The Creation of the Hit Song Mr Jones: The Way Counting Crows Developed Their Signature Anthem

Adam Duritz Remembers the Beginnings

The initial albums were mostly produced in houses situated in the hills above Los Angeles. August and Everything After signified a significant milestone for the band, as it was their inaugural release on a major label. We each got an upfront payment of $3,000; with it, I to buy a 1971 cherry red VW Karmann Ghia and traveled to LA.

Each day, I would start by playing a Poco track, which sounds like the Beatles venturing into country music. Also, I was into a jazz record that my father had picked up as a complimentary item at a gas station during my childhood.

The song Mr Jones was included on a demo that we submitted to labels, but it was a challenging song to complete. It lacked a solid grasp at first. It’s not a leisurely tune or a fast-paced rock song; instead, it gallops along, requiring a real feel to play. It’s soul music – more akin to the Stax Records sound than folk.

The band’s drummer struggled to grasp the track like the others did – thus T Bone enlisted one of his idols to play it.

We considered a few production candidates, but when I discussed things with the producer, he really understand where the group was at. We had great potential, but I wasn’t satisfied with our sound – we hadn’t learned how to be a band. We removed all the synths and guitar effects. Our drummer Steve Bowman couldn’t sync with the tempo, so T Bone called in Denny Fongheiser, one of Steve’s heroes, to lay down the drums. Looking back, it’s amusing, but it was hard on Steve back then.

Marty Jones and I performed in bands together before Counting Crows. His father, a flamenco musician, had made it in Spain and was returning in the San Francisco area doing a tour. We went one of his shows and spent the night with the flamenco troupe visiting bars. The next morning, I returned and composed the song. It’s about our experience that night, dreaming we were accomplished artists so we could connect with the girls more confidently.

In my view, it’s one of the best songs I’ve ever written. We performed another track on Saturday Night Live in 1994, the record jumped 40 spots each week for five or six weeks. Afterwards, Mr Jones turned into a huge hit.

The Multi-Instrumentalist Shares His Memories

In the late 1980s, the band members were living together in a warehouse complex in Berkeley. I had been playing with another band and had an side project called Monks of Doom.

Returning home one night, Adam had a new demo he’d just done with the guitarist. I heard this track titled the now-famous tune. Recorded with a basic drum machine that sounded like a arcade sound or popcorn popping, but his vocals were on another level.

After the producer took over, it felt like a total reinvention of Counting Crows. The approach toward roots echoing Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and the Band.

Adam called me saying, “Listen, can you come down and play on this record?” When I got there, the producer had relocated us to a recording space in LA’s Encino – previously used by a Jackson 5 member. Inside, we found instruments that Bob Dylan had just recorded on.

He instructed me to perform slightly behind the beat. He said, “If you rush before the drums makes you sound like an teenager hurrying.” With his southern accent, and his guidance was to imagine relaxing on the mixing board and staying casual during the performance.

The band was, in some ways, a reaction to grunge. The tragic end of Cobain felt like the final act. At the time, everyone were on heroin. The goal was self-destruction, not enlightenment. That negativity had gone too far, and the pendulum swung toward something more human and heartfelt. Counting Crows combined acoustic and electric with a strong influence of soulful vibes.

Mr Jones never gets old. Sometimes, when I am rocking out with Adam, I recall that moment when he played me the early version. It’s insane.