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Sheryl Crow music biography continued...

prolong her mainstream success into the millennium.

On February 11, 1962, Sheryl Suzanne Crow was born in Kennett, Missouri. Her father, an attorney, played the trumpet for a local big band, and her mother was a singer and piano teacher. As her parents recognized the importance of musical ability, they encouraged their children to adopt an instrument at a young age. Sheryl was an active student taking part in athletics, school plays and the choir. She majored in music education with a concentration in piano the University of Missouri in 1984 becoming a music teacher for autistic children upon graduation. When not teaching, she would perform with cover band P.M. and would record local advertising jingles. After earning a supposed $50,000 for a McDonald's jingle, she decided to pack her bags and try her luck in Los Angeles, California. She was eventually recruited as a backup singer for Michael Jackson's 17 month Bad tour and later sung backing vocals for Don Henley.

In 1990, she was noticed by Hugh Padgham of A&M Records and began recording her debut album a year later. Much to her disappointment, her work resulted in a disliked pop sounding album never to be released. Following a two year depression, she began performing with music professionals Kevin Gilbert (her boyfriend at the time), Bill Bottrel, David Baerwald, David Ricketts, Brian McLeod, and Dan Schwartz on a weekly basis as the collective Tuesday Night Music Club. The group helped Sheryl create enough material for an album and eventually began recording with Bottrel at her side as producer. Tuesday Night Music Club was released in August 1993. Initially the album did not receive much credit as its lead single "Run Baby Run" and follow-up "Leaving Las Vegas" proved not to gain much attention. However, the third single "All I Wanna Do" became the summer hit of 1994 and eventually earned Crow three Grammy Awards in 1995 for Record of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist. "Strong Enough" released shortly afterward proved to be another major hit. Despite the album's success, there was much controversy surrounding the Tuesday Night Music Club members' distress about not being justly credited for their contributions to the record.

After being denied of her talent, Crow had plans to prove herself with her self-produced follow-up album. Sheryl Crow was released in September 1996 displaying the harsher, more political side of the singer/songwriter. Tracks discussed many controversial topics such as abortion, poverty, and war. The lead single "If It Makes You Happy" proved to be a smash hit placing in the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100. Subsequent singles "A Change Would Do You Good" and "Everyday is a Winding Road" contributed to the album selling over four million copies as well as the achievement of two Grammy Awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Rock Album. In 1997, Crow won an additional Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television for her theme song to the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies.

In September 1998, her third album The Globe Sessions was released featuring the hit singles "My Favorite Mistake" and "Anything But Down". The album contributed to Sheryl's continuous streak of commercially successful albums and earned her yet another Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. In 1999, she released a cover of Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child of Mine" for Adam Sandler's film Big Daddy. She also made her acting debut that year starring in The Minus Man alongside Owen Wilson, her then boyfriend. That year also witnessed the release of Sheryl Crow and Friends: Live From Central Park, an album recorded during a live performance of her hits featuring guest appearances by Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, and several others musicians.

Crow returned in 2002 with the fresh new album C'mon, C'mon. The album was heavily promoted with videos and photos featuring a fun loving, liberated Sheryl. The hit single "Soak Up the Sun" peaked at number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and placed in the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her biggest selling single since "All I Wanna Do". That year, she also collaborated with Kid Rock on the single "Picture" which placed at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2003, she released her first greatest hits compilation, The Very Best of Sheryl Crow which included the new single "The First Cut is the Deepest", a cover of Cat Steven's original, which peaked at number two on the charts. Her most recent album, Wildflower, released in September 2005 proved not to be as commercially successful as her previous records. The album features the single "Good is Good" which was nominated a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In February 2006, Sheryl was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and is expected a full recovery.