Sheryl (2022) Movie Script

1
You say you don't read
the newspaper articles,
magazine articles
that are written about you.
Youdon'treadyourownpress.
I want to read you something
that "Rolling Stone" wrote...
Watermelon, watermelon,
peanut butter, peanut butter.
Okay,fireaway.
"You can cast
a pretty wide net
among Sheryl Crow's
acquaintances
without finding anyone
ready to describe her beyond
"that familiar backhanded
compliment of driven."
Ew. Way to kick it up
a notch, Steve.
Youaredriven,though.
I think the negative
connotations that have been
associated with driven
and perfectionist
usually get put into
that category of bitch.
I think that's just
by nature of the fact
that you have a woman who's
at the head of a company
telling a bunch of men and women
howthingshavetobedone.
I'vebeenlong
Alongwayfromhere
I put on a poncho,
played for mosquitoes
And drank till
I was thirsty again
You have seemed
to chart your own course.
Multi-Grammy-winningartist
who has sold over 50 million
albums worldwide.
Found Geronimo's rifle,
Marilyn's shampoo
And Benny Goodman's
corset and pen
Mydefinitionofdriven,
it's been the pressure
I've put on myself.
You don't get there by just,
you know, having a great time.
You get there by, like,
digging deep.
Ifitmakesyouhappy
Itcan'tbethatba-a-a-ad
Ifitmakesyouhappy
Then why the hell
are you so sad?
If it makes you happy, yeah
Itcan'tbethatba-a-a-ad
Ifitmakesyouhappy
Then why the hell
are you so sad?
Whoo!
I think from an early age,
I knew music
was this joyful thing,
this nerve-racking thing,
and then ultimately
this rewarding thing.
I've always had real high
highs and real low lows,
and that is a part of...
who I am.
AndIshallbelieve
Can we sing three-part on that?
AndIshallbelieve
Are you singing it...
What are you singing?
Ishallbelieve
Whatareyousinging?
Ishallbelieve
Sheryl is the voice
of a generation
in the area of acknowledging
flaw and heartbreak.
Ah,ah,ah,ah
We fell in love
with her writing
because that was us, all of us.
Oh,oh,oh,oh,oh,oh
Ah-ah-ah-ah
Musicgavemeasenseofself.
It gave me permission
to talk about my feelings.
It's something
that also can be a curse
when it comes to
needing to produce,
needing for it
not to just be good,
forittobegreat.
Sherylhasfierceworkethic.
Itsaysalotaboutherdrive
withwhichsheattacks
something that
she's into artistically.
It's complicated to be
a woman in the music industry
because you have to work
twice as hard.
You have to be twice as loud
to make your voice heard.
Nevergonnagiveup,no
Everything was gonna cost
Sheryl.
What are you gonna sacrifice
as a woman
tobeallowedthis?
It's always hard to look back
and talk about who you were,
'cause it's only
who you think you were.
Settleabetformenow.
Did you ever do
a McDonald's commercial?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
It's a good time...
For the great taste
of McDonald's
That was you.
Oh, that was you.
My hometown is in
the boot heel of Missouri.
I was a music geek
at a really young age.
I wanted to know who played
on everything,
and I wanted to know
what all the words were.
I can remember going into
the living room
and turning the lights off
and playing the piano.
And that was where I felt like
I had found myself.
I went to
the University of Missouri
justlikemyoldersisterdid.
I majored in music...
Piano performance
withasecondaryineducation.
When I got out of school,
I got into a cover band.
I interviewed
for several teaching jobs
and wound up
in Rockwood School District,
whichispublicschoolsystem.
Iwasengaged.
I was engaged to
the guitar player in the band
who is a born-again Christian,
and so he's like,
"If you're not gonna
sing for the Lord,
wecan'tbetogether."
Itdidnotfeellike
I was breaking
any of the Commandments,
and I was just like,
"I like singing in bands."
I like playing keyboards.
I like pop music.
"I like getting better
at my instrument."
Anyway, that was
the beginning of the end
ofthatrelationship,
the first of three engagements.
There are certain things
that you look at
inthestoryofyourlife.
Like, not everything
in your life
is gonna be mapped out for you.
They are gonna be things
that happen
that you wouldn't have been
able to dream about.
It's a good time for the
great taste of McDonald's
I wound up making
in that 45 minutes of work
well over what I'd made
in two years of teaching.
And when I got that
commercial, I felt like,
youknow,ifI'mevergonnago
and try to make a living
as an artist,
I need to do it now
while I'm not married
and have my life in front of me.
I went home on a Tuesday
and told my parents,
"I'mmovingtoL.A."
And they said, "When?"
I said, "I'm leaving
on Sunday."
So...
Imean,it'skindofpsycho.
I think pulling into L.A. when
the only city you've ever seen
is St. Louis
is kind of inexplicable.
So I got a book of studios,
working studios in L.A.,
andthenIgotaThomasGuide
and I wrote out
all the addresses
andjustdrovearoundallday
and took my cassette tape
in the door
and I'd say, "I am Sheryl Crow."
I'm brand-new in town.
I have this demo tape.
Canyoupleasemakesurethat
"somebody hears it
or whatever?"
Imean,totallynaive.
I took my music around,
and people didn't want to know
aboutafemale.
And this is... this is
pre-Tracy Chapman, right?
And I came out one day and
there was a boot on my car,
and I couldn't afford
to get the boot off,
soIlostmycar.
And I was just like,
"Oh, my God. Why am I here?
What have I done?
How do I get back home?"
I got a waitress job
in the Valley
ataplacecalledLeCafe,
and lots of musicians
came through there.
One night I was working and
this man, Les Hooper, was in,
and I was told that he was
a commercial producer.
Snuckhimatape.
I knew there was a chance
I'd get fired.
The next morning, I was let go.
Buthelistenedtomytape.
He called and said,
"I don't usually"
listentopeople'stapes
"if they give them to me
in a restaurant or something."
He's like, "It's really good.
Would you come in?"
And I've got a spot
I'm gonna have you try on."
So then I started getting,
like, little pieces
ofworkhereandthere.
I remember calling my parents
and saying,
"I'm doing a Johnny Mathis
recording session today."
And they're like, "That's great!"
Youcancomehomenow.
"You'vemadeit."
I think I was on the last
episode of "Cop Rock."
It was a detective show
that was a musical,
ifyoucanimagine.
He's just a squirrel
waiting for a pretty girl
He'dliketohavehisway
There was, like,
a dance routine and a song.
In fact, I think it might have
already been canceled,
andthiswasthelastone.
Comeandgetit,hey
Igotsomethingforyou
Comeon,comeandgetit
Ihadafour-trackrecorder.
Iwouldcomehomefromwork,
and I would sit
at that four-track,
and I would sing with Chaka Khan
and then I would sing
with Ann Wilson.
I was just always trying
to get my voice
towhereIcouldsortofmimic
and also where I could
kind of control it.
I would practice,
and I would try to write
on my keyboard,
I had a drum program.
I didn't have
any air conditioning,
and people all night,
like 4:00 in the morning...
"Canyoushutthefuckup?"
But I just was driven, you know,
and then I would sleep till
noon and I would go to work.
Andthenitjustwasacycle
until the Michael Jackson tour.
I found out about
the Michael Jackson audition,
snuckin,andauditioned.
I basically just looked
into the camera and said,
"Hi, Michael, my name is
Sheryl Crow."
I'mfromMissouri.
"I was a schoolteacher
and I'm a singer."
I remember auditioning Sheryl.
She was just a little perky kid
And with a high voice, you know,
and she was cool.
She had a cool sound.
And I thought,
okay, let's go with this.
Wegotonanairplane,a747,
whichI'dneverseen.
I'd never been
out of the country.
Wewerefittedforcostumes.
Weweregivenalook.
Like, I had this great,
big blond hair.
It's just one of those things
that really doesn't hit you
until you begin rehearsing,
again, getting your passport.
You sell your car.
You get rid of your apartment.
And then all of a sudden,
you find yourself
infrontof60,000people.
I came up
the Michael Jackson tour
with some of the most
important...
relationshipsinmylife.
The first time I met Sheryl
was in Japan.
I was working on the "Bad"
tour in a funny capacity
assortofamarketingliaison
between Pepsi
and Michael's camp.
