Sheryl Crow - Seventies-flavored rock'n'roll

An ordinary life, light years away from rockstar excess: Sheryl Crow's climb to success is about as classic and traditional as it gets. And this "traditionalism" can also be found in her rock sound, all energy and sweat, thanks to which she was hailed early on as the female answer to Bruce Springsteen.

Born in 1962 in Kennett, in the southeastern corner of Missouri, Sheryl Suzanne Crow breathed music from childhood. Her mother Bernice was a piano teacher who sang in the town's big band, while her father Wendell Wyatt was a lawyer and jazz trumpeter. Her two sisters, Kathy and Karen, were both singers too, one country and the other jazz, and growing up in such an environment it was only natural that young Sheryl - a onetime promising track-and-field athlete - would eventually turn to music herself. But not the kind her family played for her: she fell in love with classic rock, counting Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan among her favorite artists. Every day she listened to "rebel music", and before long she too began to feel restless and out of place in "that little God-forsaken town", as she has often called it. So, after graduating from the University of Missouri with a degree in music education, and tired of teaching at Kellison Elementary School, in 1984 she ran away from home at age 22, bound for St. Louis. Singing in small clubs, she saved up $10,000, and in 1986, with that sum and a suitcase full of dreams, she moved to Los Angeles.

Two lean years followed, and then came the moment that, for better or worse, would change her life: she passed an audition with flying colors to become a backup singer on Michael Jackson's "Bad Tour", through which she got her first real taste of the record business (she would also be hired occasionally by Stevie Wonder and Belinda Carlisle). Thus began a long, frustrating apprenticeship, full of sacrifices that might have left her exactly where she started - anonymous and unfulfilled. But alongside Mr. Jackson, Crow also met many illustrious artists: Don Henley of the Eagles, Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart and her idol Bob Dylan. She pushed on and held firm, and Dylan even invited her to his birthday celebration concert at Madison Square Garden in 1993, before her debut album had even come out. And when it finally did, he asked Sheryl to open for him on his 1994 tour. Dylan told her: "I've been singing for thirty years, long enough to recognize talent in others. You really have something." And he was right.

The lost album from the day before

There had, in fact, already been an earlier attempt at a first album: Sheryl Crow, originally recorded in 1991 and scheduled for release as her debut on September 22, 1992. But it never came out, and more than three decades later it is still considered "unreleased", even though countless bootleg copies have circulated among fans over the years, multiplying exponentially after the singer's global success took off. At first, A&M Records had distributed a handful of promotional cassette copies, only to later back away for a number of reasons. Sheryl Crow, not to be confused with her later self-titled LP released in 1996, was in fact produced by Hugh Padgham, who in the mid-Eighties had been behind records by Sting, Genesis and Phil Collins as a solo artist. That kind of glossy, reverb-and-synth-heavy sound didn't suit the talented songwriter's vision at all, and by mutual agreement with the label the project was scrapped. The bootlegs that have surfaced, in fact, reveal material of fairly modest interest, light years away from the genre-blending mix that would later make the singer's fortune; she co-wrote all twelve songs here, some of which were later given away to or covered by other artists: "Father's Son" (also known as "Father Sun", its lyrics dealing with sun worship) was re-recorded in 1993 by fellow Kentucky native Wynonna Judd, "Love You Blind" found greater fame in Celine Dion's version, "All Kinds Of People" was instead reinterpreted in 1996 both by Tina Turner - it can be heard on her LP "Wildest Dreams", ed. - and by Texan singer Susan Ashton, who also borrowed "Hundred Of Tears" from this same shelved Sheryl debut. Other songs survived as film soundtrack cuts: for instance "Welcome To The Real Life", also part of these sessions before being dropped, ended up in the soundtrack of the 1991 action film "Stone Cold", directed by Brian Bosworth, while the aforementioned "Hundreds Of Tears" appears in Kathryn Bigelow's thriller "Point Break" (it still sounds a bit raw as a power ballad, but it works in context). Worth mentioning too are "Indian Summer", "I Will Walk With You" (which adds a gospel touch) and "What Does It Matter" (featuring backing vocals from her friend Don Henley), along with the less striking "The Last Time" and "Near Me", which close out an unfinished project. And perhaps it's for the best that things turned out this way, because just a few months later she tried again, and everything changed dramatically.

