The Story of the Hit Song Mr Jones: How Counting Crows Produced Their Iconic Track

Adam Duritz Recalls the Beginnings

The initial albums were primarily produced in houses situated in the hills above Los Angeles. August and Everything After marked a significant milestone for the group, as it was their inaugural release on a major label. Each member got an upfront payment of $3,000; with it, I to purchase a classic red convertible and traveled to LA.

Each day, I would start by playing a Poco track, which resembles the Beatles exploring country music. Additionally, I was into a Benny Goodman album that my father had acquired as a free giveaway at a Texaco station during my childhood.

Mr Jones was part of a demo that we submitted to labels, but it was a challenging song to finish. We didn’t have a solid grasp at first. It’s not a slow ballad or a straight ahead number; rather, it moves with a rhythm, requiring a real feel to perform. The style is soulful – closer to the Memphis soul style than country.

Our drummer couldn’t hear the track like the others did – thus the producer brought in one of his heroes to perform on it.

We considered a few production candidates, but when I spoke with T Bone Burnett, he really get where the group was at. We had a lot of promise, but I didn’t like with our sound – we hadn’t learned how to work together. Eliminated all the synths 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 play on it. Looking back, it’s amusing, but it was tough on Steve back then.

My best friend Marty and I performed in groups together prior to Counting Crows. His father, David Serva, had succeeded in Spain and was returning in the Bay Area performing a series of shows. Attended one of his performances and hung out with the musicians bar-hopping. The next morning, I returned and composed the song. It’s about me and Marty that evening, wishing we were accomplished artists so we could connect with the girls more confidently.

I believe, it’s one of the best songs I’ve composed. We performed another track on SNL in 1994, the record climbed 40 spots weekly for over a month. Afterwards, the song turned into a huge hit.

The Multi-Instrumentalist Recalls His Memories

Back in the 80s, Adam, David Bryson, and I were sharing a space in a warehouse complex in Berkeley. Previously, I performed with Camper Van Beethoven and was in an side project named Monks of Doom.

One evening, I found Adam with a new demo he’d just done with Bryson. I heard this song called Mr Jones. Recorded with a Dr Rhythm pocket drum machine that resembled a video game or popcorn popping, but his vocals were on another level.

After the producer took over, it was a complete transformation of Counting Crows. The approach back to basics echoing folk and soul legends.

I got a call from Adam asking, “Hey, man, can you join us and play on this album?” When I arrived, T Bone had relocated us to a studio in Encino, Los Angeles – formerly used by Tito Jackson. Inside, we found instruments that Dylan had recently used.

T Bone told me to play my guitar behind the tempo the beat. He said, “Playing too fast before the drums comes off like an adolescent hurrying.” He has a southern accent, and his advice was to imagine putting your feet up on the console and chewing gum during the performance.

The band was, to an extent, a reaction to the grunge movement. Kurt Cobain’s death felt like the culmination. At the time, many were on heroin. The aim was obliteration, not enlightenment. The nihilism had gone too far, and the pendulum swung toward something emotional and heartfelt. Their music blended folk and rock with a heavy dose of Van Morrison soul.

The song never gets old. Sometimes, when I am rocking out with the singer, I recall that time when he played me the demo. It’s insane.