1987–1991: Early career After graduating from the
University of Missouri, Crow worked as a music teacher at Kellison Elementary School in
Fenton, Missouri. Teaching during the day gave her the opportunity to sing in bands on the weekends. She was later introduced to local musician and record producer
Jay Oliver. He had a 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. Soon after, she sang in commercial jingles for
McDonald's and
Toyota. She was quoted in a
60 Minutes segment as saying she made $40,000 on the McDonald's ad alone. Crow toured with
Michael Jackson as a backing vocalist during his
Bad World Tour 1987–1989, and often performed with Jackson on "
I Just Can't Stop Loving You". She also recorded background vocals for
Stevie Wonder,
Belinda Carlisle,
Jimmy Buffett,
Kevin Gilbert and
Don Henley. Crow played keyboards and sang backing vocals for Gilbert's band
Toy Matinee in the early 1990s. In 1989, Crow contributed backing vocals to the
Neal Schon track "Smoke of the Revolution" from his album
Late Nite. Crow also sang in the short-lived
Steven Bochco drama
Cop Rock series finale in 1990 and her song "Heal Somebody" appeared in the film
Bright Angel. In 1991, her recording of "Welcome to the Real Life" featured on the soundtrack to the
Brian Bosworth action film
Stone Cold. Later that year, her performance of "Hundreds of Tears" was included on the
Point Break soundtrack and she sang a duet with
Kenny Loggins on the track "I Would Do Anything", from his album
Leap of Faith.
1992: Scrapped debut album In 1992, Crow recorded her first attempt at a debut album with
Sting's record producer
Hugh Padgham. The self-titled debut album was due to be released in September 1992, but Crow and her label mutually decided that the album did not merit release. Crow described it as "too produced" and "slick". However, a handful of cassette copies of the album were leaked, along with press folders for album publicity. This album has been widely dispersed via
file sharing networks and fan trading. In the meantime, Crow's songs were recorded by major artists such as
Celine Dion,
Tina Turner and
Wynonna Judd.
1994–1997: International success Crow began dating
Kevin Gilbert and joined him in an ad hoc group of musicians known to themselves as the "Tuesday Music Club". The group existed as a casual songwriting collective prior to its association with Crow; however, it rapidly developed into a vehicle for her debut album after Crow's arrival. Group members Gilbert,
David Baerwald, and
David Ricketts (both formerly of
David & David),
Bill Bottrell,
Brian MacLeod, and Dan Schwartz share songwriting credits with Crow on her debut album,
Tuesday Night Music Club, The singles "
Strong Enough" and "Can't Cry Anymore" were also released, with the first song ("Strong Enough") charting at No. 5 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and "Can't Cry Anymore" hitting the Top 40.
Tuesday Night Music Club went on to sell more than 7 million copies in the US and
UK during the 1990s. The album also won Crow three
Grammys at the
37th Annual Grammy Awards in 1995:
Record of the Year,
Best New Artist and
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. She produced the album herself and also played a variety of instruments, from various guitars, bass or
pedal steel to various organs and piano. The debut single, "
If It Makes You Happy", became a radio success and netted her two Grammys for
Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and
Best Rock Album at the
39th Annual Grammy Awards in 1997. Other singles included "
A Change Would Do You Good", "
Home", and "
Everyday Is a Winding Road". The album was banned from sale at
Walmart, because in the lyrics to "Love Is a Good Thing" Crow says that Walmart sells guns to children. The album also features a
protest song called "Redemption Day", which was covered by
Johnny Cash on his posthumous album ''
American VI: Ain't No Grave''. Crow performed at
Another Roadside Attraction in 1997. Also in 1997, Crow contributed the theme song to the
James Bond film
Tomorrow Never Dies. Her song "
Tomorrow Never Dies" was nominated for a
Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television at the
41st Annual Grammy Awards and
Best Original Song at the
55th Golden Globe Awards.
1998–1999: The Globe Sessions and live album , California in 2002, with guitarist
Peter Stroud Crow collaborated on
Scott Weiland's 1998 album,
12 Bar Blues. Also 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 Clapton, but Crow says otherwise—that the song is about a philandering ex-boyfriend. Crow has refused to say who the song was about, telling
Billboard magazine on the release of her album, "Oh, there will be just so much speculation, and because of that there's great safety and protection in the fact that people will be guessing so many different people and I'm the only person who will ever really know. I'm really private about who I've had relationships with, and I don't talk about them in the press. I don't even really talk about them with the people around me." Despite the difficulties in recording the album, Crow told the
BBC in 2005 that, "My favorite single is 'My Favorite Mistake'. It was a lot of fun to record and it's still a lot of fun to play." The album won Best Rock Album at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards in 1999. 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. The song won a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the
42nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2000. Other singles included "
There Goes the Neighborhood", "
Anything but Down", and "The Difficult Kind". Crow's live recording of "There Goes the Neighborhood" won a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the
43rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2001.
