Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop. She has won nine Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

She has performed with The Rolling Stones and has sung duets with Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Luciano Pavarotti, John Mellencamp, Kid Rock, Michelle Branch, and Sting among others. She has performed backing vocals for Tina Turner, Don Henley and Belinda Carlisle, on her 1991 hit Little Black Book. Crow has released seven studio albums, two compilations, and a live album, and has contributed to film soundtracks. She has sold 16 million albums in the United States and 35 million albums worldwide and her newest album, 100 Miles from Memphis, was released on July 20, 2010. Recently she appeared on NBC's 30 Rock, ABC's Cougar Town, Disney Channel's Hannah Montana Forever and Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

Personal life

The 2002 release of the album C'mon C'mon by Sheryl Crow features the song Safe and Sound which is dedicated to Owen Wilson (boy friend at that time) in the liner notes and said to be an autobiographical account of their relationship.

Crow began dating cyclist Lance Armstrong in 2003. The couple announced their engagement in September 2005 and their split in February 2006.[citation needed] Immediately following her split from Lance Armstrong, Crow was treated for breast cancer at a Los Angeles-based facility by breast cancer surgeon Dr. Kristi Funk. Crow had "minimally invasive" surgery in late February 2006, followed by radiation therapy.

On May 11, 2007, Crow announced on her official website that she had adopted a two-week-old boy named Wyatt Steven Crow. The child was born on April 29, 2007. She and Wyatt live on a 154-acre (0.62 km2) farm outside Nashville, Tennessee.

On June 4, 2010, Crow announced that she adopted another boy named Levi James Crow, born on April 30, 2010.

In May of 2011, it was reported that Sheryl and longtime acquaintance Doyle Bramhall II (musician, Sheryl Crow touring band member, and "100 Miles From Memphis" producer) began dating

She is the great-granddaughter of former congressman Charles A. Crow (1873–1938).

Early career

After graduating from college, Crow worked as a music teacher at the Kellison elementary school, in Fenton, Missouri. Teaching during the day allowed her the opportunity to sing in bands on weekends. Later, she was introduced to local musician and producer Jay Oliver. He had a thriving 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. McDonald's and Toyota commercial jingles soon followed. She was quoted in a 60 Minutes segment as saying she made $40,000 on her McDonald's commercial alone.

Crow toured with Michael Jackson as a backup vocalist during his Bad World Tour from 1987–1989, and often performed with Jackson on "I Just Can't Stop Loving You. She also recorded background vocals for performances from various established artists including Stevie Wonder, Belinda Carlisle and Don Henley.

Crow also sang in the short-lived Steven Bochco drama, Cop Rock, in 1990. The following year, she performed "Hundreds of Tears," which was included in the Point Break soundtrack, and sang a duet with Kenny Loggins on the track "I Would Do Anything", from his album Leap of Faith.

Early life

Sheryl Suzanne Crow was born in Kennett, Missouri, on February 11, 1962. Her father Wendell Crow is a lawyer and trumpet player, and her mother Bernice, a piano teacher. She has older sisters Kathy and Karen, and a younger brother Steven.

While studying at Kennett High School, Crow was a majorette and an All-State track athlete, winning medals in the 75-meter low hurdles. She also joined the Pep Club, the National Honor Society, National FFA Organization and Paperdoll Queen. She then enrolled at the University of Missouri, in Columbia, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Composition, Performance, and Education. While in college, Crow sang in a local band, Cashmere. She was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta social sorority, Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity for Women, and the Omicron Delta Kappa Society. Later, Crow was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Southeast Missouri State University, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She is scheduled to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Missouri on May 14, 2011.

International success

She then began dating Kevin Gilbert and joined him in an ad hoc group of musicians known to everyone in the group as the "Tuesday Music Club. 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 group existed as a casual songwriting collective prior to its association with Crow, but rapidly developed into a vehicle for her debut album after her arrival. Her relationship with Gilbert became acrimonious soon after the album was released, and disputes arose about songwriting credits.

Globe Sessions and Live

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 him, although Crow claims otherwise 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 1999 Grammy Awards. 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 the 1999 Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Other singles included "There Goes the Neighborhood," "Anything But Down," and "The Difficult Kind." Crow won Grammy best female rock vocal performance for "There Goes the Neighborhood" in 2001. The Globe Sessions peaked at #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, in which she contributed 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.

Wildflower (2005-2007)

Her fifth studio album Wildflower was released in September 2005. Although the album debuted at #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 Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy, while Crow was nominated for a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy for the first single "Good Is Good." 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 at Adult Top 40. The collaboration with Sting resulted in a Grammy-nomination for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. As of January 2008, Wildflower has sold 949,000 units in the U.S.

In 2006, Crow contributed the opening track, "Real Gone," to the soundtrack for Disney/Pixar's animated film Cars. She also voices Elvis in the film. 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 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.

The singer 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 Golden Globe Award for the song "Try Not To Remember" (Best Original Song category) from the film Home of the Brave.

100 Miles from Memphis

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 has a classic soul vibe and features lead single "Summer Day. 100 Miles from Memphis (released July 20 on A&M Records), the distance from her hometown to the music mecca, is an ode to her formative memories of music - and one that the label hopes can inspire young music fans to investigate the landscape beyond processed pop and Auto-Tune.

Later that year, she joined Loretta Lynn and country singer 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. The song was later performed on the 44th Annual Country Music Awards in November.

Sheryl's eighth studio album is in the works and is said to have more country flavor... Sheryl explained the album will be out early 2012