Counting Crows is an American rock band from

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist Millard Powers, and guitarist Dan Vickrey. Past members include the drummers

Steve Bowman Steve Bowman (born January 14, 1967) is an American rock music, rock Drum kit, drummer and songwriter. He was a founding member and drummer for Counting Crows during the recording and period of time following their debut album, ''August and Ever ...

(1991–1994) and Ben Mize (1994–2002), and bass guitarist Matt Malley (1991–2005). Counting Crows gained popularity following the release of its first album, '' August and Everything After'' (1993). With the breakthrough hit single " Mr. Jones" (1993), the album sold more than 7 million copies in the United States. The band received two Grammy Awards nominations in 1994, one for "Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal" (for " Round Here") and one for "Best New Artist". The follow-up album, '' Recovering the Satellites'', reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 album chart and reached number one in several other countries. All but one of their subsequent albums was top 10 on the ''Billboard'' 200 list. Their hit singles include the aforementioned "Mr. Jones" as well as "

Rain King "Rain King" is a single by the rock band Counting Crows. It was released as the band's fourth single (and third single from their debut album). The title is a reference to Saul Bellow's ''Henderson the Rain King.'' "Rain King" peaked at number ...

", " A Long December", " Hanginaround", and a cover version of Joni Mitchell's " Big Yellow Taxi". Counting Crows received a 2004

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

nomination for the single " Accidentally in Love", which was included in the film '' Shrek 2''. The band has sold more than 20 million albums and is known for its dynamic live performances. ''Billboard'' has also ranked the band as the 8th greatest Adult Alternative Artist of all time. The band's most recent full album, '' Somewhere Under Wonderland'', was released in 2014. They released a four-song EP in 2021 titled '' Butter Miracle:Suite One'', which is expected to be expanded to a full album.

Origin of band name

The band name is derived from " One for Sorrow", a British divination

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From ...

about the

superstitious A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and pr ...

counting of

magpies Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is o ...

, which are members of the crow family. Singer Adam Duritz heard the rhyme in the film '' Signs of Life'', which starred his close friend, the actress

Mary-Louise Parker Mary-Louise Parker (born August 2, 1964) is an American actress. After making her Broadway debut as Rita in Craig Lucas' '' Prelude to a Kiss'' in 1990 (for which she received a Tony Award nomination), Parker came to prominence for film roles ...

. Here is one modern version of the rhyme: The rhyme is featured in the song "

A Murder of One "A Murder of One" is a song by Counting Crows, released as the fourth single from their debut album, ''August and Everything After''. Frontman Adam Duritz explained the song's meaning as follows: "I can remember being eight years old and having i ...

" on the band's debut album, ''August and Everything After''.

History

1990s

1991–1992: Formation and early years

Adam Duritz, former member of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

band the Himalayans, and producer/guitarist David Bryson formed Counting Crows in San Francisco in 1991. They began as an acoustic duo, playing gigs in and around Berkeley and San Francisco. Another friend, guitarist David Immerglück, played with them from time to time, though he was not an official member of the group, and experimented with other musicians in the area. As the emerging band recorded some demos, and as other musicians joined the duo to make a full band, Immerglück recorded with the band on some of the songs for its first album. He declined to join the band at the time, because of his membership in two other locally popular bands,

Monks of Doom The Monks of Doom is an American alternative rock band, formed in California in 1986. The band's music draws from post-punk, progressive rock, indie rock, psychedelic and folk rock traditions.Camper Van Beethoven. By 1993, the band had grown to a stable lineup of Duritz as vocalist, occasional

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...

, and primary

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

, Bryson on guitar, Matt Malley playing

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

, Charlie Gillingham on keyboards, and

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer' ...