The Globe Sessions peaked at No. 5 on the
Billboard 200 chart, achieving US sales of 2 million as of January 2008. Later in 1998, Crow took part in a live concert in tribute to
Burt Bacharach, contributing vocals on "
One Less Bell to Answer". 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. Also in 1999, she appeared in
Prince's album
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, singing backing vocals in the song "Baby Knows". Prince included a cover of her "
Everyday Is a Winding Road" in the album. She also appeared in
Zucchero Fornaciari's collection ''Overdose d'amore/The Ballads'' featuring the song "Blue" (co-written by
Bono). 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,
Keith Richards, and Eric Clapton. It included her Grammy winning performance of "There Goes the Neighborhood".
2002–2004: ''C'mon, C'mon and The Very Best of Sheryl Crow'' on stage during a
Rolling Stones concert in 2002 Crow has 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 ''
C'mon, C'mon'' 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. Her fourth studio album, ''
C'mon, C'mon'', was released in 2002, spawning the hit single "
Soak Up the Sun". The second single, "Steve McQueen", won the Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy at the
45th Annual Grammy Awards in 2003. in 2007 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. At a performance with
Kid Rock at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards, she wore a large peace sign and a guitar strap with the words "No War". She showed support for injured soldiers in 2003 by playing her guitar and singing to individual patients at
Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She recorded the song "Kiss That Girl" for the film ''
Bridget Jones's Diary''. She also recorded a cover version of
The Beatles' song "
Mother Nature's Son" for the film
I Am Sam. Crow sang a duet with rock artist Kid Rock on the crossover hit single "
Picture", from Kid Rock's 2001 album
Cocky. She also assisted him on the track "Run Off to LA". Crow collaborated with
Michelle Branch on the song "Love Me Like That" for Branch's second album,
Hotel Paper, released in 2003. She was featured on the
Johnny Cash album
American III: Solitary Man on the song "Field of Diamonds" as a background vocalist, and also played the accordion for the songs "
Wayfaring Stranger" and "Mary of the Wild Moor". In 2003, a greatest hits compilation called
The Very Best of Sheryl Crow was released. It featured many of her hit singles, as well as some new tracks. Among them was the 1960s pop song, "
The First Cut Is the Deepest" by
Cat Stevens, 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
awards for
Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and
Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist at the
American Music Awards of 2004. In 2004, Crow appeared as a
musical theater performer in the
Cole Porter biographical film
De-Lovely.
2005–2007: Wildflower '' , on August 18, 2007 Her fifth studio album,
Wildflower, was released in September 2005. Although the album debuted at No. 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
Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album, while Crow was nominated for a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy for the first single "
Good Is Good" at the
48th Grammy Awards. However, she ultimately lost in both categories to
Kelly Clarkson. 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 on
Adult Top 40. The collaboration with Sting resulted in a Grammy nomination for
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals at the
49th Grammy Awards. As of January 2008,
Wildflower has sold 949,000 units in the United States. Crow was diagnosed with early-stage
breast cancer in mid-February 2006, her doctors stating that, "Prognosis for a full recovery is excellent." Crow's first concert after her cancer diagnosis was on May 18 of that year 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. She 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 breast cancer survivor. In late 2006, Crow was nominated for a Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for the song
Try Not To Remember from the film
Home of the Brave at the
64th Golden Globe Awards. In early 2007, Crow was scheduled to sing at an annual benefit concert for the
Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital that sportscaster
Bob Costas hosts every year. Her performance was opposed by
Catholic Archbishop
Raymond Leo Burke due to her position on abortion. Burke resigned as chair of the medical center's board of governors when Crow's appearance was confirmed. Crow wrote a foreword for the book
Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips, a book written by
Kris Carr that was based on her 2007 documentary film
Crazy Sexy Cancer. Crow contributed her
cover of the Beatles' "
Here Comes the Sun" on the soundtrack for the
DreamWorks animated film
Bee Movie in November 2007. She contributed background vocals to
Ryan Adams's song "Two" from his album
Easy Tiger.
2008–2009: Detours Crow returned with her sixth studio album
Detours, which was released on February 5, 2008.
Detours debuted at No. 2 on the US
Billboard 200 chart selling close to 92,000 copies in its first week and an additional 52,000 copies in its second week. In support of the new album, Crow launched a 25-date tour with
James Blunt, and the lineup included
reggae group
Toots and the Maytals after being handpicked by Crow who said they are one of her favorite bands.
