The Creation of the Hit Song Mr Jones: The Way Counting Crows Produced Their Signature Track

Adam Duritz Recalls the Early Days

The initial four records were primarily recorded in houses situated in the hills above Los Angeles. August and Everything After marked a significant milestone for the group, as it was their first release on a major label. Each member got an upfront payment of $3,000; I used mine to buy a classic red convertible and drove it 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 free giveaway at a Texaco station when I was young.

Mr Jones was part of a demo tape that we submitted to record companies, but it proved a challenging track to finish. It lacked a clear direction at first. It’s not a slow ballad nor a straight ahead rock song; instead, it gallops along, requiring a real feel to play. It’s soul music – more akin to the Memphis soul sound than folk.

Our drummer couldn’t hear the track as the others did – so the producer brought in one of his idols to play it.

We considered a few production candidates, but when I spoke with the producer, he really understand where the group was headed. There was a lot of promise, but I wasn’t satisfied with our overall tone – we were still learning how to work together. We removed all the synthesizers and effects pedals. Our drummer Steve Bowman couldn’t sync with the song’s rhythm, so the producer called in a renowned drummer, one of Steve’s heroes, to lay down the drums. It’s a funny story, but it was tough on Steve back then.

My best friend Marty and I performed in bands together before Counting Crows. Marty’s dad, David Serva, had made it in Spain and was returning in the San Francisco area performing a series of shows. We went one of his performances and hung out with the flamenco troupe bar-hopping. Next day, I returned and composed Mr Jones. It’s about me and Marty that night, wishing we were accomplished artists so we could talk to the girls more confidently.

I believe, it’s one of the best songs I’ve composed. After playing Round Here on SNL in 1994, the record climbed 40 spots each week for five or six weeks. Following that, Mr Jones became a huge hit.

David Immerglück Shares His Memories

In the late 1980s, the band members were living together in a warehouse complex in Berkeley. Previously, I performed with another band and had an offshoot band named Monks of Doom.

One evening, Adam had a new demo he’d created with Bryson. I heard this track called the now-famous tune. Recorded with a basic drum machine that sounded like a arcade sound or popcorn popping, but his singing were on another level.

After the producer took over, it felt like a total reinvention of Counting Crows. They shifted toward roots echoing folk and soul legends.

I got a call from Adam asking, “Hey, man, can you join us and play on this album?” By the time I got there, the producer had relocated us to a recording space in LA’s Encino – previously used by Tito Jackson. There were instruments that Dylan had just recorded on.

He told me to perform behind the tempo the beat. His words were, “If you rush before the drums makes you sound like an teenager rushing.” He has a Texas drawl, and his guidance was to visualize relaxing on the console and staying casual while playing.

The band was, in some ways, a reaction to grunge. The tragic end of Cobain seemed the culmination. At the time, everyone were on heroin. The aim was obliteration, not enlightenment. That negativity had reached an extreme, and the pendulum swung toward something more human and sincere. Counting Crows combined folk and rock with a strong influence of soulful vibes.

Mr Jones never gets old. On stage, when performing with the singer, I remember that moment when he first shared the demo. It’s insane.