearing cuts from a cassette tape of the finished album.

The record spent 93 weeks on the charts, longer than any other Jim Croce album. Due to the strong performance of the posthumous single release "Time in a Bottle" (#1 pop, No. 1 AC), You Don't Mess Around with Jim was the best selling album in the U.S. for five weeks in early 1974.^[4] It was listed at No. 6 on the 1974 Cash Box yearend album charts.^[5] Two singles were originally released from the album in 1972: the title track (#8 pop) and "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" (#17 pop).

The album was issued on CD by the Rhino Flashbacks record label on September 30, 2008.

Tracks[]

The lyrics of the title track concern the fate of a 'pool-shooting son-of-a-gun' by the name of 'Big' Jim Walker when his 'mark,' Willie 'Slim' McCoy, from South Alabama shows up to get a refund from being hustled or get revenge. The song is notable for the line "You don't tug on Superman's cape/You don't spit into the wind/You don't pull the mask off that ol' Lone Ranger/And you don't mess around with Jim." However, after the song ends with Jim being thoroughly thrashed by his victim ("he'd been cut 'n 'bout a hundred places/ and he'd been shot in a couple more"), the chorus now sings about how "You don't mess around with Slim."

Covers[]

The song "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" has been covered by Ty Herndon on What Mattered Most, Josh Turner on Long Black Train, Donna Fargo on My Second Album and Charlie Major on Jim Croce: A Nashville Tribute. It was also covered, along with other Croce compositions, by Jerry Reed on his 1980 album Jerry Reed Sings Jim Croce.

Kid Rock covered "Box #10" in 1995 as part of The Bootleg Series. Jesse Malin covered "Operator" on his 2008 album On Your Sleeve. On an episode of the ABC drama Eli Stone, Victor Garber performed this song in one of Eli's visions.

Tori Amos covered "Operator" live in 2005 while on her Original Sinsuality Tour. An official live recording can be found in The Original Bootlegs box set.

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by Jim Croce.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"You Don't Mess Around with Jim"	3:02
2.	"Tomorrow's Gonna Be a Brighter Day"	2:57
3.	"New York's Not My Home"	3:10
4.	"Hard Time Losin' Man"	2:29
5.	"Photographs and Memories"	2:09
6.	"Walkin' Back to Georgia"	2:53
7.	"Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)"	3:50
8.	"Time in a Bottle"	2:29
9.	"Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)"	2:46
10.	"Box No. 10"	2:46
11.	"A Long Time Ago"	2:53
12.	"Hey Tomorrow"	2:47

2006 edition – Disc 1^[A]
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Which Way Are You Going'"	2:20
14.	"Mississippi Lady"	3:59
15.	"Country Girl"	1:49
16.	"King's Song"	3:21
17.	"Chain Gang Medley"	4:29
18.	"Ol' Man River"	2:26

2006 edition – Disc 2
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Maybe Tomorrow"	2:30
2.	"Stone Walls"	2:58
3.	"Railroads And Riverboats"	3:12
4.	"(And) I Remember Her"	2:49
5.	"More Than That Tomorrow"	2:44
6.	"The Way We Used To Be"	2:30
7.	"Cotton Mouth River"	2:00
8.	"Circle Of Style (featuring Ingrid Croce)"	2:09
9.	"Carnival Of Pride (featuring Ingrid Croce)"	1:53
10.	"Wear Out The Turnpike (featuring Ingrid Croce)"	2:14
11.	"Can't Wait (featuring Ingrid Croce)"	1:53
12.	"(The) Migrant Worker (featuring Ingrid Croce)"	1:54
13.	"Railroad Song (featuring Ingrid Croce)"	2:55
14.	"Child Of Midnight"	2:48

Notes

A ^ Tracks 1–12 correspond to the original 1972 album

Personnel[]

Jim Croce – guitar, rhythm guitar, lead vocals, background vocals
Maury Muehleisen – guitar, background vocals
The Briggs – background vocals
Terry Cashman – background vocals
Tommy West – bass, percussion, piano, rhythm guitar, keyboards, electric piano, background vocals
Joe Macho – bass
Jimmy Ryan – bass
Gary Chester – drums

Production[]

Producers: Terry Cashman, Tommy West
Recording Engineer: Bruce Tergesen
Photography: Paul Wilson

Chart history[]

Year	Chart	Position
1974	US Billboard 200	1
1974	Canadian RPM 100	1

Singles
Year	Single	Chart	Position
1972	"You Don't Mess Around with Jim"	Billboard Hot 100	8
1972	"You Don't Mess Around with Jim"	Easy Listening	9
1972	"Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)"	Billboard Hot 100	17
1973	"Time in a Bottle"	Billboard Hot 100	1
1973	"Time in a Bottle"	Easy Listening	1

Certifications[]

Country	Certifications
United States	Gold

References[]

^ Strong, Martin Charles & John Peel The Great Rock Discography^{[dead link]}
^ Ruhlmann, William. You Don't Mess Around with Jim – Jim Croce at AllMusic. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
^ Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top Pop Albums 1955–1985, Record Research Inc., 1985, p. 88, 505.
^ "The Cash Box 1974 yearend album charts". Archived from the original on October 3, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2012.

[1] Strong, Martin Charles & John Peel The Great Rock Discography^{[dead link]}

[2] Ruhlmann, William. You Don't Mess Around with Jim – Jim Croce at AllMusic. Retrieved October 9, 2011.

[3] Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.

[4] Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top Pop Albums 1955–1985, Record Research Inc., 1985, p. 88, 505.

[5] "The Cash Box 1974 yearend album charts". Archived from the original on October 3, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2012.

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hide v t Jim Croce
Studio albums	Facets Jim & Ingrid Croce You Don't Mess Around with Jim Life and Times I Got a Name
Live albums	Jim Croce Live: The Final Tour Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live
Compilation albums	Photographs & Memories: His Greatest Hits The Faces I've Been Time in a Bottle: Jim Croce's Greatest Love Songs Down the Highway Home Recordings: Americana
Tribute albums	Jerry Reed Sings Jim Croce Jim Croce: A Nashville Tribute
Songs	"You Don't Mess Around with Jim" "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" "One Less Set of Footsteps" "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" "I Got a Name" "Time in a Bottle" "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way" "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" "Chain Gang Medley" "Mississippi Lady" "Age"
Related articles	Discography Ingrid Croce A. J. Croce Maury Muehleisen