, and the band was a regular in the Bay Area scene. When Gary Gersh of

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and ...

heard the band's demo tape, he was "blown away". A bidding war between nine different record labels broke out in February 1992. In April, the band—which, by that time, included other members—"signed a deal with Gersh and Geffen believed to be so lucrative that industry wags dubbed them Accounting Crows". On January 16, 1993, the band, still relatively unknown, filled in for

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in ...

at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, and was introduced by an enthusiastic Robbie Robertson. At the ceremony, they played a cover of Van Morrison's " Caravan". Before signing to Geffen, the band recorded demo versions of a number of songs, known as the 'Flying Demos'. These later surfaced among the Counting Crows fanbase. Tracks include "

", "Omaha", "Anna Begins", "

Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman) "Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman)" is a song recorded by Counting Crows from the album ''DGC Rarities Vol. 1''. It was included on the band's best-of compilation, '' Films About Ghosts (The Best Of...)''. The title of the song was inspired ...

", "Shallow Days", "Love and Addiction", " Mr. Jones", " Round Here", "40 Years", "Margery Dreams of Horses", "Bulldog", "Lightning", and "We're Only Love".

1993–1994: ''August and Everything After'' and popular success

The band's debut album, ''August and Everything After'', was released in September 1993. The album's first single, "Mr. Jones", refers to Marty Jones (Himalayans

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

, and Duritz's childhood friend) and Kenney Dale Johnson (the drummer of Silvertone, Chris Isaak's band). It describes the desire of working musicians to make it big and the fantasies they entertain about what fame might bring. Duritz sang the song in fun, enjoying the fantasy; he did not realize that just months later, in December 1993, MTV would begin playing the video for the song. "Mr. Jones" was a breakthrough hit, drawing massive radio play and launching the band into stardom. In 2018, the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' described ''August and Everything After'' as follows:

"August And Everything After" aunchedthe Bay Area septet with its hippie-inspired, roots-rock-infiltrating hits "Mr. Jones", "Round Here", and "Rain King", (ironically, at a time when grunge dominated the charts). Counting Crows eschewed the trend, happily wearing their time-stamped influences like Van Morrison and The Band on their patchwork sleeves, and found an audience who agreed with them. That first album went on to become a seven-times-platinum success in the U.S. alone, at the time the fastest-selling record since Nirvana' ''Nevermind''.

With "Mr. Jones" propelling the band forward, and with positive reviews from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' and other publications, it was decided that the band could use a second guitarist, and Dan Vickrey, another Bay Area musician was offered the role as lead guitarist, singing backing vocals. In 1994, the band appeared on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'' and '' Late Show with David Letterman''. The band toured extensively in 1993 and 1994, both as headliners and in supporting roles with other artists, including the Rolling Stones,

Cracker Cracker, crackers or The Crackers may refer to: Animals * ''Hamadryas'' (butterfly), or crackers, a genus of brush-footed butterflies * '' Sparodon'', a monotypic genus whose species is sometimes known as "Cracker" Arts and entertainment Films ...

, the Cranberries, Suede,

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, Los Lobos,

Jellyfish Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella- ...

, and Midnight Oil. The album sold seven million copies in the U.S. The band received two Grammy nominations in 1994; one for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal (for "Round Here") and one for Best New Artist. Success took a toll on Counting Crows; Duritz suffered a widely reported

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

, which was not his first.

1995–1998: ''Recovering the Satellites'' and double live album

The band played only two gigs in 1995. This allowed Duritz to write a set of songs that became the band's second album, '' Recovering the Satellites''. Released October 15, 1996, it was heavier than ''August and Everything After''. A response to the sudden fame that "Mr. Jones" had brought, it contains lyrics such as "These days I feel like I'm fading away / Like sometimes when I hear myself on the radio" (from "Have You Seen Me Lately?") and "Gonna get back to basics / Guess I'll start it up again" (from "Recovering the Satellites"). Dealing with the theme of Duritz's unease with his newfound fame, the album was described as "a concept album of sorts about trying to pick up the pieces of a family, a social life and a psyche shattered by fame". This album contained the single " A Long December", which was a number one hit in Canada and a Top 10 hit in the United States. On July 2, 1997, Counting Crows started off a co-headlining tour with the Wallflowers that continued to September. The tour included opening acts by Bettie Serveert,

Engine 88 Engine 88 was a rock band that spawned out of the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1990s. History Engine 88 (originally known as simply Engine) released three albums (2 on Caroline Records (U.S.), Caroline Records) and a handful of Gramophone reco ...

