Sheryl Crow “If It Makes You Happy” charted

If It Makes You Happy Sheryl Crow

Writer(s): Sheryl Crow, Jeff Trott (see lyrics here) Released: September 3, 1996 First Charted: August 31, 1996 Peak: 10 BB, 10 CB, 3 RR, 5 A40, 11 AA, 37 AR, 6 MR, 9 UK, 11 CN, 20 AU, 7 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.2 UK, 1.27 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.4 radio, 63.7 video, 140.06 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: After Sheryl Crow’s first aborted attempt at an album in 1992, she roared back with Tuesday Night Music Club. The album thrust Crow into the spotlight with “All I Wanna Do” and “Strong Enough,” both top-5 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. She was also a Grammy darling taking home Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (the latter two for “All I Wanna Do”). Her fame also brought with it a certain amount of controversy. The collective of Los Angeles-based musicians with whom she crafted her blockbuster album felt overlooked and Crow stumbled into her second outing having to prove herself all over again without the aid of most of the group that helped her gain her fame. She produced her self-titled sophomore effort herself, but did turn to Jeff Trott for some songwriting assistance. He co-wrote seven songs on the album, including the lead single, “If It Makes You Happy.” The song featured lyrics inspired by Trott’s break-up with his girlfriend Quinn in 1994. The lines “We went searching through thrift-store jungles / Found Geronimo’s rifle / Marilyn’s shampoo / And Benny Goodman’s corset and pen” referenced what he called his “treasure hunts with Quinn.” MM Crow said “If It Makes You Happy” was the first song they worked on for the new album. She contributed to the second verse and wrote the third with Trott. She played some Wurlitzer electric piano and played two electric guitars. Crow said, “Jeff was my alter ego” MM and says the song is “empowering and tells me to be as great as I can be.” MM For Jeff, the song had huge significance as well. He reached out to Quinn to tell her she was the inspiration for the song and they got back together and married in 2005. MM The song won Crow another Grammy – this time for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Billboard’s Larry Flick said the song was a “straight-ahead rocker that has far more bit than anything on her Grammy-lavished debut.” WK Slant magazine said the song “was a pointed departure from the gin-soaked roots-pop of Tuesday Night Music Club.” WK Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Sheryl Crow MM Marc Myers (12/6/2022). Anatomy of 55 More Songs. Grove Press: New York, NY. Pages 361-6. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 2/8/2024.

Pat Benatar “Shadows of the Night” charted

Shadows of the Night Pat Benatar

Writer(s): David Leigh Byron, Rachel Sweet (see lyrics here) Released: September 18, 1982 First Charted: September 30, 1982 Peak: 13 US, 13 CB, 18 GR, 8 RR, 3 AR, 50 UK, 12 CN, 19 AU, 10 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 15.4 video, 29.04 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Rock singer/songwriter Pat Benatar was born in New York City, New York in 1953. She released her first single, “Day Gig,” in 1974 but it failed to chart. Five years later, she had her breakthrough with a cover of John Mellencamp’s “I Need a Lover,” a chart hit in Belgium and the Netherlands. The song was the lead single from her debut album, In the Heat of the Night, which also produced “Heartbreaker.” That was her first Billboard Hot 100 hit, reaching #23. Her second album, Crimes of Passion, gave Benatar her first top-10 hit with “Hit Me with Your Best Shot.” The album reached #2 and sold 4 million copies, the biggest seller of her career. She followed it up with the #1 album Precious Time. At this point, each of her three albums had produced three top-40 hits. Her fourth album, Get Nervous, broke the streak – by landing three songs in the top 40. The album’s first single, “Shadows of the Night,” reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it her second most successful chart entry at that point (she would go on to rack up three more top-10 hits). Benatar was not the first to record the song. David Leigh Byron wrote the song for the 1980 movie Times Square about two New York City runaways. The song failed to make it into the movie WK so Byron intended to record it for his second album. His record label, Arista, rejected it as lacking commercial appeal and Byron left the label. SF It was then recorded and released in 1981 by Helen Schneider, an American singer who worked primarily in Germany. Bryon claims the song went five times platinum there. WK Ohio-born singer Rachel Sweet also recorded the song in 1981 with slightly different lyrics. The song had yet to experience any chart success in the United States. Then Benatar recorded it, also making some minor lyrical changes. Sweet was angry when she didn’t receive any writing credit. It turns out Byron submitted it to Benatar without mentioning Sweet’s lyrical changes. SF The video stars Benatar as a flying ace during World War II fighting against the Nazis. In the end, it turns out it was a dream and she is really a riveter. The video features Judge Reinhold as a pilot and Bill Paxton as a Nazi radio operator. Benatar’s husband, Neil Giraldo, wasn’t a fan of videos, saying that “as videos got more popular, they became little stories or vignettes, and…didn’t represent the song anymore.” SF Still, he acknowledged how much impact the video had on making the song a hit. SF The song earned Benatar her third consecutive Grammy win for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 12/23/2022; last updated 12/27/2022.