Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Crow arrived in 1993 with Tuesday Night Music Club, a loose, rootsy, bar-band record that sounded like it was cut on a lazy afternoon with the windows open, and the songs on it made her one of the breakout names of the decade. "All I Wanna Do" is the one everybody knows, a sly, shuffling, sun-drunk groove that feels like it's grinning at you, but "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Can't Cry Anymore" showed a writer with some grit, and "Strong Enough" was a quiet, aching plea. In 1995 she collected Grammys for Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

She's a real player, too, handling guitar, bass, piano and even accordion, and her sound pulls blues, country, folk and pop into a rock framework without ever sounding like a genre exercise. Her lyrics lean optimistic and idealistic, even when the music gets rough around the edges.

The self-titled second album, in 1996, came out swinging: "If It Makes You Happy" snarls and struts, "Everyday Is a Winding Road" rolls down the highway with the top down, and "A Change Would Do You Good" and "Home" rounded out a record with more teeth than the debut. In 1997 she won a Grammy for Best Rock Album and the BRIT Award for International Female Solo Artist. The Globe Sessions in 1998 had the cool, bruised "My Favorite Mistake", and C'mon, C'mon in 2002 brought the breezy, radio-built "Soak Up the Sun" and "Steve McQueen".

The numbers speak for themselves: over 50 million albums sold worldwide, 9 Grammys from 32 nominations, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2023, plus a sideline on TV in shows like 30 Rock and NCIS: New Orleans.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.