Sheryl Crow was born on February 11, 1962 in Kennett, Missouri. Her father Wendell Crow played trumpet in swing bands before becoming a lawyer, and her mother Bernice taught piano.

Sheryl began piano lessons at age 5, and growing up on the music of artists such as Christine McVie, Elton John, and Bob Dylan, she composed her first song at age 13. She went on to major in music at the University of Missouri in Columbia, and while there, she became part of a rock cover band named Cashmere. After graduating, Sheryl taught music to autistic children for two years at a St. Louis elementary school.

Sheryl's career as a professional singer and songwriter has its roots in hard work and perseverance. She began by moving to Los Angeles in 1986, where she worked as a waitress and searched for music gigs in her free time. Eventually, she managed to get work singing for several commercial spots. Around this time, she auditioned as a backup singer for Michael Jackson, and impressed his camp enough to be accepted onto the two year "Bad" world tour.

Sheryl's debut album "Tuesday Night Music Club" was released in 1993. In early 1994, it began climbing the charts, fueled by the success of the single "Leaving Las Vegas".

In 1996, Sheryl's self-titled second album was released, and immediately spawned the hit single "If It Makes You Happy". The album, almost exclusively the work of Sheryl alone, was met with critical success.

Sheryl Crow's work has also appeared on many motion picture soundtracks, including "Hope Floats", "Boys on the Side", "Message in a Bottle", "The Faculty" and "Practical Magic". She has also contributed to the Led Zeppelin and Carpenters tribute albums.
 

Misspellings & aliases:
Sheryll, Sherryl, Sherryll, Sheril, Sherill, Cheryll, Cheryl, Crov, Crove, Crowe, Krow, Krov, Krowe, Krove, Crouw.