, Gigolo Aunts and

That Dog That Dog (styled as that dog.) is a Los Angeles-based rock band that formed in 1992 and dissolved in 1997, reuniting in 2011. The band originally consisted of Anna Waronker on lead vocals and guitar, Rachel Haden on bass guitar and vocals, her ...

, with each opening band touring for three-weeks. After nine months of near-constant touring in support of the album, Duritz developed nodules on his vocal cords in July 1997, leading to the cancellation of a number of gigs. After taking time off to recover, the band toured for the rest of 1997, concluding with a MTV show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. This concert was released as half of a double live album, '' Across a Wire: Live in New York City''. The other disc was a recording of a predominantly acoustic set from the band's appearance on the '' VH1 Storytellers'' show.

1999–2001: ''This Desert Life'' and extensive touring

In 1999, Counting Crows performed at Woodstock 99. Later that same year, the band released '' This Desert Life'', sales of which were propelled by the success of " Hanginaround" and " Colorblind", which was also featured in the movie '' Cruel Intentions''. Supporting the album, the band embarked on a co-headlining tour with alternative rock band Live. Counting Crows closed nearly every show. Before this album and subsequent tour, the band invited session player and long-time friend David Immerglück to join the band as a permanent member. Immerglück had played on every Counting Crows album as a sideman, but early on had declined a permanent position. This time, however, Immerglück said yes and now plays a variety of instruments with the band, including acoustic, electric and pedal steel guitars, slide guitar and

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, as well as backing vocals.

2000s

2002–2003: ''Hard Candy'' and greatest hits album

On July 9, 2002, the band released its fourth studio album, '' Hard Candy''. The album included a cover of Joni Mitchell's song " Big Yellow Taxi". Vanessa Carlton contributed backing vocals to the single edit of the track, which appeared on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

for '' Two Weeks Notice'' and was re-released on future ''Hard Candy'' albums. The original version, without vocals by Carlton, appeared on the first album release as a hidden track. ''Hard Candy'' received better reviews than the previous efforts, with "radio friendly" songs, like " American Girls" (which featured

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three ...

on backing vocals), and contains a more upbeat feel and tempo. The band toured with the Dutch band, Bløf. A song, "Holiday in Spain", came together as a result of the camaraderie between the two groups: it is sung partly as a dual language duet, and partly as a musical "round", with both lead singers singing in differing languages at the end of the song. Midway through the Hard Candy tour, drummer Ben Mize (born February 2, 1971, Durham,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

) amicably left the band to spend more time with his family and pursue his own musical interests. After Mize completed the American leg of the tour, he was replaced by Jim Bogios, formerly a drummer with

Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, who is the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since May 2017. Folds was ...

and Sheryl Crow. Jim attributes leaving Sheryl Crow for Counting Crows to becoming a band member and having more creative input. Following the Hard Candy tour, longtime

Matt Malley left the band. He was replaced by Millard Powers. Counting Crows released the greatest hits album '' Films About Ghosts'' in November 2003.

2004–2006: Oscars and ''New Amsterdam''

In 2004, the band's " Accidentally in Love" song appeared on the

of the hugely popular computer-animated film '' Shrek 2''. At the 77th Academy Awards, the song was nominated for Best Original Song, but lost to " Al otro lado del río" from '' The Motorcycle Diaries''. MillardPowers082106CountingCrows

In June 2006, the band released '' New Amsterdam: Live at Heineken Music Hall'' album.

2007–2008: ''Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings''

Duritz hinted in a 2006 interview that Counting Crows' next studio record would be released in late 2007. He indicated that the band had spent three weeks working in a recording studio with Gil Norton, the producer behind ''Recovering the Satellites'', and revealed the working title of the album to be ''

Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings ''Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Counting Crows, released in the United States on March 25, 2008. It is thematically divided into two sides: the rock music of ''Saturday Nights'' and the mo ...

