"1492" is the first song on Counting Crows' 2008 album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings. Adam Duritz announced in a voicemail message to his fans on January 12, 2008, that this song would be released as part of a digital 45 release to precede the release of Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, with "When I Dream of Michelangelo" to be featured as its B-side. It is, however, not the lead commercial single, as "You Can't Count On Me" was released as the lead airplay/video single on February 4, 2008. The digital single was made available for download on their official website on January 16, 2008.