Other than Sheryl Crow, there aren't many women rockers who have captured the public's attention right now. Crow is taking advantage of her preeminent position with a flurry of activity including kicking off the Today show's summer concert series this morning.
Hey, look who's on the front page of the Today show's site. My full story is here:
- Women are fixtures in the top echelons of pop, soul, country, dance, blues, gospel, even hip-hop, but there are very few women near the top in rock, and no one with the status or longevity of a Madonna, an Aretha Franklin, a Dolly Parton, or the star power of a Britney, Cher, or even Jessica Simpson.
Among the current female rockers who actually sell are Sheryl Crow, veteran growler Melissa Etheridge, angry young woman Alanis Morissette, troubled aging punker Courtney Love, punk/metal ingenues the Donnas, punkish indie rock band Sleater-Kinney, and revived new wavers Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders and Debbie Harry of Blondie.
Goth-pop-metal hybrid Evanescence, led by young singer Amy Lee, broke huge last year but guitarist and co-songwriter Ben Moody has already departed casting grave doubts on the band's future. Avril Lavigne is massive with the kids, but let's face it, her brand of pop-punk is way more pop than punk and it remains to be seen if she will still be a star by the time she turns 21. Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth and Kim Deal of the Pixies are respected indie rock pioneers and fixtures, but they aren't really stars in their own rights. Formerly brazen indie-rocker Liz Phair just had a big album, but she turned slick popster to do it. Did I mention Sheryl Crow?
Sheryl is Reigning Queen of the Rockers
Singer, songwriter, musician, producer, and girlish 42 year-old sex symbol, Crow, originally from Missouri, is by far the biggest star of those listed above, as her current spate of activity underlines. The former backup singer for Michael Jackson ("Bad" tour of '87-'88, tabloid rumors of their romantic involvement were greatly exaggerated, as in completely fabricated) was selected for the plum assignment of kicking off the NBC "Today" show's "Toyota Concert Series," tomorrow morning live from Rockefeller Center. Sunday she will be a celebrity participant in Washington's March for Women’s Lives, an abortion-rights demonstration expected to draw nearly 1 million people to the National Mall.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - mike
Excellent article. I think Crow is underrated by the Hipster Crowd, even if some of her choice of material is a bit questionable.
2 - Eric Olsen
Thanks mike, I have a new appreciation for her after doing the article.
3 - Mark Saleski
great writeup e.
i've always like Crow....a lot of critics seem to hate her, using the 'bland' label, which make no sense to me at all.
4 - Craig Lyndall
I always took a lot of shit for being a Sheryl Crow fan because she isn't considered cool in many crowds. I don't really care though. "If It Makes You Happy," from the Central Park show when she does harmonies with Chryssie Hynde is about as amazing as anything Crow has done.
Other chick rockers I dig.
Pretty Girls Make Graves - Female lead singer.
Tori Amos
Natalie Merchant
The Sundays
There are more, but I can't think of them right now.
5 - Craig Lyndall
Hey Mark, is this the first time we have agreed on music? :-)
6 - Eric Olsen
Thanks guys! there are lots of great ones in alt-rock, but none particularly popular right now.
7 - Mark Saleski
it could be craig...maybe the end is near after all!! ;-)
8 - Eric Olsen
Since I think you both have great taste, I am sure you have plenty of agreement.
9 - Craig Lyndall
Even with all the females I mentioned, I agree with your article, that there really aren't any rock musicians who can be mentioned in the same breath with Sheryl Crow in terms of popularity and quality over a long time period. She is the kind who has continued to be successful over a long period of time without too much reinvention. That says a lot.
10 - Craig Lyndall
I meant female rock musicians in that first sentence.
11 - Eric Olsen
her hits collections really emphasizes how solid and consistent she has been
12 - Sandra Smallson
Pleasant article about Crow but I'm afraid I don't see her as a ROCK musician. Sheryl is Pop or Country or some hybrid of those two..but ROCK?
Rock is Janis Joplin..Rock is Dolores O'riordan of the Cranberries..Rock is Meg White of the White Stripes, though her singing is not at the forefront of the band.. Rock is the female lead singer of K's choice(I always forget her name) Rock is Skin from Skunk Anansie..Rock is Courtney Love...I can go on and on..
There goes the neighbourhood? My Favourite Mistake? All I wanna do? Those are pop songs. Even if we want to make her different, then they are Country songs in the Shania Twain vein. If Crow is Rock then so is Shania Twain.