''. Duritz explained that, "Saturday night is when you sin and Sunday is when you regret. Sinning is often done very loudly, angrily, bitterly, violently." Vickrey stated that "the idea at the moment is to have kind of a rocking side and then an acoustic-y, maybe country-ish side. We got the first half done in May in New York, so half of it is pretty strong and done. And now we're going to work on the second half, the country tunes, during the tour." Amidst touring in July 2007, the band performed live before the Home Run Derby at the

2007 MLB All-Star Game The 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 78th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 10, 2007 ...

, and on July 22 previewed two new songs at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

, a new ballad titled "Washington Square" and a hard rocking track called "Cowboys". On August 8, 2007, VH1 filmed a live performance of "Mr. Jones", clips of which were shown on the miniseries ''100 Greatest Songs of the 90s''. The song ranked No. 27 on the list. In September 2007, Counting Crows played a unique show at Town Hall in New York City, during which it performed all the tracks from ''August and Everything After'' in album order. The show was recorded for a planned DVD release, and also featured several songs from the new album. On September 27, Duritz announced on his blog that the band had asked its record label to postpone the album's release until early 2008, citing the time pressures involved in preparing both the new album and an ''August and Everything After'' deluxe edition for release. On January 16, 2008, the band released a digital single on its official website as a free download. It featured " 1492" from the "Saturday Nights" half of the new album, and "When I Dream Of Michelangelo" from the "Sunday Mornings" half as its B-side. The album was released on March 25, 2008. In 2008, Virgil Griffith, a software application writer, conducted a study in which he took the ten highest "favorite music" options from

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

for 1,352 different colleges, and cross-referenced them with the average SAT score from each college. Counting Crows turned out to be near the top, along with such artists as Sufjan Stevens, Guster and U2.

Departure from Geffen

On March 22, 2009, Duritz announced on the band's website that the band would be leaving

, with whom they had worked for 18 years. On this day a message from Duritz himself was posted on the band's homepage: a second message was posted a few weeks later. He ended the first letter with a free download of the band's cover of Madonna's "Borderline." The track was recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall in 2003. Following the departure from Geffen, the band has continued to tour. During the summer of 2009, they launched the ambitious ''Saturday Night Rebel Rockers Traveling Circus and Medicine Show'' tour with longtime Bay Area friend Michael Franti, his band Spearhead, and the band Augustana. Instead of the traditional concert format of a short set by an opening act, followed by a longer set from a main supporting act, and then a long set by the headlining band, the shows featured members of all of the bands joining each other for songs from each bands' catalogs at various points throughout the evening. As Duritz explained in a welcoming message on the official website for the tour, each show "is going to start with EVERYONE onstage together and we're going to all be running on & off stage all night playing one each other's songs all together and basically just playing whenever we feel like playing."

2010s

2010–2013: Independent releases and individual projects

The album '' August and Everything After: Live at Town Hall'' was released on August 29, 2011. The release marked the band's third professionally produced live album, and the first concert video of its career. The album used footage from the Town Hall concert, recorded in September 2007. The band released a covers album entitled '' Underwater Sunshine (Or What We Did On Our Summer Vacation)'' on April 10, 2012, with a cover design by a fan chosen in a promotional contest. After touring extensively in 2012 and 2013 in support of the album (including headlining ''The Outlaw Roadshow'', a traveling festival tour presented in conjunction with Ryan Spaulding of the music blog Ryan's Smashing Life, and touring North America in the summer of 2013 with the Wallflowers), the band began working on material for a new album. Duritz also took time in the summer of 2012 to begin co-writing a play called ''Black Sun'', which will also feature some music written by Duritz, including well-known rarity songs "Good Luck" and "Chelsea". A live album, '' Echoes of the Outlaw Roadshow'', was released in North America in November 2013.

2014–2020: ''Somewhere Under Wonderland'', podcast and wine

The writing of material for a new album, '' Somewhere Under Wonderland'', began early in 2013 and continued during that year's summer tour. The album was released on September 2, 2014. In 2018, Duritz became an investor in three wineries based in Napa Valley, California—Elyse Winery, Institution Winery, and Addax Winery—managed by winemaker Russell Bevan.Archived a
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Starting in February 2018, Duritz began recording the Underwater Sunshine Podcast, a weekly music podcast with author and music journalist

James Campion James Campion was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1883, representing the 1st District of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, and a portion of Calumet County, Wisconsin. He was a Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Po ...