1994-1999: the Tuesday night gatherings and the rise to success

Her true debut album came out in November 1993 under the title Tuesday Night Music Club: Ms. Crow simply sings rock, and sings it with heart, proving herself the perfect embodiment of a way of making music that escapes old classist rules, ranging from classic rock to pop, from soul to the singer-songwriter tradition. A record that, if you like, lacks originality but is rich in a very human variety of emotions, memories, feelings, atmospheres, vibrations. Old-school rock meant to be savored slowly rather than consumed quickly, and indeed initial success was minimal. The chosen title is no accident: it refers to a collective of musicians, known by that very name, which included her then-boyfriend Kevin Gilbert, a professional with notable behind-the-scenes credits in the pop world, including producing Madonna's "I'm Breathless" and assisting in the studio on Michael Jackson's "Dangerous". Gilbert pushed her to join the group and sing on some sessions; alongside them were David Baerwald and David Ricketts (both former members of the rock duo David & David), Dan Schwartz, Brian McLeod and Bill Bottrell, who all gathered together, true to the name, every Tuesday evening at the latter's own studio in Pasadena, California, to drink a few beers and play music, sharing songwriting credit on the album with Sheryl. Not everything went smoothly, though: after the long-awaited record deal was signed, her relationship with Gilbert suddenly turned stormy, over disputes about royalties and the use of the material, and on top of that the album struggled to attract the attention they had hoped for.

Only in mid-1994, thanks to the poignant autobiographical ballad "Run Baby Run" and the delightful country-pop of "All I Wanna Do", did sales take off, reaching nearly 10 million copies in total by 1995. That same year the album also won three Grammys, for Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Record Of The Year. An old-school brand of rock whose strengths and weaknesses Sheryl still embodies to this day. While the debut, with its touching nods to the Beatles, the Stones, Janis Joplin, Dylan, Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Patti Smith, stands as a "classic" of the Nineties singer-songwriter scene, this same unadorned, singable, direct and immediate simplicity was not always fully recaptured on later records.

For her second, self-titled record, Crow drew inspiration from a Sixties country artist, Bobbie Gentry, famous for her one hit "Ode To Billie Joe". The 1996 Sheryl Crow built a bridge between Sixties country sounds and, more broadly, an all-acoustic brand of rock, but it was also the result of a kind of compositional anxiety that set in after the massive success of her debut - much like what more recently happened to Lauryn Hill. In short, the pressure to write more mega-hits ended up shaping, in some way, the rest of her career. With "Love Is A Good Thing", however, Crow also tackled social issues such as gun violence against children (because of this track, many American record stores at the time refused to even display the album). The record - essentially straightforward but lacking any major creative drive - still sold very well, and the first single "If It Makes You Happy" was a massive hit that year.

Having quickly risen to the status of rock's new star, helped also by her radiant, captivating beauty (which did not escape the notice of Eric Clapton, with whom Sheryl was romantically involved for a time), she became, alongside Alanis Morissette, a flag-bearer for women in rock throughout the Nineties.

In 1997 she recorded "Tomorrow Never Dies" for the soundtrack of the identically-titled Bond installment, and in 1998 she released her third album, The Globe Session, in which she drew on all her previous experience, enriching the songs' textures with new elements while never losing her sense of melody or her gift for storytelling. Along with her debut, it stands as Crow's finest work. The album reveals a wide range of influences, from the Stones to Lynyrd Skynyrd, from Morricone to the Black Crowes, and even the Guns N' Roses (via her cover of "Sweet Child O'Mine"). Everything, though, is blended into songs held together by a typically feminine "emotional" architecture, much like the stories themselves, told in simple yet richly textured language. Her mentor Dylan lends a hand with the classic blues of "Mississippi", written specifically for her. And Crow evidently repaid the favor by performing "Tombstone Blues" live, later included on her 1999 Live From Central Park.