Detours was recorded at Crow's
Nashville, Tennessee farm. Her son, Wyatt, makes an appearance on the song "Lullaby for Wyatt", which is featured in the movie
Grace Is Gone. "
Shine Over Babylon" was the first promotional single from the album (download only). The first official single released from the album was "
Love Is Free", followed by "Out of Our Heads". As of 2010,
Detours had sold more than 700,000 copies worldwide. in
Denver, Colorado Crow endorsed
Barack Obama in the
2008 United States presidential election and later performed on the fourth and last day of the
2008 Democratic National Convention. Crow also recorded a studio version of "
So Glad We Made It" for the
AT&T Team USA Soundtrack, in conjunction with the
2008 US Olympic team sponsors,
AT&T.
A&M Records re-released Crow's debut album,
Tuesday Night Music Club, as a deluxe version 2CD/DVD set on November 17, 2009. The released included the single "Killer Life", which charted moderately in
adult album alternative radio. The bonus CD contains unreleased songs and B-sides, and a new mix of "I Shall Believe". The DVD features music videos for each of the album's singles. In August 2008, Crow (in partnership with Western Glove Works) launched a jeans brand, Bootheel Trading Company. in February 2005 On April 4, 2009, Crow, who practices
Transcendental Meditation, took part in a benefit concert at the
Radio City Music Hall in
New York City organized by the
David Lynch Foundation supporting the Foundation's goal of teaching one million at-risk students to meditate. She and
Ben Harper performed
George Harrison's "
My Sweet Lord". Other performers at the concert included
Paul McCartney,
Ringo Starr,
Mike Love,
Moby,
Eddie Vedder and
Donovan.
2010–2012: 100 Miles from Memphis at the dedication concert for the
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on October 16, 2011 In 2010, Crow contributed the original spoken-word track "My Name Is Mwamaroyi" to the
Enough Project and
Downtown Records'
Raise Hope for Congo compilation. Proceeds from the compilation fund efforts to make the protection and empowerment of Congo's women a priority, as well as inspire individuals around the world to raise their voice for peace in Congo. A&M Records released Crow's seventh studio album,
100 Miles from Memphis, on July 20, 2010. The album had a
Memphis soul sound and featured the lead single "
Summer Day". Later that year, she joined
country singers
Loretta Lynn and
Miranda Lambert on an update of Lynn's song "
Coal Miner's Daughter" for the 2010 album ''
Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn''. They later performed the song at the
2010 Country Music Association Awards in November. In October 2010, she performed at
Jon Stewart's and
Stephen Colbert's
Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear In July 2011, Crow performed at the opening night of the
Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. Animal welfare campaigners had urged her not to, alleging animal cruelty at the event. Almost 13,000 people signed a petition calling on Crow not to perform. On September 20, 2011, it was announced that Crow will write the music and lyrics for
Diner, a new musical inspired by the critically acclaimed 1982 film
Diner. The show initially had an intended run on
Broadway planned for the fall of 2012 though it eventually opened in
Arlington County, Virginia in 2014 and was directed and choreographed by
Tony Award winner
Kathleen Marshall. On October 11, 2011,
William Shatner released the album
Seeking Major Tom, on which Crow sang the track "
Mrs. Major Tom" by
electronic music artist
KIA, released in 2003 on the album
Adieu Shinjuku Zulu. On September 21, 2012,
Mailboat Records released
Mark Twain: Words & Music, an
Americana double-CD that tells the life of fellow
Missourian
Mark Twain in spoken word and song. The project was a benefit for the
Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in
Hannibal, Missouri. Crow sang the only period piece song on the project,
Stephen Foster's "
Beautiful Dreamer". The song was sung
a cappella and accompanied the narrative describing the early days of Mark Twain's young family in
Hartford, Connecticut. Other performers that joined the project, produced by
Carl Jackson, included Jimmy Buffett,
Clint Eastwood,
Garrison Keillor, Brad Paisley,
Emmylou Harris,
Vince Gill,
Ricky Skaggs, and others. AirPlay Direct reported the project as its most downloaded Americana album. In September 2012, Crow was featured in a campaign called
30 Songs/30 Days to support
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, a multi-platform media project inspired by
Nicholas Kristof and
Sheryl WuDunn's book. Crow was invited by journalist
Katie Couric to write the theme song for her new talk-show,
Katie. The song, titled "This Day", was nominated for a
Daytime Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Original Song. On November 1, 2012, Crow released an original song she called "Woman in the
White House" that was made available for a free download. As the title suggests, the country-flavored tune defends the idea of a woman
president. Mixed reviews from critics ranged from "sort of patronizing and gender essentialist" to "good-natured and well-intentioned". The song, praised for its tongue-in-cheek lyrics, was commented on by country singer
Brad Paisley, who characterized it as "all in good fun". The song was later released for digital download on
