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Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February
11, 1962) is an American blues rock singer, guitarist, bassist, and
songwriter. Her music blends country, pop, folk, and blues rock into one
mainstream sound, and she has won nine Grammy Awards. Crow is also a noted
political activist.
While studying at Kennett High School in Kennett, Missouri, Sheryl was a
cheerleader and majorette. She was an All-State track althlete, medalling
in the 75 low hurdles. She also joined the Pep Club, the National Honor
Society, Future Farmers of America, Freshman Maid, Senior Maid and
Paperdoll Queen. She then enrolled at the University of Missouri in
Columbia, Missouri, and received a B.A degree in Music Composition,
Performance and Education. While in college, Sheryl sang in the local band
Cashmere. She was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta social sorority and
Sigma Alpha Iota, a women's music fraternity. Later, Sheryl was awarded an
honorary doctorate from the Southeast Missouri State University in Cape
Girardeau, Missouri.
Music career
Crow graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in Education.
She was a member of the school's Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and is also a
member of Sigma Alpha Iota, a women's music fraternity. After graduation,
she worked as a elementary school music teacher at Kellison in Fenton,
Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Teaching during the day allowed her the
opportunity to sing in bands on the weekends.
She was introduced to local musician and producer Jay Oliver. He had a
thriving studio in the basement of his parents' home in St. Louis and
helped her by using her in advertising jingles. Her first jingle was a
back-to-school spot for the St. Louis department store Famous-Barr.
McDonald's and Toyota commercial jingles soon followed. She was recently
quoted in a 60 Minutes segment as saying she made $50,000 on her
McDonald's commercial alone.
She toured with Michael Jackson during the BAD world tour in 1987-1989 and
sang with him during the performance of "I Just Can't Stop Loving You".
Unreleased debut album
In 1992, Crow recorded her first attempt at her debut album with Phil
Collins' producer, Hugh Padgham. The self-titled debut album was slated to
be released on September 22, 1992, but was ultimately rejected by her
label. However, a handful of cassette copies of the album were leaked
along with press folders to be used for album publicity. This album has
been widely dispersed via file sharing networks and fan trading over the
years.
Her then-boyfriend Kevin Gilbert invited her to tour with him as part of
his band, Toy Matinee.
Tuesday Night Music Club
Gilbert invited Crow to a weekly jam session with many of his friends who
called themselves the "Tuesday Music Collective". Eventually, the members
agreed to help her come up with new material which resulted in her second
attempt at a debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club. She appeared in the
"New Faces" section of Rolling Stone in 1993. The album featured many of
the songs written by Crow's friends, including the second single, "Leaving
Las Vegas". The album was slow to garner attention, until "All I Wanna Do"
became an unexpected smash hit in the spring of 1994. As she later stated
in People, she found an old poetry book in a used book store in the L.A.
area and used a poem as lyrics in the song. To their credit, she and
then-collaborator Bill Bottrell tracked down the author, Wyn Cooper, and
he ended up being paid royalties on the song. The singles "Strong Enough"
and "Can't Cry Anymore" were also released, with the former charting in
the Top Ten and the latter hitting the Top 40. Crow received several
Grammy awards in 1994: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "All I Wanna
Do"; Record of the Year for "All I Wanna Do"; and Best New Artist.
Sheryl Crow (eponymous second album)
In 1996, Crow released her self titled second album, which earned her the
cover of Rolling Stone. The album was darker and grittier and far more
political, with songs about abortion, homelessness and nuclear war. The
debut single, "If It Makes You Happy", became a radio hit, and netted her
two Grammy awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Rock
Album. Other singles included "A Change Would Do You Good", "Home" and
"Everyday is a Winding Road". Crow produced the album herself. The album
was banned from sale at Wal-Mart; in "Love Is A Good Thing," Crow suggests
that guns sold by Wal-Mart too easily fall into the hands of children.
In 1997, Crow contributed the theme song to the James Bond film, Tomorrow
Never Dies. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award.
The Globe Sessions, acting, and Live from Central Park
In 1998 Crow released The Globe Sessions. During this period, she
discussed in interviews having gone through a deep depression, and there
was speculation about a brief affair with Eric Clapton. The debut single
from this album, "My Favorite Mistake", was rumored to be about him,
although Crow claims otherwise. The album won Best Rock Album at the 1998
Grammy Awards. It was re-released in 1999, with a bonus track, Crow's
cover of the Guns N' Roses song "Sweet Child o' Mine", which was included
on the soundtrack of the film Big Daddy. This song won the 1999 Grammy for
Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Other singles included "There Goes the
Neighborhood", "Anything But Down" and "The Difficult Kind".
Later in 1998, Crow took part in a live concert in tribute to Burt
Bacharach, in which she contributed vocals on One Less Bell To Answer,
while wearing a full-length black formal dress.
In 1999, Crow also made her acting debut as an ill-fated drifter in the
suspense/drama The Minus Man, which starred her then-boyfriend Owen Wilson
as a serial killer. Shortly thereafter, she sported an unexpected short
hairstyle.
She also released a live album called Sheryl Crow and Friends: Live From
Central Park. The record featured Crow singing many of her hit singles
with new musical spins and guest appearances by many other musicians
including Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Nicks, the Dixie Chicks, and Clapton.
