Who is Sheryl Suzanne Crow? The entertainment acting, music world knows her as Sheryl Crow. Crow 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,
[1] 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.
[2] 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.
[3]
Early life
Sheryl Suzanne Crow was born February 11, 1962 in
Kennett, Missouri, on February 11, 1962. Her father Wendell Crow is a lawyer and trumpet player, and her mother Bernice, a piano teacher.
[4] 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.
[5] Later, Crow was awarded an
honorary doctorate from the
Southeast Missouri State University, in
Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
[6]
Crow has stated that her musical inspirations are not restricted to one genre, as she likes absolutely anything with a drum beat. In 2008, she told
Ellen DeGeneres that "If it didn't have a drum beat, you can just forget about it!"
[7]
Early career
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."
[10] She also recorded background vocals for performances from various established artists including
Stevie Wonder,
Belinda Carlisle and
Don Henley.After graduating from college, Crow worked as a music teacher at the Kellison
elementary school, in
Fenton, Missouri.
[8] 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.
[9]
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.
1990s
Scrapped debut album (1992)
In 1992, Crow recorded her first attempt at her debut album with
Phil Collins' producer
Hugh Padgham. The self-titled debut album was due to be released on September 22, 1992, but was ultimately rejected by her label.
[11] However, a handful of cassette copies of the album were leaked along with press folders to be used 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.
International success (1993-1997)
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."
[12] Group members, Gilbert,
David Baerwald and
David Ricketts (both formerly of
David & David),
Bill Bottrell,
Brian MacLeod, and
Dan Schwartz[13] share songwriting credits with Crow on her debut album,
Tuesday Night Music Club.
[10]
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.
[10]
Crow appeared in the "New Faces" section of
Rolling Stone in 1993.
Tuesday Night Music Club featured many of the songs written by Crow's friends, including the second single, "
Leaving Las Vegas." The album was slow to garner attention, until "
All I Wanna Do" became an unexpected smash hit in the spring of 1994. As she later stated in
People, she found an old poetry book in a used book store in the L.A. area and used a poem as lyrics in the song.
[14] The singles "
Strong Enough" and "Can't Cry Anymore" were also released, with the first song ("Strong Enough") charting at #5 on Billboard and "Can't Cry Anymore" hitting the Top 40.
[15] 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
Grammy Awards, in 1995: Record of the Year, Best New Artist and Best Female Vocal Performance.
[10] She performed at the 1994 and 1999
Woodstock Festivals, as well as the
Another Roadside Attraction in 1997.
[16]
Crow supplied background vocals to the song "
The Garden of Allah" from
Don Henley's 1995 album
Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits.
In 1996, Crow released her
self titled second album.
[17] The album had songs about
abortion,
homelessness and
nuclear war. The debut single, "
If It Makes You Happy," became a radio success and netted her two Grammy awards for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Album.
[18] Other singles included "
A Change Would Do You Good," "
Home" and "
Everyday Is A Winding Road." Crow produced the album herself. The album was banned from sale at
Wal-Mart, as in the "Love Is A Good Thing" lyric Wal-Mart is implicated (by name) of supplying guns to which children later gain access.
[19] In 1997, Crow contributed the theme song to the
James Bond film
Tomorrow Never Dies. Her song
"Tomorrow Never Dies" was nominated for a
Grammy Award and Best Original Song Golden Globe.
[20][21] Crow collaborated on
Scott Weiland's 1998 album,
12 Bar Blues.
[22]
The Globe Sessions and Live (1998-1999)
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.
[23][24] 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."
[25] 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."
[26] 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.
[27] 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.
[28] The Globe Sessions peaked at #5 on the
Billboard 200 chart, achieving US sales of 2 million as of January 2008.
[29]
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.
[30]
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.
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. "There Goes the Neighborhood" was included in the album, eventually winning the Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
2000s
C'mon, C'mon and The Very Best of (2002-2004)
Crow had 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.
[31]
Crow's fourth studio album,
C'mon, C'mon was released in 2002, spawning the hit single "
Soak Up the Sun." Second single "Steve McQueen" won the Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy.
[32]
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.
[33] Crow, performing with Kid Rock at the 45th annual Grammy Awards, wore a large peace sign and a guitar strap with the words "No War."
[34]
Crow 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 duetted with rapper
Kid Rock on the crossover hit single "
Picture." She also assisted Rock on the track "Run Off to L.A."
Crow collaborated with
Michelle Branch on the song "Love Me Like That" for Branch's second album,
Hotel Paper, released in 2003.
[35] Crow was featured on the
Johnny Cash album
American III: Solitary Man in 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."
[36]
In 2003, Crow released a greatest hits compilation called
The Very Best of Sheryl Crow. It featured many of her hit singles, as well as some new tracks. Among them was the ballad "
The First Cut is the Deepest" (originally a
Cat Stevens song), 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
American Music Awards for Best Pop/Rock Artist and Adult Contemporary Artist of the Year, respectively.
