Studio Album · No. 1
Songs About Jane Songwriting Credits by Maroon 5
Produced by Matt Wallace · Engineered by Mike Landolt, Matt Wallace, Michael Barbiero, Mark Endert, Leon Zervos
Holds writing credit on 12 of 12 tracks
Authorship Breakdown 12 / 12 documented
Scored across the 12 tracks with documented writers, by whether Maroon 5 carries a lyricist or composer credit.
Share of the 12 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
By the Numbers
Awards & Recognition 1
Songs About Jane is the most band-written record in Maroon 5's catalog. Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael wrote most of the album about Levine's former girlfriend Jane Herman, with James Valentine co-writing "She Will Be Loved," Ryan Dusick co-writing "Not Coming Home," and Levine writing "The Sun" and "Tangled" alone. Production came from Matt Wallace and Mark Endert rather than a roster of outside pop writers, so the songwriting stayed almost entirely within the band. That self-contained authorship sets the debut apart from the producer-driven albums that followed.
Songs About Jane is Maroon 5's debut studio album, released June 25, 2002 on Octone Records, and recorded at Rumbo Recorders in Los Angeles. Produced by Matt Wallace, the album is a tightly wound blend of funk-rock, R&B, and soul with almost entirely band-written material, nearly every track co-written by Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael, with James Valentine contributing to 'She Will Be Loved.' The album initially sold modestly but became a slow-burn phenomenon, spending 26 weeks on the Billboard 200 over three years and eventually going certified multi-platinum in a dozen countries. Its five singles, 'Harder to Breathe,' 'This Love,' 'She Will Be Loved,' 'Sunday Morning,' and 'Must Get Out', established Levine as a distinctive vocalist and the band as one of the rare guitar-driven acts capable of crossing into R&B radio. Songs About Jane remains the definitive Maroon 5 statement: an album where every song was written and performed by the same five people, a standard the band would never quite match again.