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

The Lead Singer Recalls the Formative Period

Our first albums were mostly recorded in houses located in the hills above Los Angeles. August and Everything After signified a major milestone for the band, as it was their inaugural release on a large record company. 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.

Each day, I would start by playing Pickin’ Up the Pieces by Poco, which sounds like the Beatles venturing into country music. Also, I was into a Benny Goodman album that my dad had picked up as a complimentary item at a gas station when I was young.

Mr Jones was included on a demo tape that we sent to labels, but it proved a very difficult track to complete. It lacked a solid grasp at first. Neither a slow ballad or a fast-paced rock song; instead, it gallops along, demanding a deep understanding to perform. The style is soulful – more akin to the Stax Records sound than folk.

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

We considered a few producers, but when I discussed things with the producer, he seemed to get where the group was at. There was a lot of promise, but I wasn’t satisfied with our sound – we hadn’t learned how to be a band. We removed all the synths and effects pedals. Our drummer Steve Bowman couldn’t sync with the tempo, so the producer called in a renowned drummer, one of Steve’s favorites, to lay down the drums. It’s a funny story, but it was hard on Steve at the time.

My best friend Marty and I performed in groups together before Counting Crows. His father, David Serva, had succeeded in Spain and was back in the Bay Area doing a series of shows. We went one of his performances and spent the night with the flamenco troupe visiting bars. Next day, I returned and wrote the song. It’s about our experience that evening, wishing we were cool musicians so we could connect with the girls more confidently.

In my view, it’s among the finest pieces I’ve ever written. After playing another track on SNL in 1994, the album jumped dozens of positions each week for five or six weeks. Afterwards, Mr Jones turned into a huge hit.

The Multi-Instrumentalist Shares His Perspective

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

Returning home one night, Adam had a new demo he’d created with the guitarist. I heard this track called the now-famous tune. It was done with a Dr Rhythm pocket drum machine that sounded like a arcade sound or popcorn popping, but his singing were on another level.

Once T Bone took over, it felt like a complete transformation of Counting Crows. The approach back to basics echoing Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and the Band.

I got a call from Adam saying, “Listen, can you come down and contribute to this album?” By the time I arrived, the producer had moved us to a studio in Encino, Los Angeles – previously used by Tito Jackson. There were guitars that Bob Dylan had recently used.

T Bone told me to play my guitar behind the tempo the beat. His words were, “Playing too fast ahead of the drums makes you sound like an adolescent hurrying.” He has a southern accent, and his guidance was to visualize putting your feet up on the console and chewing gum while playing.

The band was, to an extent, a response to grunge. The tragic end of Cobain seemed the final act. At the time, everyone used heroin. The goal was self-destruction, not mind expansion. That negativity had gone too far, and the pendulum swung toward something emotional and heartfelt. Their music blended folk and rock with a strong influence of soulful vibes.

The song remains timeless. On stage, when performing with the singer, I remember that moment when he first shared the demo. It’s insane.