In 2004, Crow appeared as a
musical theater performer in the
Cole Porter biopic De-Lovely.
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.
[29]
In 2006, Crow contributed the opening track, "Real Gone,"
to the
soundtrack for
Disney/
Pixar's animated film
Cars.
[37] 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."
[38]
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.
Crow wrote a foreword for the book
Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips, author Kris Carr's book that was based on her 2007 documentary film
Crazy Sexy Cancer. Crow contributed her
cover of the Beatles's "
Here Comes the Sun" on the
Bee Movie soundtrack in November 2007.
[39] She contributed background vocals to the
Ryan Adams song "Two" from the album
Easy Tiger.
Detours (2008-2009)
Crow returned with her sixth studio album
Detours, which was released on February 5, 2008.
Detours debuted at number two on the U.S.
Billboard 200 chart, selling about 92,000 copies in its first week and an additional 52,000 copies in its second week.
[40]
Detours was recorded at Crow's Nashville farm. Her son, Wyatt, makes an appearance on the song "Lullaby for Wyatt," which is featured in the movie
Grace Is Gone. "The songs are very inspired by the last three years of events in my life," Crow said of a time that found her battling breast cancer and splitting with partner
Lance Armstrong.
"
Shine Over Babylon" was the first promotional single from the album (download only). The first 'official' single to be released from the album was "
Love Is Free," followed by "Out of Our Heads."
A liberal political activist, she endorsed
Barack Obama for the
United States Presidential Election and later performed on the 4th and last day of the
2008 Democratic National Convention.
Crow has also recorded a studio version of "
So Glad We Made It" for the "Team USA Olympic Soundtrack" in conjunction with the 2008 U.S. Olympic team sponsors AT&T. Crow also stated that $1 of each ticket purchased for her 2008 tour would be donated to the United Nations
World Food Programme.
A&M Records re-released Sheryl's debut album, "Tuesday Night Music Club" as a deluxe version 2CD/DVD set on November 17, 2009. 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.
2010s
100 Miles from Memphis (2010 - )
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."[41] 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.
[42]
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.
[43]
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
Personal life
Crow began dating cyclist
Lance Armstrong in 2003. The couple announced their engagement in September 2005 and their split in February 2006. 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.
[44][45]
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.
[46] She and Wyatt live on a 154-acre (0.62 km
2) farm outside Nashville, Tennessee.
[47]
On June 4, 2010, Crow announced that she adopted another boy named Levi James Crow, born on April 30, 2010.
[48]
She is the great-granddaughter of former congressman
Charles A. Crow (1873–1938).
Discography
Filmography
- 1996: Live From London
- 1998: The Minus Man
- 1999: Rockin' the Globe Live
- 2003: C'mon America 2003
- 2003: The Very Best of Sheryl Crow: The Videos
- 2006: Wildlower Tour: Live from New York
- 2008: Sheryl Crow - Live
- 2009: 30 Rock 3x22 - Kidney Now!
- 2010: Cougar Town 1x18; 1x19; 1x20
- 2010: Hannah Montana 4x5
- 2011: Miles From Memphis - Live At The Pantages Theatre
Books
- 2011: If It Makes You Healthy with Chuck White
See also
To see more of Who Is click here
Who is Карина Смiрнова? The entertainment and dancing world knows her as Karina Smirnoff a Ukrainian American professional ballroom dancer.
Smirnoff was born January 2, 1978) in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union on January 2, 1978. When she was five years old, she began taking ballet lessons, followed by gymnastics, aerobics, figure skating, ballroom dancing and piano.[3] She chose to pursue ballroom dancing. In 1992, Smirnoff emigrated to the United States,[4] and is reportedly a naturalized United States citizen. 
Smirnoff attended Nerinx Hall in St. Louis, MO and Christopher Columbus High School in New York and the Bronx High School of Science before going to Fordham University, during which time she picked up her interest in dancing again. Smirnoff graduated from Fordham University with a double major in economics and information system programming.[1] During her academic studies, Smirnoff's goal was to go to law school and become an attorney. However she later came across a dance school in Brooklyn, New York, and after some time there dancing became her profession. 
country singer and Hannah Montana star.[12] The pair was the eighth to be eliminated from the competition on May 8, 2007. Her partner for Season 5 of the show was current five-division world champion boxer, Floyd Mayweather Jr. On October 16, 2007, Karina and Floyd were the fourth couple eliminated from competition and came in 9th place. She returned for Season 6, partnered with singer Mario and finished in 5th place. In Season 7, she was partnered with chef Rocco DiSpirito and they were the fourth pair to be eliminated with a finish of 9th place for the second time.
Smirnoff has appeared nude in a PETA advertising campaign -with the tagline "I'd rather dance naked than wear fur"[13][14]