In 2002 the Missouri singer-songwriter returned with a new record bearing the exhortative title C'mon C'mon, which, despite the misleading impression given by its first single "Soak Up The Sun" - delightful but a bit too lightweight - hides far more interesting moments. The record is enhanced by the acoustic ballad "Weather Channel", featuring an uncredited appearance by Emmylou Harris, and by another duet with Henley, "It's So Easy". Once again, nothing new or original here. Just pure, energetic, healthy rock.

Personal and artistic crisis, between health problems and attempts at rebirth

Three years later, in the midst of her love affair with cyclist Lance Armstrong, Sheryl Crow released the flimsy Wildflower. While the opening country-rock of "I Know Why" might have offered some hope, what follows is a cold shower: "Perfect Lie" drowns in the mawkiest of strings, "Good Is Good" is bland pop-folk, there's the intimate ballad "Chances Are", spoiled by an intrusion of faux-Latin flavoring, and the ultra-glossy "I Don't Wanna Know". Perhaps only the title track stays afloat, buoyed by a lovely acoustic arrangement and a pointed performance from Crow.

Despite her haul of 9 Grammy Awards, Sheryl Crow's career seemed headed for a swift and premature decline, until "Always On Your Side" was reworked into a thrilling new version alongside Sting. Released as a single in 2006, the track helped revive Wildflower's fortunes, pushing it back up the charts: sales approached a million copies and the duet quickly became a radio staple, earning a nomination at the 49th Grammy Awards for "Best Collaboration With Vocals". Additionally, the song "Real Gone", from the same period, was included in the soundtrack of the animated film "Cars", co-produced by Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures, and the buzz inevitably gave a further boost to the singer's rising appeal.

Having barely got back on her feet, though, in February 2006 Sheryl Crow found herself facing an extremely delicate moment: first she and Lance Armstrong, who had been going through a rough patch for some time, jointly announced to the press the end of their relationship, then she was diagnosed with breast cancer, fortunately still at an early stage. Doctors stated that "the prognosis for a full recovery is excellent", and the situation resolved for the best through surgery and roughly three months of radiation therapy, after which she immediately returned to the stage, performing in Orlando and at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis.

Meanwhile, "Try Not To Remember" was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song for the drama "Home Of The Brave", directed by Irwin Winkler (the story of four soldiers deployed to Iraq), and in 2007 her cover of the Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun" contributed to the soundtrack of another animated film, DreamWorks' "Bee Movie".

After lending backing vocals to Ryan Adams' "Two", found on the Jacksonville artist's album "Easy Tiger", in 2008 she released Detours, recorded at her own farm near Nashville with the help of producer Bill Bottrell and drummer Brian McLeod, with whom she had already worked on Tuesday Night Music Club and the follow-up, the eponymous Sheryl Crow. The sound thus reconnects with the roots rock of her early days, while the lyrics delve into the personal events that had recently shaken her private life, such as her battle with breast cancer (the prayer-like "Make It Go Away/Radiation Song"), her broken engagement (the title track "Detours" and "Diamond Ring", which take some jabs at ex-boyfriend Armstrong), single motherhood and adoption (the acoustic lullaby "Lullaby For Wyatt", dedicated to her son). There's no shortage, though, of forays into current politics and the wider world: the opening track "God Bless This Mess" is a lo-fi critique of how the Bush administration handled the aftermath of 9/11, "Gasoline" (featuring Ben Harper) and the promotional single "Shine Over Babylon" lament the perilous environmental situation the planet is dangerously drifting into, while "Love Is Free" (lighthearted on the surface, but with a distinctly bitter aftertaste) dwells on the devastation wrought on New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. The party song "Out Of Our Heads" (with backing vocals from her friend, actress Rosanna Arquette) is actually a protest song against the Iraq War, which "Peace Above Us" (a collaboration with Mike Elizondo and Bahraini musician Ahmed Al Hirmi) tries to exorcise through verses in Arabic and Middle Eastern-tinged atmospheres, without moralizing but with the sole intent of forging a connection with peoples closer to us than they might seem. Finally, there are three lighter tracks, "Motivation" and the sentimental "Love Is All There Is" and "Now That You're Gone", closing out an LP that can overall be described as "measured", one that, rather than sinking into a possible emotional collapse for the artist, instead sets off again intelligently on hopeful signs of renewal.

