Sheryl Crow

From Backup Singer for Michael Jackson to the California Desert

Sheryl Crow was standing on a stage in Tokyo in 1987, singing backup vocals for Michael Jackson. She had teased hair and a contract that barely covered rent on a shared apartment in Los Angeles. No one in that stadium on the Bad tour suspected that this girl from Missouri would go on to earn nine Grammy Awards on her own.

Before becoming a star, she spent years recording jingles for commercials and facing rejection from record labels. But in 1993, everything changed with the release of Tuesday Night Music Club. The album grew out of casual sessions with a group of musicians who got together on Tuesdays to drink and play.

That album sold seven million copies.

The success of the song All I Wanna Do created unbearable tension within the songwriting group. The musicians felt Crow was taking all the credit for a collective effort, and the relationship ended up in court. It was a trial by fire that forced her to prove she could survive on her own in an industry that often devours women who don't follow the established script.

Guitars and Survival Politics

In 1996, she took full creative control and produced her second self-titled album. She recorded much of the material in a New Orleans studio, aiming for a grittier, more direct sound. The lyrics to If It Makes You Happy were her answer to those who doubted her real talent outside the Tuesday collective.

And the gamble paid off.

Walmart refused to sell the album because one of the songs criticized gun sales in its stores. Crow wouldn't budge or change a single word of the lyrics to Love Is a Good Thing, even though it cost her millions in potential sales. That decision set her apart from the manufactured pop stars of the era.

While recording The Globe Sessions in 1998, depression and physical exhaustion nearly pushed her out of music. But the album turned out to be one of the best of her career, thanks to her collaboration with Eric Clapton and a raw sound she had never explored before. She managed to create a sound that blended country with stadium rock without losing credibility with either camp.

Closing a Circle at the Hall of Fame

In 2006, she was diagnosed with breast cancer just after a highly publicized breakup. She moved to a farm in Nashville and changed her priorities to focus on raising her adopted children. Her music output became more measured, but she never stopped releasing material on her own terms.

She announced that Threads in 2019 would be her last studio album due to the shift in how people consume digital music. On it, she brought together legends such as Stevie Nicks, Keith Richards and Johnny Cash in a sonic testament to impossible collaborations. It was a symbolic farewell to the traditional physical format that lasted less than expected.

The industry doesn't forgive someone else's success.

In 2023, she was officially inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by her friend Laura Dern. A year later, in 2024, she broke her promise to stop making full-length albums and released Evolution. The album was produced by Mike Elizondo and recorded quickly in a home studio on a tight budget.