I think most people assumed
I worked for Pepsi,
whichIdidn't,
I knew they would
never hire a person like me.
I do recall a moment
at soundcheck.
Sheryl took the mic,
and I definitely did
a turnaround double take,
and I was like, "Wow."
Then tell me
just what did I do?
Somebody introduced me
to Sheryl.
We became comfortable
as friends, really.
He and I just became
very, very, very close.
And one of the reasons
we were so close
was he just knew so much
about every genre of music.
So he and I just became
really great friends.
We continued that friendship
after the Jackson tour,
and then he ultimately
became my manager.
Sheryl, Scooter, and myself,
we hung out a lot.
We spent a lot of time together,
youknow,awayfromtheband
and everything,
and she was always so curious,
wantedtolearneverything,
wanted to learn guitar,
keyboards.
Greg would come over,
and he would give me
his philosophies
on building musical hooks,
and we did a bunch
of writing together.
Sheryl was focused
on songwriting
anddevelopingherpalette
and where she wanted to go
from the get-go.
Shewasalwaysmakingmusic.
Hurry, operator,
get redemption on the line
I was invited to hang out
in the "A" camp.
While we were in Tokyo,
I got a phone call
from one of Michael's
security guys saying,
"Hey, Mike wants you
to come over
andwatchacoupleofmovies."
I go over
to Michael's hotel room.
We watch "Amos 'n' Andy,"
and then we watched "Shane,"
and he's giggling,
and Bubbles is around.
When Bubbles wouldn't behave,
he would take a ballpoint pen
and he'd, like,
poke him in the chest
to get his attention and stuff.
Imean,itwaslike...
Itwascrazy.
HedidpokehimwithaBIC.
He just would do like,
"Quit it."
You know, you read about chimps,
whattheycandotoaperson.
Yeah, I mean,
even when I'm telling it,
I'm thinking this is
the weirdest thing ever.
But I didn't ever
really get to know him.
Iwasprettynaive,
but I still thought it was
so weird that Michael had,
youknow,acouplelittleboys
on the road with him
at different times.
Now,knowingwhatisalleged,
it makes me sad
for the life he had.
Obviously, it makes us
all sad for the children.
It's just... it's devastating
to even think about.
"I Just Can't Stop
Loving You" was a big
duetmomentinthetour.
Sheryl was put in
that spotlight,
andshecommandedit.
She belted it out
nose-to-nose with Michael.
She couldn't believe
she had to walk out
in this tight miniskirt
and wear these wigs
that were almost
as big as she was.
You know, massive wig,
you know, and all made up
and all dolled up
in the heels and everything.
Whenmorningawakesme
Sometimes he'd really want it
to look sexual,
you know,
like, he'd grab my hip.
Andbytheendofthattour,
everywhere in all the tabloids,
I was gonna marry him,
I was gonna have his baby.
The tabloid aspect
of the Jackson tour
wassuperextreme.
Thepresswassayingthat
Sheryl and Michael
were a couple.
Imean,please,youknow?
You sing the duet, so obviously,
"Oh, then you must be
seeing each other."
"No,we'resingingaduet."
Everyarticlewouldbe
so completely outlandish
about me.
Inhindsight,itprobablywas
planted with publicists
and things.
AndifIstop
I think the first time
I spoke my mind, lyrically,
it was a song called
"What I Can Do for You."
The song is really
from the standpoint
of the sexual harasser,
particularly in our business.
It was about my own experience
with sexual harassment.
WhatIcandoforyou
There's no one else
on God's green earth can do
Therewasalotofinterest
from Michael Jackson's manager
to manage me.
This manager was signed to
manage Michael specifically,
and only,
so for him to manage me,
hewouldhavebeenfired.
Now,Idon'tknowanything
about how
the music business works.
I know you get your songs
to somebody
who either is a producer
or is inside the record label,
ortheycomeseeyou,
and then you worked really hard
and you were
a really nice person
andyouwrotegoodsongs,
and then you made it
or you didn't make it.
Ihavesomuchtooffer
Ifyoujustbenice
If you do what I say and
don't make me say it twice
He said, "This is what
we're gonna be able to do."
Wewillguarantee
that the album will come out
in the top 10
"and the single will come out
as well in the top 10."
Within a matter of
a couple weeks,
any kind of event that was held,
I always had to go
with Michael's manager,
and then
the sexual harassment started
with his manager being,
like, all over me,
and it was a constant battle
of keeping him off of me.
Frankwasagangster.
You know,
let's not sugarcoat that.
I mean, he wasn't cast
in the movie "Goodfellas"
byaccident.
She confided in me
that there was pressure on her
to become more familiar
with Frank
on levels
that she was uncomfortable.
I told
the three backup singers
that I was working with
what had happened,
andIwasreallyterrified.
So I finally contacted a very
high-powered music attorney,
and I said,
"Look, I'm frightened."
I've already been told
if I ever blow this cover
thatIwillneverworkagain
"and that I need
to watch my back."
And then he ultimately, at
the end of the meeting, said,
"Look, you will come out ahead
if you can just stick it out."
And the last thing he said
was that, "There are people"
that would die to be
in this situation."
And I just sunk into the
darkest, most depressed place,
just the disappointment of
the way the real world works.
AndIwasreallydestroyed.
WhatIcandoforyou
There's no one else, no one else
No one else gonna do for you
Justaskanybody
And they'll tell you
that it's true
There's no one else on earth
Can do the things
that I can do for you
Yeah,foryou
One day I was sitting
in my office,
IgotacallfromFrank.
He said to me that he didn't
like what she had to say
in one of her songs,
and he said,
"Well, we're gonna sue you."
And I said, "Go for it."
And I never heard from him
again.
When I got home
from the Jackson tour
and after I kind of
pulled myself together,
I auditioned for this band
called Toy Matinee
thatKevinGilbertwasin,
and I got the part
of keyboard player
and started dating Kevin,
which is such a clich.
But this guy was so talented.
So he invited me
to this thing called
theTuesdayNightMusicClub.
What in the world is
the Tuesday Night Music Club?
Aclubofwildpartiers
who all happen to be
artists in L.A.
Itwasaprettyheadycrowd.
I mean, it was a lot of drinking
andsomeguysdroppingacid.
I mean, it was like
freethinkers.
KevinGilbertbroughtherin
to our Tuesday Night session
very early on.
Itwasunbelievable.
Something of a higher order
came together.
I think the first session
we did,
we wrote and recorded
"Leaving Las Vegas."
Sheryl took the lyric sheet
and started singing.
She sat over on a chair over
in the corner and sang it,
and she sang the shit out of it.
I remember Bill saying to me,
"I love your singing
when you're not trying
to sing great."
The diversity of her vocals,
I mean, it's unbelievable.
She owns every song,
owns every character.
When she sings
and also when we write,
everythingcametolife.
I think up until that point,
there was not, like, a,
"We're making
a record for this girl."
And then Bill started really
managing the situation,
only letting people come in
when needed.
And Kevin didn't like
not being invited,
so that started
to cause real friction,
and our relationship
started deteriorating.
I was in charge of
getting it made
and curating it,
if that's the word.
It'slikeastew.
The other band guys...
They weren't there for that.
Wewoulddrinkabunch,
we'd go to the bookstore
down the road,
and we bought a poetry book
by this man named Wyn Cooper.
And there was a poem in it
first thing called "Fun."
It started off with,
"All I want to do
is have a little fun
before I die."
And so we had this groove going
that was somewhere between
Stealers Wheel
andaMarvinGayetrack,
and I picked up the poetry book
and started just
kind of free form,
All I wanna do is have
a little fun before I die
Says a man next to me
out of nowhere
And I just kind of
acted out the poem.
And then we put this hook in...
AllIwannado
Andthatbecamethesong.
All I wanna do is have some fun
I got a feeling
I'm not the only one
Well,allIwannado
By the end of the record,
I was thinking, you know,
that song is really cool,
but it's... it's such a B-side
and it's so esoteric
and so quirky.
Weshouldjustleaveitoff.
And Bill's like,
"We can't leave it off."
And I was like, "Well,
I got to contact this guy"
and tell him
we've used his poem."
So we looked for him.
I called him.
I was like,
"I know you don't know me."
