Happy Birthday to Multi-Platinum American Recording Artist Adam Duritz
Photographs by Corinne D. Sullivan
Lunchtime rolls around. I am in Kansas City this week, and I visit the now world-famous Billie’s Grocery at their Gillham Plaza location. I did it even though sugar toxicology confirms end-of-visit blood levels to chronically be at or above 3.0 ug/mL. Cakes of every size, cookies of every kind, and splashes everywhere of unique deserts I didn’t even know existed. Plus, they offer a very unique and fully organic menu of nutritional meals.
Nibbling at a perfected Pavlova, I eye each placed berry and myrtle leaf, before popping it. It’s the likes of which no one fully understands how damned good it is, and I’m on my way already scrolling through social media. I have to go quick to make it to Jefferson City by nightfall.
Lo! Today! It is the lawful birthday of Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz. He’s the best songwriter to enjoy, particularly during today’s windy and windy drive. To cherish Duritz’ work on this birthday even more than I have already, I’m putting another one of his albums into the CD player for the drive.
My best friend swears he is in love with the Duritz charisma. When he introduced me to Counting Crows in the mid 90’s, he said something like, “It’s really good,” and that was all it took. Of course, after hearing August and Everything After my perspective was different. Now, I have listened to everything ever written and recorded by Adam Duritz many times, and own all the Counting Crows albums on CD. I don’t subscribe to Spotify, Apple Music or Amazon Music. Streaming be damned, tells me. So, as I sift through the plastic cases, back in the car, I have no more inclination to pick a favorite song written and recorded by birthday boy Adam Duritz, than I need to tell you what color underwear I am wearing right now.
I’m probably the only one who will admit this publicly: Counting Crows is to folk songwriters of the 1960’s as the Seattle grunge movement is to classic rock’n’roll music from the same era.
In the 1990’s, the term used on them golden musicmen was “alternative,” but (damn!) the genre devised by Counting Crows and the ilk who followed upon the band’s diresome steps, certainly desires a penned name all for their own now, don’t you think!
Between 2019 and 2022, I stole an amazing opportunity to work alongside Woodstock-era platinum-recording artist Melanie. She and I took on the big test: can there be a voice amongst the crowds of underpaid and ill-fought music makers in support of their own human rights? Music seems to be the most powerful voice in support of human rights for everyone else. Why not offer protection of the human rights of the songwriters themselves?
And in the hopes that, yes, there just might be fair treatment made possible for the artists in music, alongside the multitude of protections in place for financial interests, I launched The Article 27 Music Rights Project. And in that spirit, fuck you! Just kidding. In that spirit, happy birthday to one of the best songwriters to step upon the Earth these days, Mr. Adam Duritz.
