The Creation of Mr Jones: How Counting Crows Produced Their Signature Song

The Lead Singer Recalls the Formative Period

Our first four records were primarily recorded in homes located in the foothills above Los Angeles. August and Everything After marked a significant step for the band, as it was their inaugural release on a large record company. Each member got an advance 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 listening to a Poco track, which resembles the Beatles venturing into American folk. Also, I was into a Benny Goodman album that my dad had picked up as a complimentary item at a gas station during my childhood.

Mr Jones was included on a demo that we submitted to record companies, but it was a very difficult song to finish. It lacked a solid grasp at first. It’s not a leisurely tune nor a straight ahead rock song; instead, it moves with a rhythm, requiring a real feel to perform. It’s soul music – more akin to the Memphis soul sound than country.

Our drummer struggled to grasp the song like the rest of us did – so the producer enlisted one of his idols to play it.

We considered several producers, but when I discussed things with the producer, he really get where the group was headed. We had great potential, but I wasn’t satisfied with our overall tone – we were still learning how to be a band. Eliminated all the synths 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 hard on Steve at the time.

Marty Jones and I performed in bands together prior to Counting Crows. Marty’s dad, David Serva, had made it in Spain and was back in the Bay Area doing a series of shows. We went one of his shows and hung out with the musicians bar-hopping. Next day, I returned and wrote Mr Jones. The lyrics reflect me and Marty that night, wishing we were accomplished artists so we could talk to the women more confidently.

In my view, it’s among the finest songs I’ve composed. We performed another track on Saturday Night Live in 1994, the album climbed 40 spots weekly for over a month. Following that, Mr Jones became a major success.

The Multi-Instrumentalist Recalls His Perspective

Back in the 80s, Adam, David Bryson, and I were sharing a space in a warehouse complex in Berkeley. I had been playing with Camper Van Beethoven and was in an offshoot band named Monks of Doom.

Returning home one night, Adam had a fresh recording he’d created with Bryson. I heard this song 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.

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

T Bone instructed me to perform behind the tempo the beat. His words were, “Playing too fast ahead of the drums makes you sound like an teenager hurrying.” With his Texas drawl, and his guidance was to imagine putting your feet up on the mixing board and chewing gum while playing.

The band was, to an extent, a reaction to the grunge movement. Kurt Cobain’s death seemed the culmination. At the time, many were on heroin. The aim was obliteration, not enlightenment. That negativity had reached an extreme, and the trend shifted toward something more human and sincere. Their music blended folk and rock with a heavy dose of Van Morrison soul.

Mr Jones remains timeless. Sometimes, when performing with the singer, I remember that moment when he first shared the demo. Absolutely incredible.