We'veusedyourpoem.
We want to give you, you know,
half the songwriting,
"should the thing
ever see the light of day."
And he's like, "Oh,
that's great, that's great."
I like a good beer buzz
early in the morning
And Billy likes to
peel the labels
OffthosebottlesofBud
The anniversary Woodstock
in '94 was a game changer.
We came out
and we played our hearts out,
and then suddenly
we were being noticed.
It's really quite a thing
to witness.
It'slikeamatchstriking
and then somebody
throwing oil on it.
It moves so fast
you don't even know
whatyournextmoveis.
Until the sun comes up
over Santa Monica Boulevard
All of a sudden
you're hearing it, like,
in drugstores and grocery stores
and then magazines
are talking about it.
Hairdressers are giving people
the Sheryl Crow curls.
Thesongwaseverywhere.
All I wanna do
is have some fun
Oh!
There's a moment
when a hit song
takesonitsownlife.
It becomes bigger than the song
and sometimes bigger
than the artist.
And that's definitely
something to watch out for,
especially on your first album.
They put
"Leaving Las Vegas" out
and it started to have traction.
We started to get some TV,
and I got David Letterman.
Now, this right here, kids,
is her debut CD entitled
"TuesdayNightMusicClub."
Making her first appearance
with us,
here'sSherylCrow.
Sheryl,comeonout.
Lifespringseternal
Onagaudyneonstreet
NotthatIcareatall
NowI'm...
You know, you grow up
and you watch TV,
and you see Ed Sullivan
and you see Dick Clark
and he's interviewing people
and stuff.
Andthat'sTV,youknow,
and then all of a sudden
you're on TV.
I'mleavingLasVegas
David Letterman, who
was really the first person
tohavemeonnationalTV,
who had kind of discovered
the record on his own
driving back and forth to
his house in Connecticut,
said, you know,
"Come over and talk to me,"
and, you know,
it was Dave Letterman.
Nice to see you.
Thanks for being here.
- Thank you.
- Have a seat there.
The crowd goes crazy.
Whaa!
He said, "So what is this song?"
Is this thing
autobiographical?"
And I'm so nervous, I'm like,
"Well, I mean, kind of."
I'm guessing... and I think
I know the answer to this...
That song in some way
must be autobiographical.
Is that correct?
Uh, yes.
Which is a stupid question
for a guy like him.
It's like, it's a character
sung by Sheryl Crow.
This is a little complicated
to describe, right?
So she said, "Yeah."
Well,youknow...
- I've never lived there.
- You never lived in Las Vegas.
- No, I haven't.
- You worked there?
Haven't really worked there
either.
Haveyoueverbeenthere?
Yes, I've lost
a lot of money there.
- Could you find it on a map?
- Yes.
I wasn't prepared for
how overwhelming
it would feel to have somebody
that I had watched on TV
askmequestions.
Originally, the song was very
metaphorical for Los Angeles,
that people move there
with these great dreams
and they wind up
being very disillusioned.
And so that's what Las Vegas
seems to exemplify.
Then why didn't you
call the song
"I'mLeavingLosAngeles"?
In fact,
every major American city...
"I'mLeavingMinneapolis."
"I'mLeavingMilwaukee."
Milwaukee'sagoodone,yeah.
"I'm Leaving New York"...
shortly.
No.
Yes, if I could go back
and do it again,
certainlyIwouldfeelmyfeet
and I would try to put myself
in my body and I would say,
"You know, what a great
experience being in a room"
with all these incredible,
intellectual people
and being able to jam a song out
"and put together lyrics
together."
And, you know, I could have
told that story, you know,
butIcouldn'tthink.
The drama that followed...
It was a shit show.
And I came home the next day
to just a massive blow-up
of the guys in the group saying,
"She's taken
totally credit for it."
And then come to find out
that there had been a book
called "Leaving Las Vegas."
And the title
was brought in to us
by one of the guys in
the Tuesday Night Music Club.
And he had said
we had promised the writer,
JohnO'Brien,publishing,
and that
I was fully aware of it.
And after David Letterman,
the author committed suicide.
And...
Ijust...
I mean, I just went into a hole.
I... I just went into a hole.
The press unfairly cast her
as the bad guy,
and she carried that weight
for a long time.
It's that good-girl thing
where you're just like,
"I would never hurt anybody.
I would never want
anybody to be hurt."
And then
it's all of that, you know.
Italltiesinto...
you know, work hard,
be a good person.
And then you just...
All of a sudden,
youjustwakeupandyou're...
Wakeupandyourealize,wow.
Whathappened?So...
Can we just
take a break for a second?
Picking up an "L.A. Weekly"
and seeing an interview
with the person that was in
Tuesday Night Music Club,
and to read it in print
and to see the lies...
Itchangedme.
I never supported
that narrative.
Thepresswantsadrama.
It took that little,
innocent, young person
thatwasonDavidLetterman
and made me not want to be
accessible anymore.
AndtheBestNewArtistis...
SherylCrow.
At that point, there was
quite a lot of friction
with the
Tuesday Night Music Club.
And I remember looking out
and seeing them
and not feeling the happiness
or the pride.
But nonetheless,
they were there,
and just how self-conscious
I felt.
Most importantly, I want
to thank Bill Bottrell,
who helped me make this record,
and all the artists I've been
very inspired by...
David Baerwald,
David Ricketts, Kevin Gilbert.
Wyn Cooper, who actually
came up with
"All I wanna do
is have some fun."
Most importantly, though,
I want to thank my manager,
who's a first-time manager
who's been working for
nomoneyupuntilnowforme.
He's my best friend.
His name's Scooter.
Andhereallydeservesthis.
Bytheendofthenight,
the last award...
It's the biggest award.
You're up against
Bruce Springsteen.
I was not thinking
that I was gonna win.
And the Record of the Year
is...
"All I Wanna Do," Sheryl Crow.
AllIwannado
Bill was very consistent
with who he was
whenwemadetherecord.
We accepted the Grammys together
anditwasacelebration.
I mean, it really was.
And that changed everything.
As soon as that record won
Record of the Year,
Best New Artist,
Song of the Year,
ourrecordsalesdoubled.
Sherylwasworking24/7...
Videos,interviews,concerts.
Itwasjustnever-ending.
Theironyofitwas,though,
we hadn't seen any money
from it.
My manager was still
working out of his closet
across the hall
from his apartment,
and I was still driving
an old Volkswagen.
Volkswagen.
Sheryl and I
would share a hotel room.
I would get up
at 8:00 in the morning,
godowntothelobby,
and have my calling card
in the phone booth.
Andthatwasthat.
And then if, like, I had
a girlfriend and she'd call
or Sheryl was dating somebody
and they'd call,
we would kind of
make believe, like,
"Oh, let me see if she's here,"
and then count 10 seconds
and hand the phone over.
Thosewereawesomedays.
I mean, you know,
you got off stage,
youhungoutwithyourband,
played music, drank some beers,
crawled into bed,
and woke up the next morning,
did press all day,
soundcheck, gig,
drink some beers,
watch a movie, go back to bed.
It was like
the same thing on repeat.
Wefinallygotatourbus,
and that was, like,
the biggest day ever.
Come back, come back.
This one down here is mine.
So you can see you have
the necessary tools...
Leatherhat,Pumas,
And a curling iron, of course,
and other things
that we don't have
to really get into, do we?
Ha,ha!
It was a pink bus and it had
a tilted champagne glass
with little droplets, and
whenever people would yell,
"Who's in the tour bus?"
we'd always yell,
"DollyParton!"
IgotadognamedScout.
Iadoptedhim.
It'sScout!
Andhewentoneverytour,
with the exception of
overseas, for 13 years.
Ah,happiness.
I remember driving down
Sunset and seeing her name
onthemarqueeoftheWhiskey.
Like,"Oh,man,shedidit!
She did it!
Wow, this is crazy."
Ah,yeah,yeah,yeah,run
Run baby, run baby,
run baby, run
Run baby, run baby,
run baby, run baby
Run
Run baby, run baby,
run baby, run baby
Run
Gottakeeponrunning,run
Runbaby
WewereinFrance,
which was where my record
was doing really well.
4:00 in the morning,
I get a call from Mick Jagger
askingmeifIwouldcome
and do their pay-per-view
with them in Miami.
