The Story of the Hit Song Mr Jones: The Way Counting Crows Developed Their Iconic Track

Adam Duritz Shares the Beginnings

Our first four records were mostly recorded in houses located in the hills above Los Angeles. August and Everything After signified a significant milestone for the group, as it was their first release on a large record company. We each got an advance of $3,000; I used mine to purchase a 1971 cherry red VW Karmann Ghia and traveled to LA.

Every morning, my routine included by listening to a Poco track, which sounds like the Beatles exploring country music. Additionally, I was into a Benny Goodman album that my father had acquired as a complimentary item at a gas station during my childhood.

The song Mr Jones was part of a demo tape that we submitted to record companies, but it proved a challenging song to finish. It lacked a clear direction at first. Neither a slow ballad or a straight ahead rock song; instead, it moves with a rhythm, requiring a deep understanding to play. It’s soul music – closer to the Memphis soul sound than country.

Our drummer struggled to grasp the song as the rest of us did – thus T Bone brought in one of his idols to play it.

We considered a few production candidates, but when I spoke with the producer, he seemed to understand where the group was at. We had a lot of promise, but I wasn’t satisfied with our overall tone – we hadn’t learned how to work together. We removed all the synthesizers and guitar effects. Our drummer Steve Bowman had trouble with the tempo, so T Bone called in Denny Fongheiser, one of Steve’s favorites, to lay down the drums. It’s a funny story, but it was tough on Steve at the time.

My best friend Marty and I performed in bands together before Counting Crows. Marty’s dad, a flamenco musician, had succeeded in Spain and was back in the Bay Area performing a series of shows. Attended one of his performances and hung out with the flamenco troupe visiting bars. Next day, I returned and wrote the song. The lyrics reflect me and Marty that evening, dreaming we were cool musicians so we could talk to the girls more easily.

In my view, it’s among the finest pieces I’ve composed. After playing Round Here on Saturday Night Live in 1994, the record climbed 40 spots each week for over a month. Following that, Mr Jones became a huge hit.

The Multi-Instrumentalist Recalls His Perspective

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

Returning home one night, I found Adam with a new demo he’d just done with Bryson. I heard this song called the now-famous tune. Recorded with a basic drum machine that resembled a video game or random noise, but his singing were exceptional.

Once T Bone got involved, it was a complete transformation of Counting Crows. They shifted back to basics influenced by folk and soul legends.

I got a call from Adam saying, “Listen, can you join us and play on this album?” When I got there, T Bone had relocated us to a recording space in LA’s Encino – formerly used by a Jackson 5 member. There were instruments that Bob Dylan had just recorded on.

T Bone told me to play my guitar slightly behind the beat. His words were, “If you rush ahead of the drums makes you sound like an teenager rushing.” He has a southern accent, and his advice was to imagine putting your feet up on the mixing board and staying casual during the performance.

Counting Crows was, to an extent, a reaction to the grunge movement. The tragic end of Cobain felt like the culmination. At the time, everyone were on heroin. The goal was self-destruction, not enlightenment. The nihilism had reached an extreme, and the pendulum swung toward something more human and heartfelt. Counting Crows combined folk and rock with a strong influence of Van Morrison soul.

Mr Jones remains timeless. Sometimes, when performing with the singer, I remember that time when he first shared the early version. It’s insane.