Mr. Jones ( Counting Crows song ) - wikipedia Mr. Jones ( Counting Crows song ) `` Mr. Jones '' Single by Counting Crows from the album August and Everything After Released December 1, 1993 Format CD single Recorded 1993 Genre Alternative rock jangle pop Length 4 : 32 Label Geffen Songwriter ( s ) David Bryson Adam Duritz Charlie Gillingham Matt Malley Ben Mize Dan Vickrey Producer ( s ) T - Bone Burnett Counting Crows singles chronology `` Mr. Jones '' ( 1993 ) `` Round Here '' ( 1994 ) `` Mr. Jones '' ( 1993 ) `` Round Here '' ( 1994 ) Audio sample Counting Crows -- `` Mr. Jones '' file help `` 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 one of their most popular singles. Contents 1 History 2 Lyrics and performances 3 Cover versions 4 Accolades 5 Track listings 6 Credits and personnel 7 Charts 7.1 Weekly charts 7.2 Year - end charts 8 References 9 External links History `` Mr. Jones '' entered the American Top 40 on February 19, 1994, and entered the Top 10 five weeks later. On April 23, `` Mr. Jones '' passed R. Kelly 's `` Bump n ' Grind '', taking the number - one position ( which it surrendered, the following week, to Prince 's `` The Most Beautiful Girl in the World '' ). 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. '' 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 '. '' Lyrics and performances The primary topic of the song itself is perhaps how two struggling musicians ( Duritz and bassist Marty Jones of The Himalayans ) `` want to be big stars, '' believing that `` when everybody loves me, I will never be lonely. '' Duritz would later recant these values, and in later concert appearances, `` Mr. Jones '' was played in a subdued acoustic style, if at all. On the live CD Across a Wire Duritz changes the lyrics `` We all wan na be big, big stars, but we got different reasons for that '' to `` We all wan na be big, big stars, but then we get second thoughts about that, '' and `` 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. '' Some believe the song is a veiled reference to the protagonist of Bob Dylan 's `` Ballad of a Thin Man '', based on the lyric `` I wan na be Bob Dylan, Mr. Jones wishes he was someone just a little more funky. '' According to Adam Duritz on VH1 Story Tellers `` 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. '' 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 could n'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. 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. Cover versions 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. Accolades Year Association Result MTV Video Music Awards Best New Artist Won Track listings `` Mr. Jones '' ( LP version ) -- 4 : 32 `` Raining in Baltimore '' ( LP version ) -- 4 : 42 `` Mr. Jones '' ( acoustic version ) -- 4 : 44 `` 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 Charts Weekly charts Chart ( 1993 -- 1994 ) Peak position Australia ( ARIA ) 13 Austria ( Ö3 Austria Top 40 ) 27 Belgium ( Ultratop 50 Flanders ) 45 Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) France ( SNEP ) 7 Netherlands ( Single Top 100 ) 42 New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 49 UK Singles ( The Official Charts Company ) 28 US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 25 US Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay 5 Year - end charts Chart ( 1994 ) Position Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) 5 References Jump up ^ `` Counting Crows ''. Rock On The Net. 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012. ^ Jump up to : Spendlove, Barry ( 4 July 1999 ). `` The new Counting Crows FAQ ( Version 3 ) ''. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2012. Jump up ^ 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 ) Jump up ^ `` Counting Crows - Mr. Jones ( Live Acoustic ) Lyrics ''. Lyrics007. 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012. Jump up ^ `` Counting Crows & Shelby Lynne ''. Soundstage. PBS. August 2004. Retrieved 30 October 2012. Jump up ^ Wiser, Carl. `` Mr. Jones by Counting Crows ''. SongFacts.com. Retrieved 27 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` Adam Duritz, Counting Crows Frontman, Reveals ' Mr. Jones ' ''. 6 June 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Mr. Jones -- Counting Crows : Credits ''. Allmusic. 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012. Jump up ^ `` Australian-charts.com -- Counting Crows -- Mr. Jones ''. ARIA Top 50 Singles. Jump up ^ `` Austriancharts.at -- Counting Crows -- Mr. Jones '' ( in German ). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Jump up ^ `` Ultratop.be -- Counting Crows -- Mr. Jones '' ( in Dutch ). Ultratop 50. Jump up ^ `` Top Singles - Volume 59, No. 8, March 14, 1994 ''. RPM. Retrieved 2012 - 04 - 16. Jump up ^ `` Lescharts.com -- Counting Crows -- Mr. Jones '' ( in French ). Les classement single. Jump up ^ `` Dutchcharts.nl -- Counting Crows -- Mr. Jones '' ( in Dutch ). Single Top 100. Jump up ^ `` Charts.org.nz -- Counting Crows -- Mr. Jones ''. Top 40 Singles. Jump up ^ `` COUNTING CROWS ''. The Official UK Charts Company. 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Mr. Jones -- Counting Crows ''. Billboard. 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012. Jump up ^ `` RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1994 ''. RPM. Retrieved November 23, 2017. External links `` Mr. Jones '' at Counting Crows ' official web site. `` Mr. Jones '' at Lyrics Undercover : a podcast explaining the lyrics of the song and the identity of Mr. Jones. Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Counting Crows Jim Bogios David Bryson Adam Duritz Charlie Gillingham David Immerglück Millard Powers Dan Vickrey Steve Bowman Matt Malley Ben Mize Studio albums August and Everything After Recovering the Satellites This Desert Life Hard Candy Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings Somewhere Under Wonderland Other albums Underwater Sunshine ( or What We Did on Our Summer Vacation ) Live albums Across a Wire : Live in New York City New Amsterdam : Live at Heineken Music Hall February 4 -- 6, 2003 August and Everything After : Live at Town Hall Echoes of the Outlaw Roadshow Compilations Films About Ghosts ( The Best Of... ) Aural 6 Singles `` Mr. Jones '' `` Round Here '' `` Einstein on the Beach ( For an Eggman ) '' `` Rain King '' `` A Murder of One '' `` Angels of the Silences '' `` A Long December '' `` Daylight Fading '' `` Hanginaround '' `` Mrs. Potter 's Lullaby '' `` All My Friends '' `` American Girls '' `` Miami '' `` Big Yellow Taxi '' `` If I Could Give All My Love ( Richard Manuel Is Dead ) '' `` Holiday in Spain '' `` She Do n't Want Nobody Near '' `` Accidentally in Love '' `` 1492 '' `` You Ca n't Count on Me '' `` Come Around '' `` When I Dream of Michelangelo '' `` Palisades Park '' Other songs `` Colorblind '' Concert videos August and Everything After : Live at Town Hall Related articles Discography The Himalayans Sordid Humor Maria Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mr._Jones_(Counting_Crows_song)&oldid=824441549 '' Categories : 1993 singles Counting Crows songs Debut singles Song recordings produced by T Bone Burnett RPM Top Singles number - one singles Songs written by Adam Duritz Songs written by Dan Vickrey Songs written by David Bryson Songs written by Charlie Gillingham 1993 songs Geffen Records singles Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Unfit url Articles with hAudio microformats Audio sample to be checked Singlechart usages for Australia Singlechart usages for Austria Singlechart usages for Flanders Singlechart usages for France Singlechart usages for Dutch100 Singlechart usages for New Zealand Talk Contents About Wikipedia Nederlands Português Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 7 February 2018, at 10 : 28. 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Question: who is the counting crows song mr. jones about
Answer: Duritz