And they were gonna send
a private jet,
which I'd never seen
a private jet.
And I got over there,
and Keith came over
and put his arm around me,
and, "Hey, little sister,"
which he has called me
ever since.
I had known something
about Sheryl.
Ihadheardherrecords.
What a great voice, you know,
really, you know, strong.
We rehearsed it.
It went fine.
The next day I got up,
I threw up all day long.
Iwastotallyterrified.
Igetready.Igooverthere.
I'm telling Scooter, "I just
don't think I can do this."
She's flown a long way
to get here.
I'm hoping she's got over
her jet lag.
And right before
I was walking out,
asMickwasannouncingme,
Bobby Keys handed me
some tequila and said,
"Take a shot of courage,"
and pushed me out.
I wish her luck.
Beautiful Miss Sheryl Crow.
Igotnastyhabits
Itaketeaatthree
With the meat I eat for dinner
I must be hung up for a week
She would very well handle
Mick Jagger, you know.
To me, just standing
in the back going...
"Wow, this girl's strong,
you know?
She's not putting up
with any of his bullshit."
Don'cha think
there's a place for us
Rightacrossthestreet?
Don'cha think
there's a place for you
Inbetweenthesheets?
- Yeah
- She was very strong girl.
Lateron,averygenuinegirl.
In a way, very sensitive
and very sweet, you know.
But there's a lot of tough
in there,
and, you know,
which is a good mixture.
I went home, and Bill and I
decided we'd get together
and write, and we drank martinis
and went out for a great
dinner and did some writing,
and then we decided
we would go to New Orleans
tomakeourrecord.
The first record had sold like
five or six million copies,
and we headed down to Kingsway
with this immense amount
of pressure
for the sophomore record
to live up to the first record.
You know, that word "potential,"
howitcanbesonegative.
Like, "You have such
potential."
It's almost like, "Man,
you could really blow it."
What potential, you know?
Our first day at Kingsway
was kind of quirky.
We get there, and this woman
rolls out from under the board
on, like, an automobile caddy
on her back
with goggles
and a soldering iron.
So we thought,
well, that doesn't bode well
forthebeautifulnewconsole.
We'rekindofjustgetting,
you know,
acclimated to the place.
And as this woman was leaving,
she kind of scolded Bill
about putting his drink
on the console.
And so immediately it was like,
"Mm. This is a weird way
to start."
Idohaveaveryvaguememory
ofaskingwhoeveritwas
that was on the other side
of the console
to remove their beverage
from the console
because it's inappropriate,
and everybody knows that.
I think we spent the day
in there
kindofmessingaround,
and more things didn't work
than did.
Daniel Lanois
built the studio.
I swear he threw
half of it together
beforewegotthere,youknow?
They think the studio sucks.
Nothing's working.
The gear won't work
if you're mad at it.
We're trying to work,
and it's Sheryl's got this,
"Yeah, but" attitude.
We broke and went to dinner
and once again had some wine.
And the next morning
I woke up with a headache
andnoproducer.
I'm like,
"I don't belong here."
And I got on a plane
and came home.
I was there and had booked
the studio and was panicked.
IcalledScooter.
Sheryl said, "Bill has left.
He's done."
He's not... he's not gonna
work on the record."
It was a frightening moment
for her.
And he said,
"Why don't you call Jeff
and see if he's interested
in coming down."
TheguitarplayerJeffTrott,
I didn't really know very well.
He played a little like
an '80s take
on Keith Richards, if you will.
I get this call, like, really
super early in the morning,
andit'sSheryl.
She'slike,"Well,hey,
what are you...
What are you up to?"
And I said, "Well, you know,
exciting news."
I'm going on the road
with The Wallflowers."
And there was complete silence.
And then she comes back with...
I don't think there's
probably a chance in the world
youwillconsiderthis,
but would you come
to New Orleans
and help me make
my second record?
So she sort of put it to me,
you know,
"Well,wouldyouprefer"
playing cover songs
with your friends
or maybe recording songs
that you have written with me
"formyrecord?"
Socheckthisout.
Oh,mygosh.
Look at your cute little
shag haircut.
Theshag.
Why did you have
a trombone there?
Ihavenoidea,
- "Brian the cloud."
- The cloud.
We called Brian MacLeod,
our favorite drummer.
First thing we did was
we named Kingsway
"Dan'sLampsandThings"
because there was, like,
all kinds of
beautifulantiqueseverywhere,
gorgeous lamps
and big wooden baronial beds.
And, you know, it was just
the most romantic place.
Our engineer was
Trina Shoemaker.
She wasn't just good for a girl.
Shewasjustgood.
For me, I have a unusual love
of the equipment,
almostindecent.
It's the constant in my life.
I go to the gear for comfort.
It replaced, in many cases,
personal relationships.
She'sabrilliantengineer.
She also emotionally bonded
with Sheryl.
She was a strong female artist
in her own right,
and they kind of
powered through together.
That's what Trina
looked like to me.
- Yeah.
- And she'd be looking up.
What was it for us two young
women trying to duke it out?
And I think, well,
of course she kept me near
because I was like her.
I was alone.
No husband, no kids,
no family nearby.
Bold,willingtofight,
literally willing
to, like, punch people.
Iwantedtoprotecther,
and I think that helped a
little bit from time to time.
Andshelikedmeforthat.
Kingsway just felt like
a safe place.
Icouldclosethedoor,
and there really wasn't
anything left over
fromthefirstalbum,
the pressure of people
thinking, "Okay, well",
let's see what she does,
because from what we hear,
a whole set of guys
wrote the record
"andshewasbarelythere."
I'd stop reading any reviews,
anything like that.
I had just quietened everything.
Change
A change would do you good
Woulddoyougood
A change would do you good
Ithinkachange
A change would do you good
Woulddoyougood
A change would do you good
That record was magnificent,
everything about it.
Itthenraisedhertosay,
"You are a producer,
you are a record maker."
You are a decision maker.
You're a writer.
"You'reaplayer."
Iwasjustsohappyforher
'cause all I just kept
thinking is, "You did it."
Sheryl set out,
wrote the songs,
produced the record,
created the next step
of her musical vision
completely on her own.
A change
A change would do you good
Woulddoyougood
A change would do you good
- Sheryl! Sheryl!
- A change
- Give us some play!
- Sheryl, turn your head.
- Would do you good
- Do you good
A change would do you good
You can point to
a lot of women
who'vehadcommercialsuccess
in the pop world
as a singer, as an artist.
But, you know, there's not
a lot of producers,
notalotofengineers.
Imean,ifshewasaman,
people would talk
about her like Prince.
Imean,Princelovedher.
Every day is a winding road
Road,mm
Igetalittlebitcloser
Ah,ah
Everydayisafadedsign
Yeah
SherylCrow,y'all.
Igetalittle...
Takefive.
Hi, everybody in Kennett
and everywhere around Kennett,
whoever'sseeingthis.
Scout and I just want
to wish you guys
a Happy Christmas,
Happy New Year.
And we'll see you
around the holidays.
Therearesomanythings
that have happened to us
in our lives
since Sheryl has become
so well-known
that it's kind of hard
to separate
therealandtheunreal,
andit'sjustflabbergasting.
I mean, you're... whew!
Hey, thanks for bringing
your mom and dad.
I love meeting people's parents.
- My mom and dad are here!
- There's mom and dad.
Theretheyare,rightthere.
I taught piano lessons,
and I had students
come into the house
all the time.
We had three pianos
and an organ in that house,
and they would practice
and she'd be cooking,
and she would scream out
to one of them,
"That's not a B!
That's a B-flat!"
orsomethingofthatnature.
I was always getting bested,
you know?
"That's James Taylor.
That is not your lesson."
Theywereintoswingband.
In fact, they had a swing band.
They would come home
on the weekends
andbringtheirfriends.
We had a book,
I believe, of 400 songs.
ThisisSheryl.
AndthisisSheryl.
Sheryl.
Now, you can tell who's
getting the lion's share
ofthepicturesrightnow.
Herewego.
Karen,Sheryl,andKathy.
And our youngest child is Steve.
I remember all three of us
girls sleeping on the stairs
so we could hear them
playing music
and dancing
and smoking and drinking,
and we just wanted to be,
you know, a part of it.