In 2008 she recorded "So Glad We Made It" for the compilation "AT&T Team USA Soundtrack", created together with other American colleagues ahead of the Beijing Summer Olympics (also featured were, among others, Taylor Swift, Queen Latifah, Goo Goo Dolls and rapper Nelly), then in November of that same year Home For Christmas hit store shelves, a harmless, vintage-toned holiday divertissement perfect for wrapping up and placing under the tree. Amid double basses, horns and swing orchestration, the singer indulges in pleasant reinterpretations of traditional classics (such as the Welsh folk song "All Through The Night", "O Holy Night" and the gospel "Go Tell It To The Mountain") and of 1940s standards (the immortal "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin, and "I'll Be Home For Christmas"), but there's also room for the waltz "The Bells Of St. Mary" by the duo Emmett Adams/Douglas Furber, and for an evocative, entirely self-penned new piano piece, "There Is A Star That Shines Tonight". In November 2009, meanwhile, her debut album Tuesday Night Music Club was reissued in a deluxe edition, adding several rarities and B-sides compared to the standard edition (a single was also drawn from the draft of "Killer Life", which had been written back in 1994 but had remained unfinished in a drawer).

The 2010s: coming home, via Nashville

In 2010 she contributed the spoken-word piece "My Name Is Mwamaroyi" to the Raise Hope For Congo project, whose proceeds go toward the protection and empowerment of women in the central African country, itself torn apart by war in those days, then in July of that same year came 100 Miles Away From Memphis, which set aside her usual country-pop style to embrace sounds inspired by the rhythm & blues and soul of Memphis, her true passions. Produced by Doyle Bramhall II and Justin Stanley, known respectively for their work with Eric Clapton and Amy Winehouse, the album contains eleven tracks that lean on groove and aim to showcase her vocal versatility, but the results are not outstanding: setting aside the Christmas collection and the greatest hits compilation, it would be her first LP to receive no Grammy nominations whatsoever. Despite this, there are still some standouts: the punchy opening rocker "Our Love Is Fading", the cheerful lead single "Summer Day", enhanced by Suzie Katayama's strings, "Long Road Home", with its pleasant gospel inflections, and "Eye To Eye", which plays on reggae cadences (with Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones standing out on guitar). Also worthwhile are the warm, seductive jazzy "Roses And Moonlight" and the melancholy ballads "Stop" and "Sideways", the latter a duet with Citizen Cope. Less convincing, however, are the cover of Terence Trent D'Arby's "Sign Your Name", frankly forgettable despite the high-profile guest appearance by Justin Timberlake, and that of "I Want You Back" (with Gary Clark Jr.), a tribute to late friend Michael Jackson, who had supported her so much early in her career (it's so identical to the Jackson Five original that the vocal impersonation is almost startling). Worth mentioning, finally, are "Say What You Want", which returns to political matters, "Peaceful Feeling" and the driving, autobiographical title track "100 Miles From Memphis", which nostalgically retraces the singer's youth and her decision to leave the small Missouri town to chase her dreams. On the European charts, however, 100 Miles Away From Memphis was something of a flop, and her longtime label A&M Records dropped her.

