b. Sheryl Crow, 11 February 1962, Kennett, Missouri, USA. Sheryl Crow's asymmetric and abrasive songwriting is not the stuff for lazy listeners. She tackles difficult subjects head-on, wrapping the spare lyrics in angular melodies which stick in the mind. Her strong and expressive delivery belongs to the Rickie Lee Jones school. The result is truly original, although both her childhood and career have brought her into contact with a catholic range of influences. Many of these influences peeped through on her 1993 debut Tuesday Night Music Club, which was something of a sleeper when first issued. It took almost a year to make an impact, despite being plugged by a succession of marginally successful singles, including 'Run Baby Run' and 'Leaving Las Vegas' (US Top 50). Believing that Tuesday Night was sliding irrevocably into the commercial shadowlands, Crow was about to begin recording its follow-up when A&M, her record company, suggested releasing 'All I Want To Do' on a 'what do we have to lose?' basis. It turned out they had a lot to win; 'All I Want To Do' became one of the major singles of 1994, reaching number 2 in the USA and number 4 in the UK. By the spring of 1997 the album had sold over 7 million copies in the USA alone. 'All I Want To Do' is a surprising hit. The subject matter relates to a couple of frustrated no-hopers, pouring time down the drain as they indulge in an 'early-morning beer buzz' and hoping in vain to 'have some fun/Before the sun goes down/Over Santa Monica Boulevard'. It was inspired by (previously) obscure poet Wyn Cooper, writing coincidentally about a bar near Crow's Santa Monica home. The idiosyncratic meter and conversational verse structure defy the imposition of an accessible melody. Instead, their memorable phrasing and imagery are contrasted with the catchy and ironically up-beat refrain, and it was this which tripped lightly from the lips of the record-buying public. The remaining tracks were as good as or better than the hit single. 'Strong Enough' dealt with the strains placed on relationships by PMS ('God, I feel like hell tonight ... / ... Are you strong enough to be my man?'). Her earlier experience of manoeuvring around rock's casting couches inspired 'What Can I Do For You', while 'We Do What We Can' is a touching reminiscence of the sudden death of a family friend, and its effect on her father (who plays trumpet on the track).

Producer Bill Bottrell ran a Pasadena studio called Toad Hall, where Crow and various other musicians (most of whom appear on the album) used to meet and play informally every week. They adopted Tuesday Night Music Club as a sobriquet, and the experience provided the impetus for the album. The inspiration was fortuitous and sorely-needed; she had already spent over $250,000 of A&M's money recording a previous debut, only to decide that it was far too polished and unrepresentative to be released. (Bootleg copies now fetch impressive sums.) A&M Records had signed her at the behest of Sting's producer Hugh Padgham after she had done some session work for him. Padgham produced her first attempt, but although the relationship worked at a personal level, it failed to ignite the musical spark they sought. Fortunately, the record company thought enough of her talent that they agreed to stand by her and wait for the replacement.

When she met Padgham, Crow was one of the most respected and sought-after session and support artists in LA. Her 'clients' included Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, George Harrison, Don Henley, John Hiatt, Joe Cocker and Sinead O'Connor. (She was playing keyboard when the latter was controversially booed off the stage at Dylan's 30th Anniversary Madison Square Gardens Concert in October 1992.) Bette Midler and Wynona Judd had also recorded her songs. It had taken over five years to achieve this status, pulling herself back from the brink of despair and over-indulgence at the end of the eighties. This crisis in her life was a consequence of her first big break; an eighteen month stint hacking round the world as a backing vocalist on Michael Jackson's Bad tour. Three nights a week Jackson, all leather and buckles, stroked the thigh of Shirley (sic) Crow, all leather and lace, as they performed 'I Just Can't Stop Loving You'. The sleaze of the experience is chronicled not only in 'What Can I Do For You', but also in 'The Na-Na Song', which explicitly mentions Jackson's tour manager Frank Dileo. However, Sheryl (sic) Crow's vocal ability impressed enough rock luminaries that many doors were open to her when she eventually returned to LA. Unfortunately, all the doors led into rooms of Jackson-style pop, and Crow was sufficiently strong-willed to resist, even as the doors slammed shut, one after another, leaving her isolated and at rock-bottom. After some six month's of retreat (much of it spent in bed, lacking the will to get up) and a little help, she ventured back into the session world.

Sheryl Crow is not an LA woman by birth. She arrived there from St Louis in 1986 with $10,000 savings, having broken up with her boyfriend, and determined to be a musician. Although a classical music degree from Missouri State University and singing with college band Kashmir provided the credentials, the savings were long gone by the time the Jackson opportunity came along. Home had been the small Missouri town of Kennett where her father Wendell is a 'driven' lawyer. A liberal in the Southern bible-belt, he had prosecuted the Ku Klux Klan for ballot-rigging, and defended civil rights in many cases. Both he and Crow's mother played in swing bands, she as vocalist, he as a trumpeter with his close friend Leo. After Leo's sudden death, Wendell put away his trumpet and did not play again until his daughter recorded the tribute song, 'We Do What We Can'. The Crow household also echoed to the sound of an ancient Magnavox record player, belting out her parents' recordings of the Beatles, Dylan, James Taylor and the Rolling Stones. In November 1994, after Tuesday Night broke, one of life's full circles closed when Sheryl Crow duetted with Mick Jagger on 'Under My Thumb' as the Stones played to 65,000 in Miami. The same year she had been one of only two female acts to appear at Woodstock II, in front of 300,000. In 1995 she opened for the Eagles at their massive comeback concerts, as well as touring extensively both on her own account and with Joe Cocker.

Finding time to record a follow-up to Tuesday Night Music Club proved difficult, but a new album was released at the end of 1996. It won a Grammy for best rock album at the February 1997 awards. Success could become a habit for Sheryl Crow.

From the Sheryl Crow Biography on Yahoo