That must have had
a big influence on you,
all those things that, like...
Yeah, definitely.
In fact, they started me on
piano about the age of five,
and they were the kind of
parents that said,
"Oh, play that little thing
for all of our friends."
So that's how I wound up
where it am.
It worked.
It worked, you see.
Backongolddust...
AndsoIdugmoreintomusic.
Takeyourself...
I started getting into records
that started to give me
a vision of me as a person,
and that was
the James Taylor stuff
andtheCaroleKing,
Stevie Wonder and Fleetwood Mac.
I wanted to be in the room
with those people,
and that was what
was interesting to me
was why things would sound
the way they would sound.
And it was then
that I started to feel like,
okay,thesearemypeople
and I'm supposed to be
on that train.
"Love is a Good Thing"
was a song that I wrote
that was, you know,
taken from the headlines.
Now, Walmart says it won't
sell her newest album,
and fans like Lane Benson
don't like it.
I really don't like it.
I don't...
I don't like Walmart
telling me what to do.
It is the nation's
largest retailer.
One record industry executive
estimates
Crow stands to lose
at least 400,000 album sales.
Well, they'll probably have
to go out of town for it.
Mm-hmm.
What do you think about that?
Well, I hate for
our people here
tobeinconveniencedthatway,
but I feel sure they'll get it.
For somebody like me
who grew up in a small town,
that's the only place
you can buy a record.
And so to be given the choice,
"We will not carry it,
"or you can change it to Kmart
and we'll carry it"...
That, I think, actually fueled
my conviction even more.
I was like,
"Well, wait a minute.
Youcan'thaveitbothways."
We are not telling Sheryl Crow
shecannotsellthesong
and make it available to others.
We're just saying
that Walmart itself
"willnotselltheproduct."
May have to come all the way
to Memphis to get that CD.
All they wanted to do
was just have some fun.
It was the first time
I ever experienced
anything like that and realized,
Oh, there is importance
to music.
There's importance
to speaking the truth.
And some people are not
gonna like that.
And that's something
you just have to get used to.
Atanychancethatwefeel
we can use our music
to give back,
we are not only happy to do it,
we actually almost hunger
to do it
so that you can feel
that your music
is not just
for your own pleasure
and hopefully that your words,
your songs,
will also touch a chord
into people
to increase their empathy
and their humanity.
The Lilith Fair tour
was really eye-opening
for so many of us women
out there making music
'cause I think we'd been
out there in our tour busses
with our bands traveling
around, you know,
like, in space, in outer space,
in our own little rocket ships.
And all of a sudden we all
landed in this one place
andwecameoffourbusses
and we were actually
finally able to meet,
and you realized that there
was a sisterhood out there.
By 1996, there were quite
a few more females
that were getting
played at radio.
One of them was
Alanis Morissette,
Aimee Mann, and another was
Sarah McLachlan.
I'd no longer be in your mind
The difficult kind
but you won't see
I remember vividly
Sarah McLachlan
callingmeandsaying,
"Have you ever tried to have
someone open up for you"
that's a woman?
The promoters are saying
you can't have more
than one woman on a bill,
"and I'm going
to disprove them."
Now, some business types
said, "Oh, that'll never work."
Nobody will buy tickets
to all women all summer long."
Well, 20,000 people
showed up today,
and the Lilith Fair
will visit 35 cities.
It was just women
who commercially do well.
We run our businesses.
We make money.
So why are you men deciding
what can and can't be?
But what you don't think about
is the kid that's out there
in the audience
looking at that and going,
"Icandothat."
Icangetupandplayguitar
"and have a band behind me
and be the boss."
Tellyouwhat.
I was out there all the way
up there on that hill
in Lilith Fair when I saw
Sheryl Crow play here
twonightsinarow.
Ithonestlychangedmylife,
and I would not be the artist
that I am without Sheryl Crow
and the influence
that she's had on me.
And then to get to a place
where she's kind enough
to be my friend
and give me advice
and teach me things
and sing with me...
I can't even get
my head around it.
I just was astounded
that she was so rock and roll.
Andyouneverquestioned
whether or not
Sheryl was the boss,
andIwassodrawntothat...
You know, as a young woman,
so influenced by it.
Seeing her play the bass,
you know, I'll never forget,
like, picking up
that bass guitar and, like,
telling the guy
I was in a band with,
"Yeah, I played bass"...
Because I had to learn
the "Leaving Las Vegas"
bassline,
andjustthinking,like,
"Yeah, this is it,
this is what I want to do,"
I want to front a band like this
and I want to have
an electric guitar
and I want to play bass
and I want to be a rock star
"likeSherylCrow."
I think we should
give it up to Sarah
for putting this
whole thing together.
Anywhere where people are
comfortable with who they are,
even on the Lilith Fair,
you could look out
and you would see
families out there,
and you would see girls
and their moms,
and you would see
a lot of lesbians.
I like that about Sheryl
so much,
thatsheholdsherspace.
She's straight as an arrow,
but God,
thelesbiansloveSheryl.
She's important to queer people,
and when you're important
to queer people,
it means you're on the cutting
edge of the real shit
ofwhat'sreallygoingon.
After that tour, which had
been really successful
and really fun,
I came home to L.A.
and I was engaged
with a casting director,
somebody I met on
the "Leaving Las Vegas" video.
This is the young man
that Sheryl was engaged to.
Thatwasbackin,uh...
Thatwasin1995.
Canyoumaybeturnthatoff?
I was just starting my career,
and it was starting to take off,
and it's really difficult
for someone to sort of be
swept up in that and still
keep their sense of self.
We were just better
as friends; in fact,
by the time we got engaged,
I feel like we probably
werepullingapart.
I'dbeengoneforsolong.
I did have a couple of songs
on the "Sheryl Crow" record
that were inspired
by our relationship
becomingmoreplatonic.
I woke this morning,
now I understand
What it means to give
your life to just one man
Afraid of feeling nothing,
no bees or butterflies
My head is full of questions
and my house is full of lies
Andthisishome
Home
Thisishome
I think part of my pull
is always that
I really like the...
the hang,
I like the camaraderie
with the guys,
andpartofmeislike,
I don't want
to miss out on that.
SoIdecidedIwouldjust...
pick up and move to New York
and change my scenery.
And you can probably
see a pattern here.
Somebody said you gotta get away
Don't wanna go back home again
I set up a studio
in the Meatpacking District.
I mean, it was just
a very colorful neighborhood.
It was warehouses and butchers
andcarcasseshanging.
You could smell the blood
on the streets.
Jeff and I started
working with Trina
inastudiothatwesetup
in this building
called The Globe.
She had bought
all this equipment.
It hadn't seasoned
into the room yet.
It takes a little while
for gear to get comfortable
andbugstogetworkedout,
yet we were going forward
and cutting a record there.
Antigone laid across the road
Now the celebrity
is locked in,
I mean, the celebrity machine,
not the human being,
so now she's really
got to deliver.
It's laughter that comes up
when I cry for you
And this heart may love
again before it learns
"Globe Sessions,"
of all the records,
wasthemostkindofpure,
I don't want to say, like,
barfing out,
but I mean, everything was
so close to the surface,
soimmediate.
I've gotten used to
crash and burn
Yes, I've gotten used to
the crash and burn
Alotofthatcameout,
particularly in "Difficult Kind"
and definitely in
"Crash and Burn"...
I mean, both of those songs,
which I feel like
arekindofsistersongs,
talk about somebody
who's not that easy
tohavearelationshipwith,
who is highly sensitive
and highly emotional
andsupertoughandstrong;
and the other aspect
of being with someone
who has the job that I have is
I'm just not around very much.
There is a price to be paid
for being gone all the time.
Obviously, I felt like
it was worth it
because I'm still out here,
but, you know,
it is difficult
to stay away from home
somanytimesandsolong.
AllIcansayisI'msingle
and I've been single
a long time,
and that has got to be,
you know,
the tour bus...
My relationship with the road,
you know, it... it is difficult,
it'salottoaskfor,
you know, to ask somebody
to stay home and wait.
Wewerebothatthis,
like, massive transition
in our lives,
figuringoutwhowewere,
what we wanted in life,
and Sheryl's like,
"Oh, well,
you should just move in!"
