MEMORABLE MONDAYS: Sheryl Crow

 All you want to do is have some fun, but sometimes that gets rough. You need some theme songs. So you definitely should be calling Sheryl Crow. She has alwas been somewhere in between acoustic and southern, on the rocky side but never too hard. She has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. With those kind of accolades, don't you want to know more? 

Sheryl Crow was born February 12th, 1962 in Kennett, Missouri. Her mother taught piano and her father did law. Her great-grandfather was congressman Charles A. Crow. She also has 3 other siblings, 2 sisters and a brother. 

While at Kennett High School, Crow was actually more of an athlete. She was a majorette and also an all-state track athlete. She join pep club, the National Honor Society, and the National FFA Organization. She also was crowned the Paperdoll Queen in a beauty contest in her senior year. She was nothing to scoff at academically. 

She enrolled at the University of Missouri in Columbia, and in 1984 she obtained a Bachelor's of Education degree in Music Education. She sang in local band Cashmere while going to school, and was in the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She was also in Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity for Women, and the Omicron Delta Kappa Society. Where did she find time for all this?

After graduating, she worked as a music teacher at Kellison Elementary School in Fenton, Missouri. Teaching during the day allowing her to sing in bands on the weekends. She was later introduced to local musician and producer Jay Oliver. His studio resided in the basement of his parents' home in St. Louis. He had her singing jingles for commercials. She had said in another interview later the McDonald's jingle made her $40,000 alone. 

She then became a backing vocalist for Michael Jackson on his Bad tour 1987-1989. She would also record background vocals for Stevie Wonder, Belinda Carlisle, Jimmy Buffett, Kevin Gilbert, and Don Henley. She also did backing vocals on "Smoke of the Revolution", a song by Neal Schon. These background vocalist and ad jingle gigs led to her being a singer for songs on movie soundtracks like "Welcome to the Real Life" in Stone Cold.

In 1992, Crow attempted to record her first debut solo album with regular Sting producer Hugh Padgham. It was due to release in September that year, but her and the label mutually agreed it was not going to be released. Crow felt it was too produced. A handful of cassette copies leaked, along with press folders for the album. It has been widely dispersed via file sharing and fan trading. In the mean time, Crow's songs were recorded by other artists like Celine Dion, Tina Turner, and Wynonna Judd.

In 1993, Crow began dating Kevin Gilbert and joined him in a group of musicians known as the "Tuesday Music Club". It was a casual songwriting collective prior to association with Crow, but developed into a vehicle for her debut album. Gilbert, David Baerwald, David Ricketts, Bill Bottrell, Brian MacLeod, and Dan Schwartz all share writing credit on what became "Tuesday Night Music Club". It led to the dissolving of her and Gilbert as they argued about songwriting credits. The album was slow to get attention until "All I Wanna Do" became an unexpected hit in late 1994. It went on to sell more then 7 million copies and won Crow 3 grammies in 1995. 

Crow's second album, released in 1996, was done a bit differently than the first. She produced the album herself and played a variety of the instruments. "If It Makes You Happy" became a radio success She obtained 2 more grammies for this album. The album ended up getting banned from Walmart due to "Love is a Good Thing" having the lyric that claimed Walmart sold guns to children. In 1997, Crow contributed "Tomorrow Never Dies" to the James Bond film.

In 1998, Crow contributed to the debut solo album of Scott Weiland, "12 Bar Blues". She also released her third studio album, "The Globe Sessions". During this time Crow said she has struggled with depression. There was rumors she had an affair with Eric Clapton. "My Favorite Mistake" was rumored to be about this, but Crow denies it. She went on to refuse to say who the song was about, as she is very private about her relationships. Despite the difficulties, she still sees the song as one of her favorite singles she released, and the album won a grammy as well.

In 1999, Crow made her acting debut as an ill-fated drifter in The Minus Man, which starred then boyfriend Owen Wilson as a serial killer. She sang backup vocals on the Prince song "Baby Knows". She released her first live album "Sheryl Crow and Friends: Live from Central Park". It features guests incluing Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Nicks, The *Dixie* Chicks, Keith Richards, and Eric Clapton. 

Crow has involved herself with the Scleroderma Foundation since the 90s, and in 2002 she lost friend Kent Sexton to it. She interrupted her new album sessions to record "Be Still My Soul" to be played at his funeral. 

She released her next album, "C'mon C'mon" in 2002, spawning radio hit Soak Up the Sun. It won her yet another Grammy. She really is an critics award darling! 

In 2003 she spent more time recording some movie soundtrack songs, and provided some vocals to Michelle Branch "Love Me Like That" for her sophomore release Hotel Paper. She also created a political stir, vocally not supporting the invasion of Iraq. She then released her greatest hits album, which includes a cover of Cat Stevens "The First Cut is the Deepest" which got her the biggest hit she'd had since All I Wanna Do. 

In 2005, Wildflowers was released to mixed critical reception and struggled to gain traction. It seemed her moment may have fallen off. Which is a shame, I do personally think it's a solid release. During this time she also provided song "Real Gone" to the Cars movie soundtrack. 

In 2006, Crow was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. Her prognosis was good according to doctors. She went on to continue performing. 

2008 marked Crow's musical return with "Detours". It performed better than Wildflowers, and she launched a small tour to support it. "Love is Free" was well received by radio. During this time she also launched a jeans brand, Bootheel Trading Company.

In 2010, Crow released "100 Miles from Memphis", which was favorably received but did not strike it big with the radio crowd. It was a bit of a change, opting for a Memphis soul style mixed with some of the bluesier styles of her other works. 

Crow became part of the 30 Songs/30 Days campaign to support "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" in 2012. She also released an original song called "Woman in thw White House", defending the idea of a woman president. 

2011 marked the separation of Crow and A&M records, and this led to her going along with Brad Paisley's advice. 2013 marked the beginnings of her first country album. She signed with Warner Music Nashville and released single "Easy". It led to the release of "Feels Like Home", and debuted at number 7 on the Billboard charts. 

She opened for George Strait in 2014, and she made an appearance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to tribute Linda Ronstadt. She also did joined Rascal Flatts on their Rewind Tour. She participated in the celebration benefit of the 40th anniversary of Austin City Limits. 

Crow released "Be Myself" in 2017, marking a return of Jeff Trott who hadn't been featured on an album since 1998. It was a return to the style of her 90s work, and shifts away from the country style she had her previous album. She stated her dislike of the way country radio works for promotion of their artists. 

In 2019, she released Threads, a mostly collaborative album of some of her favorite friends. She considered Threads her final release, feeling like she could not follow up such a gathering of artists as this. It was also revealed she was one of the artists who lost material in the 2008 Universal Fire. In 2022, she revealed they had found them in a different area and they did not end up lost. 

Despite feeling Threads would be her last release, Crow announced her new studio album "Evolution" ahead of her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It is scheduled for release March 29th, 2024. 

With a career this lauded with lots of material to choose from, it is never too late to dive into this songstress. I will always highly recommend her self-titled release since I played it so heavily I ruined the CD as a child. There are lots of highs in her career catalog, so do not hesitate to dive in!