Sheryl Crow “My Favorite Mistake” released

My Favorite Mistake Sheryl Crow

Writer(s): Sheryl Crow, Jeff Trott (see lyrics here) Released: August 31, 1998 First Charted: September 4, 1998 Peak: 20 BB, 9 BA, 6 RR, 2 A40, 15 AA, 26 MR, 9 UK, 6 CN, 87 AU, 7 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 25.7 video, 30.23 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: After Sheryl Crow’s success with debut album Tuesday Night Music Club she had a falling out with most of the collective behind the album. For her sophomore self-titled release, she was largely back to square one working with a new group of people. One of them was songwriter Jeff Trott, who returned as a co-songwriter for four songs on Crow’s third album, The Globe Sessions, including lead single “My Favorite Mistake.” Billboard’s Larry Flick called it “a simple rock song with smart, heartfelt lyrics” WK that “displays a laudable degree of growth.” WK The song showcased a different direction for Crow. Unlike the narrative songs of her first two albums, the songs for The Globe Sessions were written in the first person. Crow said she struggled with the honesty of the lyrics so much that she considered cancelling the album. However, she delayed the album’s release and wrote some new songs. WK “My Favorite Mistake,” which was “about a philandering ex-boyfriend,” WK was one of the song’s that invited speculation about Crow’s personal life. There was widespread speculation that the song was about Eric Clapton. The two were briefly linked romantically despite a 17-year age gap. Crow says, however, that the song is older than their relationship PP and that she can’t look at the relationship with Clapton as a mistake. SF Trott said he never asked her about it, but thought it could be Jakob Dylan from the Wallflowers. SF She compared the song to Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” a dig at a narcissistic ex who Simon refused to reveal for years. Crow said, “I’m the only person who will ever really know” WK although she has acknowledged that when she began the writing process for The Globe Sessions she was “really raw” from an aborted engagement. PP Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Sheryl Crow PP People (11/3/2023). “Sheryl Crow Admits ‘My Favorite Mistake’ Is Her ‘You’re So Vain’ Moment: ‘I Carly-ed It’ (Exclusive)” by Rachel DeSantis SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 2/8/2024.

Sixpence None the Richer “Kiss Me” released

Kiss Me Sixpence None the Richer

Writer(s): Matt Slocum (see lyrics here) Released: July 14, 1998 First Charted: October 17, 1998 Peak: 2 BB, 12 GR, 12 RR, 2 AC, 2 A40, 17 AA, 4 UK, 13 CN, 13 AU, 10 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 1.2 UK, 4.48 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.70 radio, 52.58 video, 995.17 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The alternative-rock band Sixpence None the Richer formed in Texas in 1992. The band took its name from a phrase in a C.S. Lewis book. TB Singer Leigh Nash teamed up with guitarist/songwriter Matt Slocum and bassist T.J. Behling to record a demo and eventually the album The Fatherless and the Widow, released by R.E.X. Records in 1994. They released aother album, This Beautiful Mess, in 1995. By this time, they had expanded to a quintet. They gained a wider audience with 1997’s self-titled album released by Squint Entertainment when the single “Kiss Me” became a hit. The album had been out seven months when “Kiss Me” was finally released as a single. It didn’t hit the Billboard Hot 100 until November, peaking at #90 and falling out the next week. However, the song gained attention as the theme song of the teen romantic comedy She’s All That, released in January 1999, and again from an appearance on the April 1999 soundtrack for TV’s Dawson’s Creek. It eventually reached #2 in May 1999. The song has been compared to the Sundays, Cranberries, and 10,000 Maniacs. It was written by Slocum, the band’s chief songwriter, in a Dutch motel while the band was on tour. Nash said, “We performed it that night…It was an instant hit with fans, but it was still like a year and a half before we recorded it.” WK It had a “more lighthearted, poppier sound compared to the band’s prior work.” WK They were reluctant to include it on the album until persuaded otherwise by their producer. WK Music historian Steve Sullivan said, “This absolultely delightful midtempo pop ballad is a celebration of new love so giddy that it sweeps the listener up in its happiness, and possesses a timeless quality that’s rare in contemporary pop.” SS It is “proof that a winning melody will always come through.” TB “Kiss Me” was “a breath of fresh air in the nu-metal-plagued music scene of 1999.” TB Allmusic.com’s Rick Anderson called it “an utterly irresistible slice of swoony guitar pop…[that] could be this generation’s ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand.’” AM “Kiss Me” was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Resources: AM AllMusic.com album review by Rick Anderson SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 648-9. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 288. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 2/1/2025.