Like, "Why... why are
we spending so little time"
together by going to dinner
four nights a week?"
SoIlivedwithSheryl.
Shemightbethefriend
that I've spent the most time
watching her work.
Wewentontheridetogether.
Ooh
Andthebestrockalbumis...
"The Globe Sessions,"
Sheryl Crow.
Ooh
Ooh
Did you know when you go
it's the perfect ending
To the bad day I've gotten
used to spending
WhenyougoallIknowis
You'remyfavoritemistake
You're my favorite mistake
A person is not a celebrity,
a person is a person,
celebrity' a machine that gets
hungry and it has to feed.
Sorry, let me get.
Yes!Oh,wow.
Yeah, you're going to get hit
up quite a bit on the way out.
- Here you go.
- Thanks so much.
Who'sthisfor?
It's,uh,forJulie.
I was born into this industry,
and you would think
I'd seen so much of it.
Butbeinganiconicrockstar?
It'sawholeotherthing.
Fameisnotnatural,
and it is also a very
energetic experience
where people are projecting
their energy at you.
There'sheroworship,
andthere's,youknow...
idolizing.
But, you know,
also projecting trauma
andallkindsofstuff.
Hermusicissopowerful.
Itjusttouchesyou.
It helped me get through a lot
of things in my life:
coming out, getting off drugs.
You know, it's...
It's just incredible.
Imagine every time
you step out of your house,
people stop to look at you...
Everytime.
And people smile at you
and they want to be with you,
and they tell you
how great you are...
Everytime!
It does something to you,
messes with you!
And then you're going
to have this thing where,
okay,you'reinmagazines,
and you're invited
to perform on that,
andyou'renominatedforthat,
and then you're not
nominated anymore,
and then you're not
in magazines,
andyou'renotatthatparty.
AndwhoamI?
And, well, what do I need
to do to get back to that?
A lot of non-musical things
come along with success
that you didn't know
was part of the package.
And it knocks you off what you
were doing in the first place.
And it can take years
to navigate through that.
And some people
never get it figured out.
Theycrashandburn.
It'snotnatural,
and it doesn't have
anything to do
withbeinggoodorbeingbad,
and it doesn't anything to do
with the quality of your work.
I-it'sjustagiantmind-fuck.
SteveMcQueen
Underneath your radar screen
You'll never catch me today
No
But I think people come to
see you for a lot of reasons.
They want to feel
some kind of emotion.
They want to forget
about what's going on
intheirimmediatelife
forjustacoupleofhours,
and there's a gift and a
responsibility in that for me.
With Sheryl, there's always
two sides to it.
The struggle to make something
great and the pressure
andherownperfectionism
or strive for that thing
she wants is always in there.
ThisiswhatIwanttodo.
Okay, this is what I want to do.
I want to cancel
a week of shows.
Okay,yougottohearmeout.
We'reinasituationhere
where I don't want to do
any more bad shows.
We need to get another
lighting system in here.
On stage the screen
is overpowering us.
I'm out front.
It looks ridiculous.
I don't want to do
any more half-assed touring.
Iworkedmyassoff,
and the band is great
and I have a great crew.
The only thing holding us back
is the production.
AndIwantittostop.
Crazy hollow frequency.
I'm getting...
MusicforSheryl,
I'm not always sure
that she enjoyed it.
I think that she had, like,
a possession with it
that dominated her entire life,
put the celebrity
on her shoulders,
andnearlycrushedher.
I-I... I'm not... I'm not
discounting the stuff
that made it all happen
and all that.
But you're killing
yourself here.
I... you're right about why
it fucked you up and all that.
But you work...
Iknowthat.
But... but draw the line,
is what I'm saying.
It was fucked up; the lights,
it fucked your head up
and all that,
but you were pretty brilliant.
Around the turn of the
century, Interscope Records,
which was run by Jimmy lovine
and Tom Whalley,
tookoverA&MRecords.
Theyabsorbedthem.
Atlnterscope,
I was working with Dr. Dre,
Snoop Dogg; we had Tupac,
we had No Doubt;
also 4 Non Blondes,
PrimusandHelmet.
Isuddenlywentfrom
having a relationship
with a record label
to being one of
a bunch of artists,
andIhaveanewrecord.
The trick is not just
having a hit record,
the trick is not having
a really credible record;
thetrickisboth.
As I look back and I think
about making records
whereyougoinempty-handed
and you write
and record as you go,
it was really, really successful
for the first, like,
three records,
and then the wear and tear
of coming off the road,
being tired, not really having
had many life experiences,
and then going into the studio
and just sitting there
and going, "Okay, what am I
going to write about?"
Theboatranaground.
And then it was just a source
of glaring frustration.
One summer, we wrote 40
or 50 song ideas,
and she was just
having a really...
Aroughpatchof,youknow,
"Hey, I don't have anything
important to say,
Idon'tknowwhattosay."
Tonightyougowhere?
You open up for a young new guy?
I open up for a beginning
up-and-comer, Bob Dylan.
- Bob Dylan.
- Bob Dylan offered
his friendship, just said,
"You know, I think you're"
going to be around
for a long time,
"if you ever need anything,
give me a shout."
SoIcallhimandIsay,
"I'm really having trouble
finishing anything."
I-I can't seem
to finish a song, I mean,
I feel like I've been doing
this for like eight months
"andnotfinishinganything,"
and he's like,
"Ooh, that's bad."
And I'm thinking, Oh, gosh.
And then I said,
"Well, I heard that you had
had writer's block.
So I wanted to call you
and pick your brains."
"No, I never have,"
and I'm thinking, Oh, no!
Youhaveacertaininstinct
and a certain amount of training
and a certain type
of impact of the song
you're looking for;
you have to hope the person
you're standing next to
writes it.
He came in and out,
which I really wasn't used to.
I wasn't used to having anybody
coming in and out of the studio
while I was producing
and working.
I lived in a recording studio
my whole life,
so I can go down to the studio,
and that was an advantage
that I had
because I understand
the language really well.
He had suggestions,
some of which I used
andsomeofwhichIdidn't.
Sheryl I was in New York
and she said,
"Well, like, you know,
can you just jump on a plane
and come out here and let's
just... let's just do this."
And I was playing around with
this idea of being...
uh,soakingwet
and wanting...
Wanting sun, you know,
"hey, I'm going
to go to New York
andsoakupsomesun."
I thought, "'Soak up the sun'
sounds like a good."
WannatellthemthatI
Gotnoonetoblame
EverytimeIfeellame
I'mlookingup
So I had five hours
from Portland to New York.
I carried the chorus in my head
for the duration...
For that five hours.
GotoSheryl'shouse,
I said, "Well, I have an idea.
I don't know if it's really..."
It might be too poppy
for you."
She's like, "Okay, well, yeah,
let's write it."
I'mgonnasoakupthesun
I'm gonna tell everyone
to lighten up
Jimmywouldsitatthedesk
and he'd keep his BlackBerry
under the desk
while he was listening,
and I just was like,
"Okay, you can't... you can't
really get into it
when you're like,
"Mm, what's, uh,
"what's going on with Dre,
and..." you know?!
SoIsitatthedoor
and I texted him
from my BlackBerry,
and said, "Would you put
that damn thing down!"
And he... he looked up
and he was like...
I'm sure we had some
up-downs, some down days.
Thebottomlineis,
all you have left in the end
is the record,
andthat'sagreatrecord.
SoIcanrockon
A record would be finished,
and we'd hand it in,
andJimmywouldsay,
"It's great,
I need another one."
I'm the kind of person
that just says,
"Let's keep going till
it's right and don't stop."
When I was making
"C'mon, C'mon,"
I was having
real bouts of depression,
just real low lows, and I..
Ididn'treallyknowwhy.
Are you going to stop
touring anytime soon
andjustkindofrelax?
- When I die.
- No?
I...
Gonnasoakupthesun...
I'm not getting weird,
I just want one autograph.
I wanna soak up the sun
Gotmy45onsoI
Icanrockon
This record is filled
with big choruses
and hit-oriented rock songs
like "Steve McQueen,"
and "You're an Original,"
and "Soak Up the Sun,"
and there is
this little short piece
called "Weather Channel."
It's sort of a focal point
of the record for me.
