The Story of Mr Jones: The Way Counting Crows Developed Their Defining Song

Adam Duritz Recalls the Formative Period

The initial four records were mostly recorded in homes situated in the foothills above Los Angeles. August and Everything After signified a major milestone for the band, as it was their first release on a major label. Each member got an advance of $3,000; I used mine to purchase a 1971 cherry red VW Karmann Ghia and drove it to LA.

Every morning, I would start by listening to Pickin’ Up the Pieces by Poco, which sounds like the Beatles venturing into American folk. Additionally, I was into a jazz record that my dad had acquired as a free giveaway at a gas station during my childhood.

Mr Jones was included on a demo tape that we submitted to labels, but it proved a very difficult song to complete. We didn’t have a clear direction at first. Neither a slow ballad nor a straight ahead rock song; rather, it gallops along, demanding a real feel to perform. It’s soul music – more akin to the Memphis soul sound than folk.

The band’s drummer couldn’t hear the track as the others did – so T Bone enlisted one of his heroes to play it.

We considered several producers, but when I spoke with the producer, he seemed to get where the band was at. There was great potential, but I didn’t like with our overall tone – we hadn’t learned how to be a band. We removed all the synths and guitar effects. The drummer had trouble with the song’s rhythm, so T Bone invited a renowned drummer, one of Steve’s heroes, to lay down the drums. It’s a funny story, but it was hard on Steve at the time.

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 performing a series of shows. Attended one of his shows and spent the night with the flamenco troupe visiting bars. Next day, I went home and wrote Mr Jones. It’s about our experience that evening, wishing we were cool musicians so we could talk to the women more confidently.

I believe, it’s one of the best pieces I’ve ever written. After playing another track on Saturday Night Live in 1994, the album jumped dozens of positions each week for five or six weeks. Afterwards, Mr Jones became a huge hit.

David Immerglück Recalls His Perspective

In the late 1980s, Adam, David Bryson, and I were living together in a industrial building in Berkeley. Previously, I performed with another band and had an side project called Monks of Doom.

One evening, Adam had a new demo he’d created with Bryson. I heard this song titled the now-famous tune. It was done with a Dr Rhythm pocket drum machine that sounded like a video game or random noise, but his vocals were on another level.

After the producer got involved, it was a complete transformation of Counting Crows. They shifted toward roots influenced by Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and the Band.

Adam called me asking, “Listen, can you join us and contribute to this record?” By the time I got there, T Bone had relocated us to a recording space in Encino, Los Angeles – previously used by Tito Jackson. There were guitars that Dylan had just recorded on.

T Bone told me to perform behind the tempo the drums. He said, “If you rush before the drums comes off like an adolescent rushing.” With his southern accent, and his advice was to visualize relaxing on the console and staying casual during the performance.

Counting Crows was, in some ways, a response to grunge. Kurt Cobain’s death seemed the culmination. Back then, everyone were on heroin. The goal was obliteration, not mind expansion. The nihilism had gone too far, and the trend shifted toward something emotional and sincere. Their music blended acoustic and electric with a heavy dose of Van Morrison soul.

The song remains timeless. Sometimes, when performing with the singer, I remember that time when he played me the early version. Absolutely incredible.