“If It Makes You Happy” by Sheryl Crow, Monday, June 6, 2022

 

Sheryl Crow’s eponymous second album was released in 1996. The singer-songwriter grew up in Missouri, was engaged to a Christian man, and was about to settle into a small-town life as an elementary school English teacher until she started recording commercial jingles in her friend’s recording studio. When the jingles proved to pay the bills much better than her main job, she decided to move to California and pursue her dream of making her own music.

YOU LISTEN TO COLTRANE, DERAIL YOUR OWN TRAIN. After paying her dues in the music business, in Crow’s case singing back-up for Michael Jackson for his Bad tour and recording backing vocals for Stevie Wonder, Don Henley, Jimmy Buffett, and others, Crow released her first record in 1994. Her first hit "All I Wanna Do" made Crow a star. The song tells the story about the singer meeting a not particularly attractive man named William at a dive bar on weekday afternoon as she’s going through an existential crisis. She thinks that like her, this man too wants to have fun before she dies. It was her second album, though, that was Crow’s breakthrough.

SCRAPE THE MOLD OFF THE BREAD/ AND SERVE YOU FRENCH TOAST AGAIN. The lead single from her second record was today’s song, “If It Makes You Happy.” The song continues on the theme of “All I Wanna Do,” this time tackling self-destructive behavior. The song won a Grammy for Best Female Rock Performance and helped Crow win Best New Artist in 1997. Crow continues to make music today as well as raising kids. She continued to score hits into the ‘00s and has influenced many, particularly young female rockers and singer-songwriters. Speaking of songwriting, you’ll be hard pressed to find quirky Americana lyrics in pop music today, like the opening line of “Every Day Is  a Winding Road,” “A Change Would Be Good,” or today’s song. “If It Makes You Happy” has probably been in a few youth pastor’s sermons to say, “You might say, ‘If it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad,’ but ask yourself, ‘why . . . are you so sad?’” I’ve asked myself this very question a few times. A few times I was right to ask that question. I’ve written about those regrets last year. Other times when I asked that question, I just had to chill out. For more ‘90s  nostalgia and more Crow, check out her new documentary Sheryl.

Read the lyrics on Genius.




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