I remember my dad tellin' me
about Winston Churchill
andhowhereallysuffered
from really bad
bouts of depression
and how he called it
"the black dog."
And this is the song
that I don't really remember
recording or...
or writing,
but the black dog
makes his appearance,
so I'm assuming
I was in a pretty dark state.
I had a gig in Boston
and got to Boston,
and I called my manager,
and I said, "I can't move",
I can't leave the room,
I just can't."
I just couldn't...
I couldn't find my way out.
Sunnymornin'
Youcanhearit
Sirenswarning
Thereisweatheron
Bothsides
Ihearitcoming
IremembersayingtoScooter,
"I feel like I need
to go somewhere,
butIcan'tfacethepress."
He said, "Stay where you are,
I'm coming to get you."
Justlikebefore
There'sablackdogthat
Scratchesmydoor
He'sbeengrowlingmyname
Sayin'
Youbettergettorunning
She called me and said,
"I can't do this."
She was really depressed;
it was overwhelming.
I think the highs and lows
of being an artist
that's been riding
this level of success
for a while can be very, um...
suffocating.
Canyoumakeit
Betterforme?
Can you maybe see
the light of day?
'CauseIgotnoone
Who will bring me a big umbrella
While I'm watching
The Weather Channel and
I'mwaitingforthestorm
I can remember talking
to Scooter on the phone
and saying, "If I had the energy"
to get up and run across my loft
and throw myself out
the window, I would,
butIdon'teven...
"I don't know
that I even care that much."
You know, stuff that
didn't feel characteristic
ofmyoutlookonlife.
That was when it got
kind of worrisome.
ButIdon'tfeelsohuman
LevonHelmusedtosay,
"Girl, I'll guard
your gun side."
That's what I have
in my manager.
He completely guarded
my gun side.
However he did it,
I could walk into Mount Sinai
with an appointment with someone
and get it together
over a period of,
youknow,quiteafewmonths.
The handful of times
I've gotten those phone calls
when she's having a rough time,
it caused a lot
of anxiety in me.
But I know my position here
is to help her through it
and to be kind of foundational.
It's more than just
a business with her and I,
way more, so I try
to make her understand
she's heard and safe
and it will pass.
Youwon'twantme
Standing around
the birthday pony
Even though it's just a game
Youknowwearethesame
But you're the better faker
Just a little happy song
about...
suicidaltendencies.
Ifirstheardthesong,
"Are you strong enough
to be my man,"
I didn't hear it on the radio,
I saw it on a video.
Sheryl came on
and she sings this song
and I thought,
for women like Sheryl and I,
who have this extreme
kind of career,
every time we meet
a new nice man,
it crosses our mind:
Are you strong enough
to possibly deal with our
incredibly odd life, right?
Sotrue.
And so
from that moment onward,
I thought, you know,
this is a great song
for any women that have,
like, extreme careers.
Yeah... and I couldn't have
said that better.
God, I feel like hell tonight
Tears of rage I cannot lie
Be the last to help you
understand
Are you strong enough
to be my man?
Myman
I was in the middle of
being on the road
and making records
and decided that this was
a relationship I really wanted
to give my time to.
And the first year
it was fantastic
and I was ready to get married.
Iwasreadytohavealife!
It does get complicated, though,
when you have to dim your light
tobeinsomebodyelse'slife.
Nothing's true
and nothing's right
Soletmebealonetonight
You know, you have
a super sensitive artist
and a super alpha
powerful athlete.
Lance's view is, "I'm going
to win at all costs,"
whichhedid.
AndSheryl's
not like that in the same way.
To put everything
in my life aside
inordertonurturethat,
it wasn't a healthy
situation for me.
And then there was
what all was going on
inhisracinglife,
andthatwashardforme.
It was hard for everyone around.
French investigators
are still looking
attheteam'sbloodsamples.
A guy who comes back
from arguably,
youknow,adeathsentence.
Why would I then enter into
a sport and dope myself up
and risk my life again?
That's crazy!
I would never do that!
That's... no.
Noway.
Lietome
IpromiseI'llbelieve
The urine samples
were all coming out.
Itwasanightmare,
and I think
we'd had a giant blow up
and then
within a couple of days,
this five- or six-carat
diamond showed up.
And you know, sadly,
that's what I wanted,
but I didn't want it like that.
You know, I didn't...
I didn't want it like that.
We split up and then,
"Oh, for God's sakes,
have a mammogram scheduled,
last thing I want to do,"
butIgoanddoit,
and they find
some suspect calcifications
and say,
"Come back in six months
andwe'lllookatitagain."
And my gynecologist called
and said,
"You may as well find out
what this is"
because waiting six months
could be the difference
"inStageIorStageII."
And I went in
and had a needle biopsy,
was not really
thinking about it...
I was thinking about
a lot of other things.
Well,itwastheworstthing
that's ever happened
in our family.
Now you talk about something
that was just
incredible,unreal.
That was it... a phone call
around dinnertime at night,
that she's been
diagnosed with cancer.
And you don't have
any idea of...
whattheoutcomeis,
whatthedegreeofitis.
You have this horrible feeling
everything's going to
comecrashingdown.
When I was diagnosed
with breast cancer,
there was just stuff swirling
around everywhere in the news,
and the press, and having
been a "likable" artist,
people were rooting for me
and then there were also...
There was a lot of fear
being projected at me like,
"Oh, my God, if it can happen
to her and she's so healthy,
it could happen to me,"
and people praying,
and then people
that didn't like me like,
"Well, that's what she gets,"
and even my relationship
with what I felt like
was humanity at large,
the craving to see pictures
of me at my worst...
Iwaspissed.
I mean, I get...
I feel how pissed I was
whenIeventalkaboutit.
I just was like, "What the eff"
justhappenedtomylife?"
And I felt like
I didn't deserve it.
You know, we were so involved
in it together with her.
It just looked like
the end of something.
I went with her parents
and sister
to a couple of the first
meetings with the oncologist
andthewholeteam.
And then I had to go do
the business part of it...
Cancel the tours and take
everything off the calendar
and just start to pray
and support.
Whenyouarediagnosed,
all your dreams
and everything is over.
It'stheend.
That'swhatyou'refacedwith.
My wife was diagnosed
with breast cancer.
It'sbeyondtraumatic.
It's such
a terrifying situation.
It sort of dictates that
everybody figure out
where they are with that person,
like how do I help you,
how do I fix this?
Andit'sjustnotfixable.
I always
didn't look over there...
At cancer... because...
it was too much of a big,
scary monster.
ButwhatSheryltaughtmywife
was that you have
to get educated.
Youhavetolearnaboutit.
Andthenyoucandealwithit.
I appreciate the opportunity
to testify before you today
on the Breast Cancer
Environmental Research Act.
As a breast cancer survivor
and advocate,
I am very passionate
about getting
thisbillenactedthisyear.
Sheryl gave my wife
so much guidance.
Uphere.
Sherylisasurvivor.
I have no idea
why I got breast cancer,
but what I do know
is we need more resources
into figuring out
what the environment has to
dowithbreastcancer.
Thefirstthingshedid
wasletagroupofusin,
in a really deep
and intimate way.
I'vehadveryfewfriends
who've let me in
when they needed me most.
Shereallydid.
She gave me
the opportunity to love her.
I had this incredible tribe
of women around me
thatsweptin
and carried me
on their shoulders.
AndwhenIwasdone,
they were there
to get me back on my feet
and to get me back
to who I wanted to be.
AndIthinkwomendothat.
What do I do with
this sweet love of mine?
DoIgiveitaway
And hope some day I'll find
Someonehalfasawake
Asthemoonandthestars
Mother,teachmetolove
Withapaper-thinheart
WhenIcameoutofradiation,
I was sitting with my mom
and I was saying, you know,
there... there are things
that I really had hoped
inmylifeIwouldhave,
andIwantedtobeamom.
I wanted to be a mom
like my mom was.
She was lamenting about
her life going on
and not ever having a family
and not having any children,
and that was one of
the worst things
about the predicament
she was in.
I had this story in my head
about what that looked like,
you know, that looked like,
you fall in love with someone,
you get married,
you know, you buy a house,
you save your money,
you have children,
blah-blah-blah...
Like what I was raised with.
