Top Ten Songs by Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow is known for her thoughtful lyrics, guitar picking, and soulful voice. Though she started out doing jingles for TV commercials and backup singing for Michael Jackson and Don Henley, she now has 7 albums of her own and tours all over the world. She’s won 9 Grammy’s so far for her excellent songwriting. Below are ten of her best songs, including a couple that you might not have heard before unless you own her albums.
1. All I Wanna Do
Any list of Sheryl Crow songs would not be complete without a nod to her first hit from the Tuesday Night Music Club album. This peppy hit is about strangers having a beer and watching people at a car wash across the street.
2. Everyday Is A Winding Road
This is one of Sheryl’s best known hits and actually appeared in the movie Erin Brockovich, though the single was released well before the movie. It’s about the quirky twists and turns that we experience in life and learning to take everything in stride. You can find it on her self-titled album, Sheryl Crow.
3. My Favorite Mistake
It’s a sultry song about loving someone that you know is wrong for you. The softness in Sheryl’s voice ads a rich layer to the music. If you’ve ever had a relationship that was just wrong from the get-go or where your partner was unable to commit – or worse, was a known cheater, this is a good Sheryl Crow song for you. This song appears on the Globe Sessions album.
4. There Goes The Neighborhood
More of a social commentary, this is a fun song about the deterioration of society. Drugs, crime, and illicit activity are prevalent everywhere and you never know who is doing what because everyone’s doing something. Things and people look glamorous but they’re really just covering up the dirt. This upbeat tune is Sheryl Crow’s second release from Globe Sessions.
5. I Shall Believe
A lesser known track from Sheryl’s first commercial released album, Tuesday Night Music Club, it’s a touching ballad about needing to be comforted through the troubles of life. Life is never perfect and we can’t expect it to be, but if the one you love tells you that everything will be alright, you believe them. This song is more about Sheryl’s voice and the sensitivity of the lyrics rather than the music production.
6. Maybe That’s Something
My favorite line from this song on Globe Sessions goes, “we lay ’round just like gurus in borrowed robes”. It’s an up-tempo song with keyboard and percussion as well as Sheryl’s usual guitar. The verses are soft and mellow, but the chorus is loud and vibrant. It’s a song about appreciating life and realizing that something is better than nothing.
7. If It Makes You Happy
This popular song from the Sheryl Crow album focuses mainly on Sheryl’s guitar-playing as she sings about doing anything to please her boyfriend. She says she’d do all kinds of silly things to please him, though she admits that she lies and gets “stoned”, but she loves him and wants him to be happy. Yet, she realizes that he’s depressed and that these things won’t really make their relationship better.
8. The Book
This is a hidden gem on the Sheryl Crow album which appears at the end. It’s an interesting song about how she met a writer in Rome and had an affair with him only to find out much later that he took the circumstances of her life and wrote a book about it without her permission. It’s a mellow song, layered with low vocals that have a slightly haunting effect.
9. Soak Up The Sun
Appearing on her 6th album, C’mon C’mon, this song is one of her more poppy hits. Sheryl Crow underwent a slight shift in this album, which features several duets and has a more mainstream sound than her other albums. While this song has a very catchy chorus that can mask the lyrics to the song, it’s about needing to lighten up. She comments on the expense of today’s world and how happiness comes from the inside rather than from material goods and status or feeling emotionally superior to other people.
10. Good Is Good
This is the first single from her Wildflower album. It’s about hitting bottom and also about realizing what is really valuable in life. When you put your value in external things, you’ll be disappointed, but if you can see that it’s all illusion, you’ll be okay. It’s a mellow song, which reflects the slowed-down pace of the entire Wildflower album.
Sheryl Crow is an american classic. Her music is timeless and suitable for almost any age. If you are tired of pointless pop music, check out any one of her albums. While some of her music has a poppy sound, most of her songs are very thought provoking comments on American Society or the nature of human relationships.