. Having parted ways with Spaulding, Duritz and friends began putting on their own twice-annual music festival in New York called the Underwater Sunshine Fest to showcase independent music. The first festival, held at the Bowery Electric in October 2018, featured 17 bands over two nights. A second in April 2019 showcased 18 bands, and a third held at Rockwood Music Hall in November 2019 expanded the lineup to 26. Acts as diverse as Yellow House Orchestra, Sean Barna, Mikaela Davis, Marcy Playground, Matt Sucich,

Stephen Kellogg Stephen Richard Kellogg (born November 28, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter and former leader of Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers. Career Kellogg founded his band Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers in 2003. The band went on hiatus in the fal ...

, Stew and the Negro Problem, and Fairhazel have appeared. More bands recorded acoustic sessions at Duritz's loft the weekends of each of the festivals. In January 2019, Counting Crows released a newly recorded version of "August and Everything After" performed with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

at Air Studios. The song was cut from the band's first album, which had been named after it.

2021-present: ''Butter Miracle'', cooking and more

Duritz revealed in late 2019 that he had begun writing new music that past August. In early February 2020, he described the band's next project as suites of music that may be released on various EPs. The band began studio sessions in late February and early March on four songs that complete the first suite: "The Tall Grass", "Elevator Boots", "The Angel of 14th Street", and "Bobby and the Rat Kings". Mott the Hoople and Thin Lizzy were cited as influences on original demos of the songs as Duritz was writing, though the final recordings will likely not sound similar. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, without touring, without being able to work on music in the studio, and taking a hiatus from his podcast, Duritz began hosting cooking videos through his Instagram stories. Speaking with chef Tyler Florence, Duritz said the type of research he would do regarding music for the podcast he turned into exploring more about food and cooking to share with others. Duritz and Campion would return to producing the Underwater Sunshine Podcast in May 2021. "Elevator Boots" was released as the first single for the four-track EP in April 2021, described by ''Rolling Stone'' as "a melodic, wistful ode to life on tour, with a sound that somehow manages to bridge the gap between the Band and Mott the Hoople." The EP, titled ''

Butter Miracle ''Butter Miracle'' is an EP by Counting Crows. "Elevator Boots" was released as the first single for the four-track EP in April 2021, described by '' Rolling Stone'' as "a melodic, wistful ode to life on tour, with a sound that somehow manages t ...

, Suite One'', will be released on May 21, 2021. Duritz tells ''Rolling Stone'' that a second EP, ''Butter Miracle, Suite Two'', will be released and together form a full album. He is currently writing songs for the second EP, and the band has tentatively plans to resume touring in the Fall of 2021.

Influences, live performances and covers

Counting Crows, and Duritz in particular, have become renowned for energetic, passionate live performances. The band's influences include

, R.E.M., and

. Several Counting Crows songs have been altered during the band's live performances, such as "Round Here", "Goodnight Elisabeth", "Rain King", and "A Murder of One". This can be heard on the ''Across a Wire: Live in New York City'' album on the first disc (on which "Round Here" contains lyrics from "Have You Seen Me Lately?") and the second disc ("Anna Begins" has an extended midsection with new lyrics, and the introduction to "Mr. Jones" includes lyrics from "Miller's Angels" and from the Byrds' "So You Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star"). In February 2011, Duritz released an indie album of cover songs he had recorded entitled ''All My Bloody Valentines''. He allowed Facebook followers to help name and design the cover art for the album. The band has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide.