She was miserably unhappy,
she's been treated for cancer,
and now she faces that she'll
never have any children.
And my instinct immediately was,
that'snotnecessarilytrue.
I mean, you can adopt
beautiful children.
Youcanhaveyourownfamily.
My mom said, "You could get
a sperm donor."
I'm like, "What?!"
She thought at first
I'd lost my mind.
You know, "You're trying
to tell me to go out"
andfindsomechildren?"
Well,yes.
I remember having
a conversation with my brother
when I was adopting my boys,
I said,
"You know, it's so interesting
because you..."
When you adopt,
you really don't know
exactly what you're getting,"
and he said,
"You know, when you have
your own kids biologically,
you really don't know exactly
what you're getting, either."
And that...
That made sense to me,
that resonated with me,
because I feel like,
no matter if you have them
biologically
or if you adopt them,
you don't get the wrong kids.
Hey, Mom, love you.
There's Levi.
- Hi!
- Here's me.
Weloveyou!
No!
I think Sheryl wanted
to raise her kids
in an environment
that was more akin
to where she grew up,
but still she could be
inthemixofthemusicworld.
If I can't be someone else
IfIcan'tbesomeoneelse
Oh, if I can't be someone else
I might as well be
myself, myself
Ooh
We built a barn where
the horses could live,
and I thought, I'm just going
to put a writing room up here,
so it needs to be
a little bit sound-proofed,
I moved all my vintage gear
up here,
hung up my guitars,
and I can come to work here.
It's really pretty amazing,
actually.
The studio itself
is over a stable
withthesefantastichorses,
and you would think that
the horses would be spooked
by sound, but they're not...
They'rejustgrooving.
I love vintage amps,
got to be vintage,
got to be a vintage box
or vintage tweed; old snares.
GottohaveaBlackBeauty.
And then of course,
I have to have a certain...
amountofjustjunk.
Sherylisagearfreak,
so you're going to work
every day,
you're going,
"I want that sound,
looking for that guitar sound,"
"Oh, that guitar right there,"
pull it off the wall, boom,
it's all set up and ready to go.
Soifyouhaveanidea,
you can jump right on it
and play.
I called Steve Jordan
and said,
Willyoumakethisrecord?
Idon'tknowwhatitis,
but I know I want to bring
Kris Kristofferson in
and I want to record
with other people
that I've shared music with
and I've shared life with.
Andsothat'swhatwedid.
"Threads" is the definition
of what all those people
meantohermusically.
I always felt like I was
sort of born out of time.
All the artists that I had
loved, I missed that boat.
I didn't get to be around
with them when they were,
youknow,reallyhappening
and when they were all
hanging out.
Andthatmadesuchanimpact
onthisgirlfromMissouri
who had these dreams
of hanging out
with Stevie Nicks
and James Taylor
and, I mean,
all these incredible artists
that have inspired me
to write stories.
Endless,endlessconnections.
Whoputtheblameonme
Yououghtapassyousee
What I do love about Sheryl
is her love of music,
and I always feel happy
around Sheryl, you know?
She had that producer
knowledge of the studio
and we recorded all the ideas
and sorted through those
andthenwecutatrack.
Sheryl's been able to do
all those things
because she's that gifted
and that talented
andthathard-working,
and also because she's
a cool person to be around.
She's a big influence
on me in that way.
There's a weird thing
that happens
when you become a legacy artist,
it's sort of
a sideways compliment.
It's like, okay, you have
stood the test of time,
but also you're old and
you just haven't gone away.
You know what I mean?
It's like, I don't know
howtoholdthelegacything.
Youthinkthere'sasecret?
No,thereisnohidden...
potionorformula.
Youjustgetstuckhere
and you're still doing it
and you still love it.
And in a way you're filled
with amazement
that you are still here
doing it.
But there ain't no secrets
sticking around.
Justluckofthedraw.
When we got asked to do
Bonnaroo, I was like,
"That is going to be amazing
or absolutely awful."
I think we played at like four
or five in the afternoon
and like, literally maybe
30 minutes before we played
nobody was out there,
and I'm thinking,
"Well,okay,
I'm a legacy artist and
I'm too old for this crowd."
And I don't know how,
but when we walked out,
the place was just all the way
back filled with people.
Itwaseuphoric!
Because I didn't know
if the audience...
And they're super young...
Had been exposed to my music
becauseoftheirparents,
buttheykneweverything.
I been long,
a long way from here
Put on a poncho
and played for mosquitoes
And drank
'til I was thirsty again
I was literally looking
at my band
who is, you know,
for the most part my age,
maybe a couple of years younger
and maybe a couple
of years older,
and we're all up there looking
at each other going,
"Whatishappening?"
These young people, who are
younger than these songs are,
they're the people that
are out in the audience
that are, like,
totally going for it
on "If It Makes You Happy."
Imadethisup
There is something liberating
about lifting your voice.
Ifitmakesyouhappy
Itcan'tbethatbad
It has, I think, probably one
of the best cut-loose choruses
ofanymodernrocksong.
You know, the whole thing
is kept really subdued
and it's cool
and it's kind of stoned
and you're describing this day.
But then when she says,
"if it makes you happy,"
it's like...
If it makes you happy
Itallcomesopen.
Letmehearyousing
Itcan'tbethatbad
Ifitmakesyouhappy...
People feel themselves in
that, they feel their power.
And when I get to sing it,
I feel that power too.
I feel it in my gut
and in my chest.
When Sheryl shouts
on that song,
shedoeshaveawholekindof
"givin' it to the gods" vibe,
and it just cuts loose,
it gives everyone else
permission to cut loose,
all the heads go back,
andyoucanseeit.
Why the hell are you so sad?
It gets in there
and it makes you express.
It'sjoy,man,it'sjustjoy.
Cometomenow
Layyourhandsoverme
Evenifit'salie
Sayitwillbeallright
AndIshallbelieve
Sheisholdingthetorch
in a line of very rare
iconic voices.
AndIdobelieve
You know, she comes from
a long line of strong women.
Tina Turner, Bonnie Raitt,
Aretha.
Fantastic women who have made
their place in this business
withoutcompromising.
Please say honestly you
won't give up on me
Ishallbelieve
Sherylfiguredoutaway
to tell the truth
through her talent,
and whether it's about
our brokenness
orourlongingorourgrief,
she's not going to shy away
from the truth.
For Sheryl,
it's always about the music
andbeingtruetoherself.
It's called "the feel,"
you know,
and either you feel it
or you're don't.
What you're trying to do
is to pass that feeling on.
AndSherylcandothat.
ThelifeIhaveis
completely informed by her
and vice versa.
It's bigger than a statement
that I could make.
Youcan'tputalabelonthat.
You know, it's... it's kind of
just a miracle.
It'samiracle,really.
Ishallbelieve
Ishallbelieve
Ishallbelieve
Oh
I'm just open,
I'm just trying to learn.
I'm going to fall,
I'm going to make mistakes,
but I'm also going to do some
things I'm really proud of,
and things that really speak
to who I am
and my character and my desires.
If I'm honest with myself,
what art is, is a picture
of who you are
at any given moment.
And looking back on my career,
my body of work,
I could safely say
it is pretty honest.
Oh
Pleasesayhonestly
Youwon'tgiveuponme
I'm gonna keep on keepin' on
Keepin'on,keepin'on
Whattheworldneedsnow
Islove,sweetlove
Singitwithmenow.
Here we go!
Whattheworldneedsnow
love,sweetlove
Oh
Whattheworld
Needsnow
Love,sweetlove
Ooh
One,two,three,four...
Lay your head down,
don't you worry tonight
Can't fix the world
no matter how you try
Give it some time, you will
find everything is all right
There's no such thing as forever
But you and me, we got today
And every moment we're together
Iknowthereisaheaven
'Cause you make me feel that way
When I get down,
you're the one that I call
You picked me up
every time that I fall
And when you left,
nothing else matters to me
Atall
There's no such thing as forever
But you and me, we got today
Every moment we're together
Iknowthereisaheaven
'Cause you make me feel that way
Garbage out in space,
garbage in the lake
Baby,whatawaste
Everybody's mad, everybody's sad
Seeitintheirface
I gotta have the latest,
gotta have the best
The most, if you wanna be
happy, light a match
And watch it all go up in smoke