Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Crow (born February 11, 1962, Kennett, Missouri, U.S.) is an American singer known for her raspy voice, rock-and-roll rhythm, and country-styled guitar playing.

Early life

Crow was born in a small farming town across the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tennessee. She grew up in a home surrounded by music. On weekends her mother and father played piano and trumpet, respectively, for jazz bands. Crow began playing piano when she was 5 years old, and by the age of 6 she could play by ear. She composed her first song when she was 13 years old. During high school she learned guitar from playing with local rock bands. She attended the University of Missouri, in Columbia, where she majored in music composition, performance, and teaching. After graduating in 1984, she moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where she taught music to children with special needs.

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Career as backup singer

In 1986 Crow decided to pursue her ambition of making it big in the music industry and moved to Los Angeles. She talked her way into auditions for a tour with Michael Jackson, and, on the basis of a video audition, was selected to accompany his Bad World Tour. For two years she traveled with Jackson and his entourage. During this time she continued writing songs, and her compositions were recorded by artists such as Wynonna Judd and Eric Clapton. As a backup singer, Crow worked with a number of big-name acts, including Foreigner, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, Sting, and Don Henley. It was Henley who encouraged Crow to perform her own music.

Tuesday Night Music Club

On Tuesday nights Crow began to meet with songwriters who would gather for creative sessions in a warehouse. The group, which became the Tuesday Night Music Club, attempted to finish a song each night before they went home. The first time she attended a session, they wrote “Leaving Las Vegas,” one of the original compositions that would later be part of her debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club (1993). The album garnered widespread critical praise, but it was the enormous popularity of “All I Wanna Do” that put Crow on the charts. At the 1994 Grammy Awards ceremony she received three awards: best record and best pop vocal performance by a female for “All I Wanna Do” as well as best new artist.

Sheryl Crow, The Globe Sessions, and C’mon, C’mon

Crow’s second album, Sheryl Crow, was released in 1996. For this effort Crow won a Grammy for best rock album and another for best female rock vocal performance for the song “If It Makes You Happy.” The Globe Sessions (1998) also received a Grammy for best rock album, and its single “There Goes the Neighborhood” won for best female rock vocal performance. Crow continued to perform and garner accolades into the 21st century. C’mon, C’mon (2002) featured the hit single “Soak Up the Sun” and the Grammy-winning “Steve McQueen.”

Other albums and projects

Her other albums include Wildflower (2005), a collection of introspective songs; Detours (2008), a combination of socially conscious songs and personal reminiscences; and 100 Miles from Memphis (2010), a collaborative effort featuring artists such as Justin Timberlake and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. After the country album Feels Like Home (2013), Crow returned to her earlier work with Be Myself (2017). On Threads (2019), her 11th studio album, Crow performed with a number of other musicians, including Stevie Nicks, Willie Nelson, and Bonnie Raitt. Crow announced that Threads would be her last album, though she intended to keep touring and recording singles. However, in 2024 she came out of semiretirement with the album Evolution.

In 2006 Crow was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent treatment. She later cowrote the cookbook If It Makes You Healthy: More Than 100 Delicious Recipes Inspired by the Seasons (2011). Sheryl, a documentary about her life and career, was released in 2022. In 2023 Crow was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.