Band members

Current members * Adam Duritz – lead vocals, keyboards, occasional harmonica (1991–present) *David Bryson – rhythm guitar (1994–present), backing vocals (1991–present), lead guitar (1991–1994) * Charlie Gillingham – keyboards, backing vocals (1991–present), accordion, clarinet (1996–present) * David Immerglück – guitars, bass, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, backing vocals (1999–present, session musician 1993–1999), banjo (2011–present) * Dan Vickrey – lead guitar, backing vocals (1994–present), banjo (2002–present) *Jim Bogios – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2002–present) * Millard Powers – bass, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2005–present) Former members *

– drums, percussion, backing vocals (1991–1994) *Matt Malley – bass, rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1991–2005) *Ben Mize – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1994–2002) Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:120 top:0 right:60 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1991 till:12/31/2022 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1992 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1991 Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:bvocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:lguitar value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:rguitar value:green legend:Rhythm_guitar id:aguitar value:drabgreen legend:Assorted_guitars,_mandolin id:banjo value:limegreen legend:Banjo id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards,_piano id:accor value:powderblue legend:Accordion,_clarinet id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums,_percussion id:session value:yelloworange legend:Session_musician id:album value:black legend:Studio_album id:other value:gray(0.6) legend:Other_release BarData = bar:Duritz text:Adam Duritz bar:Bryson text:David Bryson bar:Vickrey text:Dan Vickrey bar:David text:David Immerglück bar:Malley text:Matt Malley bar:Powers text:Millard Powers bar:Gillingham text:Charlie Gillingham bar:Bowman text:Steve Bowman bar:Mize text:Ben Mize bar:Bogios text:Jim Bogios PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Bowman from:01/01/1991 till:10/01/1994 color:drums bar:Bowman from:01/01/1991 till:10/01/1994 color:bvocals width:3 bar:David from:01/01/1999 till:end color:aguitar bar:David from:01/01/1999 till:end color:bass width:7 bar:David from:01/01/2011 till:end color:banjo width:5 bar:David from:01/01/1999 till:end color:bvocals width:3 bar:David from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1999 color:session bar:Bryson from:01/01/1994 till:end color:rguitar bar:Bryson from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/1994 color:lguitar bar:Bryson from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/1994 color:lguitar bar:Bryson from:01/01/1991 till:end color:bvocals width:3 bar:Vickrey from:01/01/1994 till:end color:lguitar bar:Vickrey from:01/01/2002 till:end color:banjo width:7 bar:Vickrey from:01/01/1994 till:end color:bvocals width:3 bar:Duritz from:01/01/1991 till:end color:vocals bar:Duritz from:01/01/1991 till:end color:keys width:3 bar:Mize from:10/01/1994 till:10/01/2002 color:drums bar:Mize from:10/01/1994 till:10/01/2002 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Powers from:04/22/2005 till:end color:bass bar:Powers from:04/22/2005 till:end color:rguitar width:7 bar:Powers from:04/22/2005 till:end color:bvocals width:3 bar:Gillingham from:01/01/1991 till:end color:keys bar:Gillingham from:01/01/1996 till:end color:accor width:7 bar:Gillingham from:01/01/1991 till:end color:bvocals width:3 bar:Malley from:01/01/1991 till:04/21/2005 color:bass bar:Malley from:01/01/1991 till:04/21/2005 color:rguitar width:7 bar:Malley from:01/01/1991 till:04/21/2005 color:keys width:5 bar:Malley from:01/01/1991 till:04/21/2005 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Bogios from:10/01/2002 till:end color:drums bar:Bogios from:10/01/2002 till:end color:bvocals width:3 LineData = layer:back color:album at:09/14/1993 at:10/15/1996 at:11/02/1999 at:07/09/2002 at:03/25/2008 at:04/10/2012 at:09/02/2014 layer:back color:other at:07/13/1998 at:11/25/2003 at:06/19/2006 at:07/22/2008 at:11/27/2008 at:08/29/2011 at:04/08/2013 at:05/21/2021

Discography

;Studio albums *'' August and Everything After'' (1993) *'' Recovering the Satellites'' (1996) *'' This Desert Life'' (1999) *'' Hard Candy'' (2002) *''

'' (2008) *'' Underwater Sunshine (or What We Did on Our Summer Vacation)'' (2012) *'' Somewhere Under Wonderland'' (2014)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control APRA Award winners Capitol Records artists Cooking Vinyl artists Geffen Records artists Musical groups established in 1991 Alternative rock groups from California Musical groups from Berkeley, California American country rock groups American pop rock music groups 1991 establishments in California 1991 in San Francisco