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Sheryl Crow
may be available for your next special event!
Sheryl Crow's asymmetric and abrasive songwriting is not the stuff for lazy listeners. She tackles difficult
subjects head-on, wrapping the spare lyrics in angular melodies which stick in the mind.
 Crow arrived in Los Angeles from St. Louis in 1986
with $10,000 savings, having broken up with her boyfriend and
determined to be a musician. A classical music degree from University
of Missouri in Columbia in 1984 and singing with college band Kashmir provided the
credentials, but with her savings gone she branched out into session work.
 Sheryl Crow soon became one of the most
respected and sought-after support artists in Los Angeles, working with
Bob Dylan,
Eric Clapton,
Stevie Wonder,
Rod Stewart, George Harrison,
Don Henley,
John Hiatt,
Joe Cocker and
Sinead O'Connor.
Bette Midler and
Wynonna also recorded her songs.
It had taken Sheryl Crow more than five years
to achieve this status, pulling herself back from the brink of despair
and over-indulgence at the end of the eighties. This crisis in her
life was a consequence of her first big break, an 18-month stint
hacking around the world as a backing vocalist on Michael Jackson's Bad tour. Three nights a week Jackson, all leather and
buckles, stroked the thigh of Sheryl Crow, all leather and
lace, as they performed "I Just Can't Stop Loving You."
However, Crow's vocal ability impressed enough rock luminaries that
many doors were open to her when she eventually returned to L.A.
Unfortunately, all the doors led into rooms of
Jackson-style pop. Sheryl Crow was sufficiently strong-willed
to resist, even as the doors slammed shut, one after another, leaving
her isolated and at rock-bottom. After some six month's of retreat
(much of it spent in bed, lacking the will to get up) and a little
help, she ventured back into the session world.
Her own recording career has an unusual history. She
had already spent more than $250,000 recording a debut, only to decide
that it was far too polished and unrepresentative to be released. A&M
Records had signed her at the behest of Sting's producer Hugh Padgham after she had done some session work for him.
Padgham produced her first attempt, but although the relationship
worked at a personal level, it failed to ignite the musical spark they
sought.
Fortunately, the record company thought enough of
her talent that they agreed to stand by her and wait for the
replacement. The resulting "Tuesday Night Music
Club," recorded with many of the
musicians from the Toad Hall sessions, was something of a sleeper when
first issued in 1993. The album took almost a year to make an impact,
despite being plugged by a succession of marginally successful
singles, including "Run, Baby, Run" and "Leaving Las
Vegas" (US Top 50).
Believing that the album was sliding irrevocably
into the commercial shadow lands, Sheryl Crow was about to begin recording
its follow-up when A&M suggested releasing "All I Wanna
Do" on a "what do we have to lose?" basis. The track
subsequently became one of the major singles of 1994, reaching number
2 in the USA and number 4 in the UK, and pushing the album into
multi-platinum status. "All I Wanna Do" is a surprising
hit.
"Strong Enough" dealt with the strains
placed on relationships by PMS ("God, I feel like hell tonight
… / … Are you strong enough to be my man?"). Her earlier
experience of maneuvering around rock's casting couches inspired
"What Can I Do For You" and "The Na-Na Song."
In November 1994, Crow duetted with Mick Jagger on "Under My Thumb" as
The
Stones played to 65,000 in Miami. The same year she had been one of only two female acts to appear at Woodstock II, in front of 300,000. In 1995, she opened for
The Eagles at their massive comeback concerts, as well as touring extensively
both on her own account and with
Joe Cocker.
Finding time to record a follow-up to "Tuesday Night Music
Club" proved difficult, but a new album
was released at the end of 1996. Retaining just enough of the
spontaneity, courage and flair of its predecessor, Sheryl Crow
won a GRAMMY for Best Rock Album at the February 1997 awards.
Hit songs include --
- All I Wanna Do
- Soak Up the Sun
- The First Cut Is the Deepest
- Always On Your Side
- Everyday Is a Winding Road
- If It Makes You Happy
- Good Is Good
- Strong Enough
- A Change Would Do You Good
- Anything But Down
- Leaving Las Vegas
- Can't Cry Anymore
- Light in Your Eyes
- Steve McQueen
- Love Is Free
- D'Yer Mak'er
- C'mon, C'mon
- No Depression In Heaven
- Real Gone
Sheryl Crow may be available for your next special event!
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Genre: Rock 1
Styles:
.American Trad Rock. / AmericanTradRock
.Adult Alternative Pop/Rock. / AdultAlternativePopRock
.Pop/Rock. / PopRock
.Contemporary Pop/Rock. / ContemporaryPopRock
.Contemporary Singer/Songwriter. / ContemporarySingerSongwriter
.Pop. / xPop
.Acoustic Guitar. / AcousticGuitar
Years active:
x90s, x00s, x10s
Born: ..in Missouri / born nMissouri
Born: ..in Kennett / born KennettMO
Born: Feb 11, 1962
Raised: ..in Missouri
Raised: ..in Kennett
Based: ..in US
Based: ..in Tennessee / based nTennessee
Based: ..in
Nashville / based NashvilleTN
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