Mr. Jones (Counting Crows song)

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"Mr. Jones"
Mister Jones.jpg
Single by Counting Crows
from the album August and Everything After
B-side"Raining in Baltimore" (LP Version)
ReleasedDecember 1, 1993[1]
Recorded1993
GenreAlternative rock[2]
Length4:32
LabelGeffen
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)T-Bone Burnett
Counting Crows singles chronology
"Mr. Jones"
(1993) 		"Round Here"
(1994)
Audio sample
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Counting Crows – "Mr. Jones"
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"Mr. Jones" is a song by American alternative rock band Counting Crows. It was released in December 1993 as the lead single and third track from their debut album, August and Everything After (1993). It was the band's first radio hit and has been described as a "breakout" single.[3] "Mr. Jones" reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and is to date their highest-charting single in the US. Internationally, the song peaked at number one in Canada and number seven in France.

Background[]

"Mr. Jones" debuted on the US Billboard Radio Songs chart on February 19, 1994, and entered the top 10 five weeks later. On May 14, 1994, the song reached its peak US chart position at number five.[4]

The band's surprise success happened to coincide with Kurt Cobain's death. These events took a significant toll on Adam Duritz, the lead vocalist and principal songwriter. Duritz said in an interview, "We heard that, that [Kurt] had shot himself. And it really scared the hell out of me because I thought, these things in my life are getting so out of control."[5] These events and feelings were the basis for "Catapult", the first track of Recovering the Satellites.

According to Duritz (who was born in 1964), the song title had a hand in the naming by Jonathan Pontell of "Generation Jones", the group of people born between 1954 and 1965. "I feel honored that my song Mr. Jones was part of the inspiration for the name 'Generation Jones'."[6]

Lyrics and performances[]

The song is about struggling musicians (Duritz and bassist Marty Jones of The Himalayans) who "want to be big stars," believing that "when everybody loves me, I will never be lonely." Duritz would later recant these values; and in some later concert appearances, "Mr. Jones" was played in a subdued acoustic style, if at all.[5] On the live CD Across a Wire Duritz changes the lyrics "We all wanna be big, big stars, but we got different reasons for that" to "We all wanna be big, big stars, but then we get second thoughts about that"; he also changed the lyrics "when everybody loves you, sometimes that's just about as funky as you can be" to "when everybody loves you, sometimes that's just about as fucked up as you can be."[7]

Some believe the song is a veiled reference to the protagonist of Bob Dylan's "Ballad of a Thin Man",[8] based on the lyric "I wanna be Bob Dylan, Mr. Jones wishes he was someone just a little more funky." According to Adam Duritz on VH1 Storytellers, "It's really a song about my friend Marty and I. We went out one night to watch his dad play, his dad was a Flamenco guitar player who lived in Spain (David Serva), and he was in San Francisco in the mission playing with his old Flamenco troupe. And after the gig we all went to this bar called the New Amsterdam in San Francisco on Columbus."[9]

In a 2013 interview, Duritz explained that even though the song is named for his friend Marty Jones, it is actually about Duritz himself. "I wrote a song about me, I just happened to be out with him that night," Duritz said. The inspiration for the song came as Duritz and Jones were drunk at a bar after watching Jones' father perform, when they saw Kenney Dale Johnson, longtime drummer for the musician Chris Isaak, sitting with three women. "It just seemed like, you know, we couldn't even manage to talk to girls, ... we were just thinking if we were rock stars, it'd be easier. I went home and wrote the song," Duritz said.[10]

In the live version of the song, as on the album Across a Wire: Live in New York City, the first couplet of the song is a quotation of the 1967 song So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star by The Byrds.

Accolades[]

Year Association Category Result
1994 MTV Video Music Awards Best New Artist Won

Track listings[]

  1. "Mr. Jones" (LP version) – 4:32
  2. "Raining in Baltimore" (LP version) – 4:42
  3. "Mr. Jones" (acoustic version) – 4:44
  4. "Rain King" (acoustic version) – 5:10

Credits and personnel[]

  • Composers – David Bryson, Adam Duritz
  • Performed by – Counting Crows
  • Producers – T-Bone Burnett, Bruce Ranes
  • Executive producer – Gary Gersh
  • Mixing – Scott Litt, Patrick McCarthy
  • Engineers – Patrick McCarthy, Bruce Ranes
  • Photography – Michael Tighe[11]

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[34] Gold 45,000double-dagger
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Gold 400,000double-dagger

double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Covers[]

The band Hidden in Plain View did a cover of "Mr. Jones" which was released in 2004 on the album Dead and Dreaming: An Indie Tribute to the Counting Crows.

References[]

  1. ^ https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Counting+Crows&titel=Mr%2E+Jones&cat=s
  2. ^ "100 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1994". Spin. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  3. ^ https://www.theoaklandpress.com/entertainment/counting-crows-at-dte-things-to-know/article_90cfd506-add6-11e8-8bcf-2f3617a3c2c7.html
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Counting Crows Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Spendlove, Barry (4 July 1999). "The new Counting Crows FAQ (Version 3)". Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  6. ^ Pontell, Jonathan (2007). "Generation Jones". The Jonathan Pontell Group. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2012.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ "Counting Crows - Mr. Jones (Live Acoustic) Lyrics". Lyrics007. 2012. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  8. ^ "Counting Crows & Shelby Lynne". Soundstage. PBS. August 2004. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  9. ^ Wiser, Carl. "Mr. Jones by Counting Crows". SongFacts.com. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  10. ^ "Adam Duritz, Counting Crows Frontman, Reveals 'Mr. Jones'". 6 June 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  11. ^ "Mr. Jones – Counting Crows: Credits". Allmusic. 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  12. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Counting Crows – Mr. Jones". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  13. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Counting Crows – Mr. Jones" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Counting Crows – Mr. Jones" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  15. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2414." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  16. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11 no. 46. November 12, 1994. p. 24. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  17. ^ "Lescharts.com – Counting Crows – Mr. Jones" (in French). Les classement single.
  18. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (21.4–27.4. '94)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). April 20, 1994. p. 18. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  19. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Counting Crows – Mr. Jones" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  20. ^ "Charts.nz – Counting Crows – Mr. Jones". Top 40 Singles.
  21. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  22. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  23. ^ "Counting Crows Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  24. ^ "Counting Crows Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  25. ^ "Counting Crows Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  26. ^ "Counting Crows Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  27. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Counting Crows". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  28. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  29. ^ "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1994". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  30. ^ "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 1994" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  31. ^ "Árslistinn 1994". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 2, 1995. p. 25. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  32. ^ "The Year In Music 1994 - Hot 100 Singles Airplay". Billboard. Vol. 106 no. 52. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 24, 1994. p. YE-30. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  33. ^ "The Year In Music 1994 - Hot Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 106 no. 52. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 24, 1994. p. YE-62. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  34. ^ "Danish single certifications – Counting Crows – Mr. Jones". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  35. ^ "British single certifications – Counting Crows – Mr Jones". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 9, 2021.

External links[]

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