AI Summary
5 min readSheryl Crow was 26 years old, six months into a move to Los Angeles, working as a waitress and doing occasional session singing, when she crashed an audition for Michael Jackson's Bad tour. She sang a Denise Williams song, got called back, and within a month was in Tokyo playing for 65,000 people. That experience—both the spectacle and what happened behind it—became a defining knot in her life and career, one she has spent decades trying to untangle.
In this interview with Sam Fragoso on Fresh Air, Crow reflects on her new album Pick You Up, the loneliness that has always been part of her creative makeup, the sexual harassment she endured on the Jackson tour, and the mental health struggles that nearly ended her. The conversation is less about a career retrospective than about what it means to keep making art after the hits stop coming and the questions get harder.
The crash course in fame and its hidden costs
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:52) **Aging, Art, and the New Album "Pick You Up"** - Crow describes the liberation of aging out of pop expectations and how the new album reflects her questions about humanity and connection.
- 2 (05:33) **Loneliness, Melancholy, and Mental Health** - Crow explains the built-in melancholy of artists and her own mental struggles.
- 3 (07:39) **Crashing the Michael Jackson "Bad" Tour Audition** - Crow details her ambition and the chaotic start of her career.
- 4 (11:16) **The Dark Side of the Tour: Sexual Harassment & Manipulation** - Crow describes the problematic 12% of the tour experience.
- 5 (16:40) **The Aftermath: Therapy and a "Come to Jesus" Moment** - Crow recounts hitting a low point after the tour and seeking help.
- 6 (18:06) **Calling Bob Dylan for Writer's Block** - Crow shares a humorous and practical story about seeking advice.
- 7 (24:00) **"My Favorite Mistake" and the Globe Sessions** - Crow explains why *The Globe Sessions* is her favorite record.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Also, John Powers reviews the Spanish language Netflix miniseries My Sad Dead.
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