I like some of her songs but half of them are covers such as First cut is the deepest. She spends far too much time doing covers and even playing covers at her concerts..What about her own songs?..I can count on one hand which Crow "written" songs I actually enjoy or appreciate. Then again, I'm not sure she wrote them. Isn't every hit of hers a cover?
I guess all in all, she's harmless but I don't think she's deserving of last standing ROCK chic accolade. Courtney may be cuckoo now but she is by far more a rock chic on any side of the Atlantic before the nice Ms Crow.
13 - Mark Saleski
i dunno...take a group like the Eagles. most people think of them as a rock band, and yet tons are their tunes don't actually 'rock'.
14 - Craig Lyndall
Sheryl Crow is definitely softer rock music. It features guitars, bass, and drums. She plays guitar and bass depending on the track and she can perform all her stuff live with a band minus sampler or soundtrack.
She does write a lot of her own songs, and she plays an instrument. This is one of things that separates her from the pop stars.
And despite the occasional twinge, she is far from country.
15 - Sandra Smallson
Some of Sheryl's songs DO rock, if u mean rock as in good?..but I would be hard pressed to call her a rock musician as we know it.
The woman is the epitome of the modern day Country/pop musician. The Hillbillies are not pleased:) Tuesday night club was Country/Pop and none of her subsequent Albums show any musical variation anyway. Very Shania, a little bit Faith Hill and some Leanne Rimes. Granted, I haven't listened to all her songs.
I am simply saying that she is in no position to be called the last rock female standing because she is not rock by any stretch of the imagination in the 1st place. This is not to say she is not one of the few prominent female musicians today. She might well not be a prolific "charter" or deliver massive sales worldwide but she is known on both sides of the Atlantic and her music is enjoyed by many. Rock? She " a'int"! in my opinion.
16 - Sandra Smallson
I am aware Sheryl writes many of her songs, Craig. That was a tongue in cheek comment by me with regards to her love of "covers"..I am also aware she plays the guitar but so does Avril lavigne and if anything Avril's music has more in common with the Rock Music Genre than any of Sheryl's songs. Playing an instrument in your videos(because as we are aware, a good nos of these pop stars CAN play instruments but simply do not in their videos) may seperate you from other Musicians but it doesn't necessarily make you better at song writing or performance et al. Your point escapes me.
17 - Sandra Smallson
Eric I have one question. Why is Courtney Love referred to as "aging punker"? Is Crow not older than Love? Why did you not refer to Sheryl Crow as aging rockstar?
I'll hazard an answer:) Because you like Sheryl Crow:) It's human nature but as you know one of my pet peeves is the double standards of so called critics/reviewers and this word "aging" is a new thing amonsgt u guys. Yet, you write a glowing tribute of somebody you like that may be older than the person you have disparaged and nowhere do you put in aging. The fact that you like her and her music doesn't stop her aging process, you know?
It's no big deal but I just noticed it and found it amusing so I thought to ask. Now, I'm off to watch American Idol. My will power is amazing. How I've managed not to find out who leaves this week..knowing very well u guys have the name of the candidate who left all over this site..and even all over the web:) I've overcome my own curiosity and now I shall watch with all the tension the show demands:)
18 - Sylvia
Hey Eric,
Sheryl is a great musician. I've seen her live and she is female rocker! But, what about Ann and Nancy Wilson, who not only write most of their own material but, can rock like most male rockers! Stevie Nicks and Bonnie Raitt, need a mention here, too. They may all be in their upper ages, but they can still rock like Chrissy Hynde and Sheryl Crow. Let's give them some credit for starting the female rockers going!!
19 - Craig Lyndall
I am sorry, but your definitions of rock and pop do not agree with mine. Pop is like Britney, Christina, and stuff like that.
I consider Sheryl Crowe rock like I consider Chrissie Hynde rock. She is more rock than Alanis Morrissette, Avril, No Doubt (anymore,) and others. I mean it is definitely not pop. It is DEFINITELY NOT country, despite the Kid Rock song. It is rock.
I realize we are talking semantics but I just can't put Sheryl Crow in the pop category.
Also, I think the difference between Courtney and Sheryl is the fact that Courtney started out in punk. Punk is a genre for the young. I don't think many would argue with that, but you really don't see many 40 year old punk bands.
20 - bhw
you really don't see many 40 year old punk bands.
That's because they're all dead or at least brain dead by then. Courtney is on her way....
21 - Eric Olsen
The aging comment about Courtney is that she shows it, behaves like a deranged adoescent and forces age to be an issue. Crow is the opposite and I made a specific point of mentioning her age because she is defying stereotypes about women her age without making a big deal about it.