"There Goes the Neighborhood" was included in the album, eventually
winning the Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Crow also
appeared on Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons,
duetting with Emmylou Harris on the Parsons' song, "Juanita".
C'mon, C'mon, Picture, and Be Still My Soul
Crow had been involved with the Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF)
since the late 1990s, performing at fund raisers and befriending Sharon
Monsky. In 2002, as a result of her friend Kent Sexton dying from
scleroderma, she interrupted work on her new album to record the
traditional hymn "Be Still My Soul", to be played at his funeral. In
November of that year it was released as a single, with the proceeds going
to SRF.
Crow opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, wearing a shirt that read "I don't
believe in your war, Mr. Bush!" during a performance on Good Morning
America and posting an open letter explaining her opposition on her
website.
Crow duetted with rapper Kid Rock on the crossover hit single "Picture".
There was speculation about a brief affair with Kid Rock.
The Very Best of Sheryl Crow and De-Lovely
In 2003, Crow released a greatest hits compilation called The Very Best of
Sheryl Crow. It featured many of her hit singles, as well as some new
tracks. Among them was the ballad "The First Cut is the Deepest"
(originally a Cat Stevens song), which became her biggest radio hit since
"All I Wanna Do". She also released the single "Light In Your Eyes", which
received limited airplay. "The First Cut is the Deepest" earned her two
American Music Awards for Best Pop/Rock Artist and Adult Contemporary
Artist of the Year, respectively.
In 2004, Crow appeared as a musical theater performer in the Cole Porter
biopic De-Lovely.
Wildflower and cancer diagnosis
Her album Wildflower was released in September 2005. Although the album
debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts, it received mixed reviews and was
not as commercially successful as her previous albums. In December 2005,
the album was nominated for a Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy, while Crow was
nominated for a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy for the first
single "Good Is Good". The album got a new boost in 2006 when the second
single was announced as "Always on Your Side", re-recorded with British
musician Sting and sent off to radio, where it was quickly embraced at
Adult Top 40. The collaboration with Sting resulted in a Grammy-nomination
for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.
Crow was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in late February 2006.
Her doctors have stated that "prognosis for a full recovery is excellent."
Crow's first concert since her cancer diagnosis was on May 18 in Orlando,
Florida where she played to over 10,000 Information Technology
professionals at the SAP Sapphire Convention. Her first public appearance
was on June 12, when she performed at the Murat Theater in Indianapolis,
Indiana.
The singer also appeared on Larry King Live on CNN on August 23, 2006. In
this show she talked about her comeback, her breakup with Lance Armstrong,
her past job as Michael Jackson's backup singer, and her experience as a
cancer survivor.
Crow also wrote a foreword for the book Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips, author
Kris Carr's book that was based on her 2007 documentary film Crazy Sexy
Cancer.
Detours
Sheryl Crow will return February 5, 2008 with her next A&M/Interscope
album, Detours. The first single, Shine Over Babylon is at iTunes now.
Crow told Billboard.com this summer that the song "is very environmentally
conscious, in the tradition of Bob Dylan."
"I'm really encouraging artists to write about what's going on, because we
seem to be very distracted by some lightweight topics," she said. "I think
it's time to start writing about the reality of what's around us."
In additional comments on her Web site, Crow describes the single as "an
every way a desperate cry for understanding. Perhaps it is even a battle
song in the face of fear."
Detours was recorded at Crow's Nashville farm and will feature "14 or 15"
of the 24 songs put to tape. The artist's baby son, Wyatt, makes an
appearance on the song "Lullaby for Wyatt," which will be featured in the
upcoming movie "Grace Is Gone."
"The songs are very inspired by the last three years of events in my
life," Crow said of a time that found her battling breast cancer and
splitting with partner Lance Armstrong.
It has been announced that Shine Over Babylon will be the lead single
taken from the upcoming "Detours" album and the music video for the single
was released on the Sheryl Crow website and can be seen on the popular
video site Youtube. The music video is a clever video consisting of
newpaper articles and headlines of recent and current affairs that are
affecting the world today.
Her brand new album will include her cover of Buddy Holly's classic Not
fade away and it will be the first time that it will be available on an
album release
Recent activity
On the red carpet at the 2006 CMA Awards, Crow reported that she was
working on a country music album. According to Entertainment Weekly,
Wildflower, at one point was to be followed, in about six months, by a
"pop record." According to Crow, Wildflower was the "art record," which
she felt she had earned the right to make, following the success of The
Very Best of Sheryl Crow.
At the 2006 CMA Awards, Crow performed the songs "What You Give Away" with
Vince Gill, and "Building Bridges" with Brooks & Dunn and Vince Gill.
Crow is due to appear in a series of magazine advertisements in February
for Revlon. In this, she uses the Buddy Holly classic "Not Fade Away" to
sell the cosmetics of her sponsor. The iTunes page states that net
proceeds will benefit breast cancer research.
Adoption
On May 12, 2007, Crow announced on her official website that she had
adopted a two-week-old boy named Wyatt Steven. The child was born on April
29, 2007. |
