Counting Crows is a rock band that became extremely popular in 1993 following the release of their debut album " August and Everything After" featuring the hit song " Mr. Jones."
The band was formed by singer Adam Duritz (formerly of The Himalayans) and guitarist David Bryson in San Francisco in 1991. Duritz had experience as a member of the band The Himalayans and as a contributor to recordings by the San Francisco Bay Area group Sordid Humor (though never a member). Counting Crows originally performed as an acoustic duo, playing gigs in and around Berkeley and San Francisco. After adding other members, the band was signed to Geffen Records.
Counting Crows, with their intimate and melancholy approach, quickly achieved a large fan base among Generation X alternative rock fans who were looking for something different from the raging guitars of the Seattle music scene.
In 1996, " Recovering the Satellites" was released. Overall, this album was far heavier than "August and Everything After." However, it did contain some calmer, melancholy tracks, such as the title track "Recovering the Satellites" and the singles "A Long December" and "Miller's Angels." Some say "Recovering the Satellites" was Adam Duritz's response to his sudden and somewhat unasked-for fame.
In 1999, Counting Crows released " This Desert Life," which featured the song "Colorblind" (also heard in the movie " Cruel Intentions.") To support the album, the band toured extensively with the alternative rock band Live, on a co-headlining tour, where the two acts would alternate who performed first. Each night, during LIVE's song "The Dolphin's Cry," Adam Duritz would perform along side Live's Ed Kowalczyk, in a duet version of the song.
As part of their 2002 release of " Hard Candy," Counting Crows covered an old Joni Mitchell song, " Big Yellow Taxi." Part of the soundtrack of the movie " Two Weeks Notice," Vanessa Carlton sang the backing vocals on the single edit of the song, a major hit that brought new (and young) fans to the band. Other cover songs that the band has performed include Rod Stewart's " Maggie May," Oasis' " Cigarettes & Alcohol," Bruce Springsteen's " Atlantic City," the Grateful Dead's " Friend of the Devil," and Gram Parsons' alt-country classic " Return of the Grievous Angel."