Jewel “Foolish Games” hit the Hot 100

Foolish Games Jewel

Writer(s): Jewel Kilcher (see lyrics here) Released: July 8, 1997 First Charted: July 19, 1997 Peak: 7 BB, 13 BA, 13 GR, 14 RR, 4 AC, 15 A40, 2 CN, 12 AU, 19 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 52.76 video, 71.29 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Jewel finally broke through in mid-1996 with “Who Will Save Your Soul?”, the first single from Pieces of You, her debut album which had been released more than a year before. Once Jewel arrived, however, she left her mark. The album climbed to #4 and sold fifteen million copies worldwide and the strength of that single and its next two. “Foolish Games”was released as the third single on July 8, 1997. It was also featured on the soundtrack for the Batman and Robin film. However, the song was actually released nearly a year earlier as a B-side to Jewel’s single “You Were Meant for Me.” This made for some chart-breaking history. When the song made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of September 13, 1997, it was listed with “You Were Meant for Me.” That song had already logged 41 weeks on the chart, reached #2, and gone platinum. However, by pairing the songs together on the chart, “You Were Meant for Me” climbed back into the top ten and, before its chart run was finished, ended up with a then record-breaking 65 weeks on the charts. Billboard’s Chuck Taylor said, “the vocally sweeping ballad offers the richest arrangement among her hits, with lyrics that affectingly express the emotional descent of a woman whose love is unappreciated, perhaps even unseen, by her object of affection.” BB He called it the “quintessential musical moment” from the Pieces of You album. BB Slant magazine’s Sal Cinquemani called it “one of the great pop songs of the ‘90s.” SM “Foolish Games” received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Resources: BB Billboard (6/21/1997). “Jewel of a Single from ‘Pieces of You’.” by Chuck Taylor. Page 78. SM SlantMagazine.com (2/16/2013). “Review: Jewel, Greatest Hits” by Sal Cinquemani WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/14/2025.

 

Jewel “You Were Meant for Me” released

You Were Meant for Me Jewel

Writer(s): Jewel Kilcher, Steve Poltz (see lyrics here) Released: October 15, 1996 First Charted: November 1, 1996 Peak: 2 BB, 19 BA, 2 GR, 15 RR, 11 AC, 16 A40, 6 AA, 26 MR, 32 UK, 2 CN, 3 AU, 13 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.3 US, -- UK, 1.37 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 55.5 video, 128.98 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Jewel finally broke through in mid-1996 with “Who Will Save Your Soul?”, the first single from Pieces of You, her debut album which had been released more than a year before. Once Jewel arrived, however, she left her mark. The album climbed to #4 and sold fifteen million copies worldwide and the strength of that single and its next two. The second single, “You Were Meant for Me,” was arguably the album’s signature song. On the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated September 6, 1997, the song sat at #25, slowly decling from a #2 peak in May. It had already logged an impressive 41 weeks on the chart and achieved platinum status. However, the next week “Foolish Games” was officially released as a single. Since it had originally been a B-side for “You Were Meant for Me” the songs were listed together and climbed back into the top 10. By the time all was said and done, “You Were Meant for Me” had racked up a then-record 65 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and ended up the most played song of 1997. RC At the time it was also the biggest-selling single in the history of Atlantic Records. SF The song was written by Jewel with Steve Poltz; they were a couple at the time. He explained that they wrote the song while in Mexico but they almost lost the song when the lyrics flew out of the car window while they were driving. SF Like “Who Will Save Your Soul?,” “You Were Meant for Me” was re-recorded for single release. In fact, it was recorded three times. There was also more than one video for the song. Sean Penn directed the original and then Lawrence Carroll shot a video for the radio version of the song. Carroll’s version won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video. Resources: RC Rod Couch (2015). The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955-2015. Page 389. SF Songfacts Related Links: First posted 1/14/2025.

Tracy Chapman “Give Me One Reason” single released

Give Me One Reason Tracy Chapman

Writer(s): Tracy Chapman, Don Gehman (see lyrics here) Released: November 19, 1995 First Charted: January 20, 1996 Peak: 3 BB, 2 CB, 2 GR, 12 RR, 3 AC, 18 A40, 3 AA, 35 RB, 95 UK, 11 CN, 3 AU, 4 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.1 US, -- UK, 1.17 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.7 radio, 177.3 video, 284.83 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Tracy Chapman burst out of the gate so strongly with her 1988 debut album that it seemed clear the Ohio-born singer/songwriter would never reach such heights again. The album, which featured the iconic top-ten hit “Fast Car,” reached #1 in the United States and went six times platinum. Her next outing, 1989’s Crossroads, peaked at #9 and sold a million copies. By her third album, 1992’s Matters of the Heart, she was starting to look like an also-ran. The album went gold but stalled at #53. She’d also failed to crack the Top 40 again after “Fast Car.” Matters of the Heart didn’t even produce a charting single. Chapman, however, was not done. In 1995, she released the album New Beginning, which Pitchfork’s Eric Torrest said “brightened the corners of her folk music with an eye toward renewal and environmentalism.” PF It peaked at #4 in the U.S. and went five times platinum. Even more startling, however, was the success of single “Give Me One Reason,” the album’s “bluesy highlight.” PF The platinum-selling single actually outdid “Fast Car” commercially, getting to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and going platinum. In Pitchfork magazine’s ranking of the 250 best songs of the 1990s, Eric Torres said, the song was about “the push and pull of loving someone who can’t give you what you need.” PF In the UK magazine Music Week, Alan Jones said the song was “less intense and somewhat looser” MW than “Fast Car.” He also said the song “perfectly mixes her folksy style with traditional R&B qualities, intelligent lyrics and that edgy distinctive voice.” MW The song won a Grammy for Best Rock Song and received nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Resources: MW Music Week (3/22/1997). “Talking Music” by Alan Jones. Page 8. PF Pitchfork (9/27/2022). “The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s” by Eric Torres. Related Links: First posted 1/12/2025.