Re Stevie, I have very mixed feelings about her, but I don't think of her as current, and as a solo artist she is much more pop than rock. But she has done a lot of good songs with Fleetwood Mac.
Bonnie Raitt is great, but she is blues/alt adult contemporary - she hasn't done rock in a very long time.
Sheryl Crow writes almost all her own songs (she has only done a few covers, primarily on soundtracks, not her own albums), her songs are electric guitar based, she is clearly some version of contemporary roots rocker.
Avril is pure teen pop in the guise of faux-punk.
22 - Steven Rubio
I love Sleater-Kinney very very much, so thanks for mentioning them. Outside of them, I think the best female rocker around right now is Pink, and I'm sorry you didn't mention her. And, in anticipation of the usual "she's not a rocker" crap that always emerges when I mention Pink, 1) if you think so, you have a v.narrow idea of what constitutes rock, and 2) you've never seen her in concert.
23 - Eric Olsen
I think the jury is still out on Pink - she hasn't been around long enough and her huge hit album surely wasn't rock, although her latest is, more or less.
Oh, and regarding Heart, they haven't been around for a while as far as I know, and they headed away from rock toward arena-pop along the way as well. But they started off as a rock band, for sure.
24 - Sandra Smallson
Steven, it's not about narrow idea of what constitutes Rock. The dividing line b/w genres is thinning as years go by. I am all for that. I simply pointed out this issue because it was used as something to set Sheryl apart when it is something that she is NOT no matter which way you look at it. Pink has some Rock songs but is not a rock musician. She even has one or two R&B songs. Then she has her pop tunes. Infact, Pink has more variety of music on her Albums than Sheryl. I am not a fan of Pink but I give her that. Are RUN DMC rock? just because they happened to do a rock song cum rap with Aerosmith? No.
If Debbie Harry is given credit so should Stevie Nicks..afterall, Debbie's solo efforts were atrocious. She's all about Blondie and needs the band as much as Stevie needs Fleetwood Mac.
Eric, thanx for your explanation of why you referred to Courtney Love as "aging"..fair point if that is the vein in which you meant it. However, I find it hypocritical of Crow to mention in interviews about the overly sexual image of today's pop stars and then turn out in half naked outfits every chance she gets these days. Guzzling down Beer with the boys like it's going out of fashion. I have no problem with that but please tar yourself with the same brush with which you choose to tar others.
Lavigne has one song that I like. Complicated. After that, she's of no use to me. However, she is a teen rock musician. If pop is Xtina and Britney, where is the similarity in Lavigne's music to any of those two? I love Pop so believe me, the more pop stars, the better for me. But, Lavigne is not pop by a long stretch.
Chriss Hynde? Rock? Ha! The Pretenders were pop. Truly. They were only called Punk then, because Punk was the popular music in their time. Same thing with Blondie. It was all pop. Alanis is definitely Rock. No Doubt had a reggae Album for Christssake.
Basically, my point is..any attempt to elevate any Artist these days beyond the regular on some false basis of genre is a lost cause. Pop music is popular music that appeals to the masses, to the mainstream and obviously has some sort of commercial viability on a grand scale. One doesn't search for Sheryl Crow in the Rock stands or Blues..we find her albums in the pop section. If you find her elsewhere, you may find her in the Country section like you may find Avril, Alanis or No Doubt in the Rock section. Britney in the Dance section. But by no means be confused. They couldn't spot their Stiffed from their Backstreet Boys.
Craig, sugah pie, we'll just have to agree that you and I have different ideas of what is considered Pop, Rock or Country.
All I wanna do by Sheryl could easily have come out the mouths of Dolly Parton or the freaking Dixie Chicks.
25 - Steven Rubio
I show my age in these discussions. I come from a time (the 1960s) when it was assumed that popular music crossed barriers, was as close to universally appealing as was possible. For good reasons, we have become mistrustful of totalizing theories of culture, and over the last three decades we have moved away from assimilative culture to a diverse multi-culturalism that results in a hundred different stations on satellite radio, all of which play narrowly-defined genres, all of which assume that broadcasting is a losing proposition.
Me, I think that popular music is the one place where we might actually find common ground. And so, aging pseudo-hippie that I am, I see "rock and roll" as a very large umbrella, under which I include Aretha Franklin, the Village People, Run-DMC, and Pink. I understand the need to insist on diversity in popular culture, but I still like to be inclusive in my definitions, and so, Pink is a rocker in my book. I see no reason to separate "pop" from "rock." The Chiffons were rock and roll, in my opinion.