iTunes and a portion of the proceeds were donated to the
American Red Cross to aid in the recovery effort in the wake of
Hurricane Sandy. Also in 2012,
VH1 ranked Crow at No. 25 as one of the
100 Greatest Women in Music.
2013–2015: Feels Like Home In 2011, Crow separated from her label, A&M Records. The singer followed Nashville neighbor Brad Paisley's advice and, after being introduced to producer Justin Niebank and several Nashville-based songwriters such as
Chris DuBois,
Luke Laird and
Chris Stapleton, she started her first country music project in 2013. In 2013, Crow signed a recording contract with
Warner Music Nashville and, a few months later, released "
Easy", the first single from the upcoming album, which became her first top twenty
country radio hit and her highest charting lead single since 2005.
Feels Like Home was released on September 10, 2013, and debuted at number seven on the
Billboard 200 with first-week sales of over 36,000 copies, becoming Crow's ninth top ten album. Crow was one of the opening acts for
George Strait's 2014 leg of
The Cowboy Rides Away Tour. Along with Stevie Nicks,
Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris and
Carrie Underwood, she made an appearance at the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, paying tribute to
Linda Ronstadt, who was one of the inductees of 2014. Crow, along with country band
Gloriana, joined
Rascal Flatts on their
Rewind Tour, which kicked off May 16, 2014. The 40th anniversary celebration benefit concert of the
Austin City Limits television show was held on June 26, 2014, and televised later that year. Crow hosted the event along with
Jeff Bridges and performed with
Kris Kristofferson,
Gary Clark Jr.,
Alabama Shakes, as well as her former guitarist
Doyle Bramhall II. Crow sang on a rendition of "
Baby, It's Cold Outside" that appeared on
Darius Rucker's Christmas album,
Home for the Holidays. In December 2015, she covered "
A Hard Day's Night" at the
John Lennon 75th Birthday Concert, and performed "
Two More Bottles of Wine" with Vince Gill at another tribute concert: "The Life & Songs of Emmylou Harris".
2017–2022: Be Myself, Threads and Sheryl Crow duets with Americana artist
Rodney Crowell on the track "I'm Tied To Ya" from his album
Close Ties which was released in March 2017. Crow's tenth studio album,
Be Myself, was released on April 21, 2017. It was co-produced by Crow,
Jeff Trott and
Tchad Blake, and is the first time the latter has appeared on one of Crow's studio albums since
The Globe Sessions in 1998.
Be Myself was described by Crow as a return to the sound of her nineties work, and intentionally eschews the country-influenced sound of her previous album. In an interview with
Rolling Stone, Crow said that she did not enjoy the country radio promotional process: "It was more political than I expected... You do lots of free [shows] for radio stations in trade for getting played between three and four in the morning. And that's just not how other formats work, and that goes against my grain. I'm too old to allow that for myself, and to spend any night away from my kid for that is not justified." Crow's 2019 album
Threads features contributions from, among others, Don Henley,
Joe Walsh, Sting, Stevie Nicks,
Willie Nelson, and Keith Richards. While promoting her UK tour, Crow released "Wouldn't Wanna Be Like You" featuring
St. Vincent and revealed that she intended for
Threads to be her final album, citing the impossibility of releasing something that could follow-up such a gathering of artists. She added that she would continue to write and tour and would potentially release short-form music akin to
extended plays. In 2019, it was reported that Crow was among hundreds of artists whose material had been destroyed in the
2008 Universal fire. Crow had initially told
BBC News that the master and safety back-ups for her first seven albums were lost in the fire. However, in a 2022 interview with
The Line of Best Fit, Crow revealed that her masters had in fact not been lost, stating that "luckily, they found most of mine in a different area." In 2022,
Sheryl, a
Showtime documentary film directed by Amy Scott chronicling her career, premiered at the
South by Southwest film festival.
2023–present: Evolution Crow announced that she recorded a new studio album, her twelfth,
Evolution, on November 3, 2023. The news arrived just ahead of her induction into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that same day. The album was released March 29, 2024. It was preceded by the single "Alarm Clock". Also in 2024, she contributed guitar to a re-release of
Mark Knopfler's "
Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero" in aid of the
Teenage Cancer Trust. On October 25, 2024, she released the single "Light A Candle", proceeds of which would be donated to the
American Red Cross, supporting communities affected by hurricanes and tropical storms in 2024, including
Hurricanes Helene and
Milton. On May 23, 2025, Crow released the single "I Know", in aid of
Mental Health Awareness Month. ==Musical style==