ABC Records promotion man Marty Kupps took it to KHJ 930 AM in Los Angeles, CA where it first aired.

When Jim comes in, McCoy gets in a fight with him, stabbing him in "about a hundred places" (to the point where "the only part that wasn't bloody was the soles of the big man's feet") and shooting him "in a couple more", ultimately killing him.

It is implied that McCoy now has his money back as well as the respect formerly granted to Jim, and the regulars at the pool hall have now changed their advice to strangers: "You don't mess around with Slim".

American glam metal band Poison covered the song (under the name ''Don't Mess Around With Jim (demo)'').

Josh Turner covered "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" on his 2003 debut album Long Black Train.