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

The Lead Singer Remembers the Beginnings

Our first albums were mostly produced in homes located in the foothills above Los Angeles. August and Everything After marked a significant step for the group, as it was their inaugural release on a major label. We each got an advance of $3,000; I used mine to purchase a 1971 cherry red VW Karmann Ghia and drove it to LA.

Each day, I would start by listening to a Poco track, which sounds like the Beatles exploring country music. Also, I was into a jazz record that my father had acquired as a complimentary item at a gas station when I was young.

The song Mr Jones was part of a demo tape that we sent to labels, but it proved a very difficult track to finish. It lacked a solid grasp at first. Neither a leisurely tune nor a fast-paced rock song; instead, it gallops along, demanding a deep understanding to play. The style is soulful – closer to the Memphis soul style than folk.

Our drummer struggled to grasp the track like the others did – thus the producer enlisted one of his heroes to play it.

We considered several production candidates, but when I discussed things with T Bone Burnett, he really get where the group was at. We had great potential, but I didn’t like with our sound – we hadn’t learned how to be a band. Eliminated all the synths and effects pedals. The drummer couldn’t sync with the song’s rhythm, so T Bone invited a renowned drummer, one of Steve’s favorites, to play on it. Looking back, it’s amusing, but it was tough on Steve back then.

Marty Jones and I had played in bands together before Counting Crows. His father, David Serva, had made it in Spain and was returning in the San Francisco area doing a series of shows. Attended one of his shows and hung out with the musicians bar-hopping. Next day, I returned and wrote the song. The lyrics reflect me and Marty that evening, wishing we were cool musicians so we could talk to the women more confidently.

I believe, it’s one of the best songs I’ve composed. After playing Round Here on Saturday Night Live in 1994, the album climbed 40 spots weekly for over a month. Afterwards, Mr Jones became a major success.

The Multi-Instrumentalist Recalls His Perspective

In the late 1980s, the band members were living together in a warehouse complex in Berkeley. I had been playing with Camper Van Beethoven and was in an side project named Monks of Doom.

Returning home one night, I found Adam with a fresh recording he’d created with Bryson. He played me this track titled Mr Jones. It was done with a Dr Rhythm pocket drum machine that sounded like a video game or random noise, but his vocals were exceptional.

After the producer got involved, it was a total reinvention of Counting Crows. The approach back to basics influenced by Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and the Band.

Adam called me saying, “Hey, man, can you come down and play on this record?” By the time I arrived, T Bone had relocated us to a studio in LA’s Encino – formerly used by a Jackson 5 member. There were instruments that Dylan had just recorded on.

He instructed me to perform slightly behind the drums. His words were, “If you rush before the drums comes off like an teenager rushing.” With his Texas drawl, and his guidance was to visualize relaxing on the mixing board and staying casual while playing.

The band was, to an extent, a reaction to grunge. Kurt Cobain’s death seemed the culmination. At the time, many used heroin. The goal was obliteration, not mind expansion. That negativity had gone too far, and the trend shifted toward something more human and heartfelt. Counting Crows combined folk and rock with a strong influence of soulful vibes.

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