Temporarily without a label, at the end of 2010 Sheryl Crow joined Loretta Lynn and Miranda Lambert for a three-way restyling of "Coal Miner's Daughter", the song that had brought Loretta Lynn success in the 1970s, while in July 2011 she performed on the opening night of "Cheyenne Frontier Days", one of the oldest and most important outdoor rodeos of its kind, where she drew the ire of animal rights activists, despite having donated, as promised beforehand, part of her fee to an organization dedicated to protecting wild horses. Among the various other collaborations of the period, worth noting are "Mrs. Major Tom", a track by Canadian electronic musician and visual artist Kia (included on William Shatner's concept album "Seeking Major Tom"), and an a cappella reinterpretation of Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" (found on the double-disc Americana collection "Mark Twain: Words And Music", which chronicles the life of fellow Missourian writer and humorist Mark Twain). In 2012 she composed "This Day", the theme song for the talk show "Katie", then made "A Woman In The White House" available as a free download, in support of the idea of a female president, with proceeds going to the American Red Cross and the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Meanwhile, she signed with Warner Music Nashville, allowing her to get back into gear for the long haul, and on September 10, 2013, the new full-length Feels Like Home was finally released, touted by the media as her first true country album. In the Tennessee city she had relocated to in 2006 from Los Angeles, immediately after her cancer diagnosis, the singer had forged fruitful relationships with producer Justin Niebank and with a respected circle of musicians in the field, including Luke Laird, Chris Stapleton, Chris DuBois and Brad Paisley, her neighbor: this shows in the album's pleasant, communicative atmosphere, although on closer inspection, apart from the brash southern-rock anthem "Shotgun", "We Oughta Be Drinkin'" and "Nobody's Business", the stylistic stamp doesn't stray too far from her usual productions, with their modern, radio-friendly pop imprint, as shown by the spirited "Easy" and the sunny, ironic "Crazy Ain't Original". Among the highlights are the semi-acoustic "Stay At Home, Mother" and the deeply affecting ballads "Homecoming Queen" and "Waterproof Mascara" (co-written with Brad Paisley), while "Call Me When I'm Lonely" falls into a few easy clichés. Also worth mentioning is "Homesick" (featuring Zac Brown), whose opening recalls Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car", and the more pedestrian "Best Of Times" and "Give It To Me", rescued respectively by an effective harmonica solo and a lavish swell of strings. Nothing earth-shattering, but still a welcome return, good enough for an encouraging seventh place on the US Billboard 200.

In 2014 Sheryl Crow made an appearance, alongside Stevie Nicks, Emmylou Harris and Carrie Underwood, at Linda Ronstadt's induction ceremony into the Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame, paying tribute to the illustrious Tucson artist with "You're No Good" and "It's So Easy", then, together with up-and-coming band Gloriana, served as support act for American country trio Rascal Flatts on their "Rewind Tour" that summer. That same year, alongside Jeff Bridges, she hosted a charity gala for the 40th anniversary of the TV show "Austin City Limits" (performing with Gary Clark Jr., Kris Kristofferson and Alabama Shakes on Frank Loesser's classic "Baby, It's Cold Outside"), and in 2015 she took part in two tribute concerts, covering "A Hard Day's Night" in honor of John Lennon and "Two More Bottles Of Wine" for Emmylou Harris. In 2017 she dueted with Rodney Crowell on the track "I'm Tied To Ya", and in April released her tenth studio album Be Myself, co-produced with Jeff Trott and Tchad Blake, with whom she had already worked back in 1998 on The Globe Sessions. The return of the pair brings a sound notably closer to her typical Nineties output, evident right from the sinuous country-folk of opener "Alone In The Dark", the funky shifts of lead single "Halfway There" (with backing vocals from gospel group the McCrary Sisters and percussion by Fred Eltringham of the Wallflowers), and the rough alt-rock of "Long Way Back", which lands one of her most memorable choruses. There are also lyrics of some substance: the restless electric blues of "Heartbeat Away" was written shortly before Donald Trump became president and is grounded in the fear of looming nuclear war, while the title track "Be Myself" is an invitation to stay true to oneself and show who you really are in the age of social media. "Roller Skate", beneath its playful facade, is about how many important moments in life today are lost to time wasted glued to our phones; the ballad "Love Will Save The Day" (easily one of her most poignant songs) was inspired by the suicide of a fourteen-year-old student who lived near Sheryl's home, and is meant as comfort for anyone going through a dark period (⟦Q1⟧). "Strangers Again" is a disillusioned reckoning with the end of a love affair, while "Rest Of Me", built around an Everly Brothers-like strolling guitar line, is likewise romantically themed, addressing the difficulty of starting a new relationship after past heartbreak. Less convincing are "Grow Up" and "Woo Woo", the latter with a chorus that's nonetheless fun and carefree, the final two pieces of an album that sounds spontaneous and unforced (the Japanese market edition adds the bonus tracks "Disappearing World" and "The World You Make", plus an acoustic version of "Long Way Back"). A couple of years later, in August 2019, came the rich collaborative LP Threads: at the time of its release, Sheryl Crow intended it as her final album before a rumored retirement from the scene, which is why it's structured as a sort of victory lap alongside twenty-three other artists chosen from among friends, personal idols (such as Neil Young on "Cross Creek Road", Stevie Nicks on "Prove You're Young" and James Taylor on the lovely duet "Flying Blind") and rising stars (like St. Vincent on "Wouldn't Want To Be Like You" or rapper Chuck D and Andra Day on "Story Of Everything"). In total it comprises twelve enjoyable new tracks, among which the delicate "Nobody's Perfect" and the piano-driven "Don't" (with indie-pop band Lucius) and "For The Sake Of Love", crafted together with Oklahoma bluegrass songwriter Vince Gill, stand out. The tracklist also includes a remake of her own "Redemption Day" (already featured a few years earlier on the various-artists compilation "Soundtrack To Summer 2019") and four solid covers: "Everything's Broken" (featuring Jason Isbell, originally by Bob Dylan), the Rolling Stones' "The Worst" (with Keith Richards), George Harrison's "Beware Of Darkness" (performed here together with Sting, Eric Clapton and Brandi Carlile) and "Border Lord", first performed in 1972 by Kris Kristofferson, who also graces this new version.

Still going: Hall Of Fame and Evolution

Threads was followed by four long years of silence, seemingly confirming the feared farewell, but in November 2023, around the time of Sheryl Crow's induction into the Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame, came the surprise announcement of her twelfth album Evolution, released just a few months later, in March 2024. Produced by Mike Elizondo, known for his work with Dr. Dre, Keith Urban and Gary Clark Jr., the record once again taps into the catchy "tuesday night" sound of the mid-Nineties. The results, however, are rather uneven: while the slow, songwriterly tracks are enjoyable, such as the angelic, violin-sweetened "Where?" and the piano-led "Don't Walk Away", the tracks clearly designed to dominate the radio suffer from obvious shortcomings, such as lead single "Alarm Clock", which flirts rather clumsily with chart-topping trends, and "You Can't Change The Weather". Faring better are second single "Do It Again", which evokes her early country leanings and recalls old warhorses like "Soak Up The Sun" and "Everyday Is A Winding Road" (the lyrics cite Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra as spiritual guides), and the title track "Evolution", which, although predictable in its structure, is reinvigorated by a fiery guitar solo from Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine (the lyrics explore anxieties tied to the rise of artificial intelligence). The rest of the tracklist flickers on and off, with the midtempo "Waiting In The Wings" and "Broken Record" failing to recapture past glories despite some good melodic instincts and modern social-media slang, while "Love Life" gets lost in the "na na na na" of its chorus, repeated relentlessly to the point of exhaustion (some later reissues of the album include a cover of "Digging In The Dirt", in collaboration with the song's original author Peter Gabriel).

Also in 2024, Sheryl Crow contributed guitar to a remake of Mark Knopfler's "Going Home: Theme Of The Local Hero", as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust campaign (back in 1983, the song had marked the solo debut of the Dire Straits frontman), then in October of that same year she donated the proceeds of a new song, titled "Light A Candle", to the American Red Cross, written in support of communities affected at the time by hurricanes and tropical storms (a tender ballad about enduring love, set to dreamy dream-folk arrangements).

Finally, in May 2025, the delicate acoustic track "I Know" was released for Mental Health Awareness Month, while July brought "The New Normal", in which she once again takes a stand against the rapid and unpredictable developments of artificial intelligence, with lyrics betraying deep concern (in a recent interview the singer stated: "what's happening around us is incredibly bizarre, I'm afraid we're going to have to start considering it normal"). "The New Normal", by far her latest release to date, was written and recorded together with The Real Lowdown, the band that has backed Sheryl Crow live on tour for more than fifteen years now, whose lineup consists of Fred Eltringham on percussion, Robert Kearns on bass, Audley Freed and Peter Stroud on electric guitars, and Jen Gunderman on keyboards.

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