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.

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.

 

Sarah McLachlan “Building a Mystery” charted

Building a Mystery Sarah McLachlan

Writer(s): Sarah McLachlan, Pierre Marchand (see lyrics here) Released: August 19, 1997 First Charted: July 5, 1997 Peak: 13 BB, 12 RR, 28 AC, 4 A40, 110 AA, 3 MR, 18 CN, 97 AU, 10 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 16.3 video, 38.59 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Sarah McLachlan was born in 1968 in Nova Scotia, Canada. She started music at an early age, playing the ukulele when she was four and later studying classical guitar, classical piano, and voice at the Maritime Conservatory of Music. She fronted the band October Game while still in high school. After their first concert McLachlan was offeed a recording contract with Nettwerk, a Vancouver-based independent record label. WK She wouldn’t sign with them until two years later after finishing high school and a year of school at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design at the insistence of her parents. WK She released her first album, Touch, in 1988. It peaked at #132 on the Billboard album chart and eventually went gold. Her follow-up album, 1991’s Solace, also achieved gold status in the United States and again dented the lower regions of the Billboard album chart (#167). Three singles charted in her native Canada where the album reached #20 and sold 200,000 copies. Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, McLachlan’s third album, peaked at #50 and sold three million copies. McLachlan’s next album, Surfacing, was a blockbuster, reaching #2 in the United States and selling 16 million copies worldwide. The album was released as Lilith Fair, a female-artist-driven festival launched by McLachlan, hit the road. “Before this mega-success, it was possible to dismiss Sarah McLachlan as another Enya-influenced peddler of vague mystic allegories. Surfacing changed that. It established the Canadian singer and songwriter as a master of the moody confessional and the soft-focus ethereal atmosphere who knew to put enough backbeat in her tunes to get them on the radio.” TM “There are several fine songs on the album, including the single ‘Building a Mystery.’” AM The album generated a pair of top-five Billboard Hot 100 hits in “Adia” and “Angel,” but it was the album’s first single, “Building a Mystery,” that gave McLachlan her first top-40 Billboard hit and first #1 in Canada. “It might take a couple of spins to pick up on the derision in …her sketch of a lost soul caught up in New Age quackery.” TM The song won a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Resources: AM AllMusic.com album review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine TM Tom Moon (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.: New York, NY. Pages 490-1. WK Wikipedia page for Surfacing Related Links: First posted 1/12/2025.

 

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.

Jewel “Who Will Save Your Soul?” charted

Who Will Save Your Soul? Jewel

Writer(s): Jewel Kilcher (see lyrics here) Released: April 23, 1996 First Charted: May 4, 1996 Peak: 11 BB, 4 BA, 7 CB, 2 GR, 3 RR, 29 AC, 5 A40, 11 AA, 4 MR, 52 UK, 7 CN, 27 AU, 8 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 38.17 video, 58.12 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Jewel Kilcher was born in 1974 in Utah but raised in Alaska where she sang and yodeled with her father, Atz Kilcher. She got a partial scholarship to the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan when she was fifteen. She studied operatic voice and started writing and performing at clubs and coffeehouses in San Diego, California, after she graduated. She lived in her car for a time.” W-J In 1993, Jewel was discovered by Inga Vainshtein, a Vice President of Productions at Paramount. Inga became Jewel’s manager and launched a bidding war that ended up in a deal with Atlantic Records. Jewel released her first album, Pieces of You, in 1995 when she was 21 years old. Some of the songs were recorded at the Innerchange, a coffeehouse in San Diego where Jewel performed., while others were recorded at Neil Young’s Broken Arrow Ranch studio in Redwood City, California. W-P Some of the songs, such as “Who Will Save Your Soul?,” were re-recorded for radio release. In fact, the original version never appeared on Pieces of You. The song was released as a single more than a year after the album dropped. It finally broke the door open for Jewel. She wrote “Soul” when she was sixteen and busking during a hitchhiking trip in Mexico. She saw numerous people who appeared as if they were waiting to be saved and the idea for the song was born. SF Billboard’s Larry Flick said, “Amid a spare setting of strumming guitars, twinkling piano lines, and playful percussion, she comes off a tad like Joan Osborne, but with less earthy grit and more girlish glee.” BB The Song was nominated for a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Resources: BB Billboard (5/4/1996). “Reviews & Previews: Singles” by Larry Flick. Page 43. CB Cash Box (3/18/1995). “Pop Albums” by Steve Baltin. Page 9. SF Songfacts W-J Wikipedia page on Jewel W-P Wikipedia page on Pieces of You Related Links: First posted 1/14/2025.

Oasis “Champagne Supernova” charted

Champagne Supernova Oasis

Writer(s): Noel Gallagher (see lyrics here) Released: May 13, 1996 First Charted: February 24, 1996 Peak: 20 BA, 10 GR, 9 RR, 33 A40, 13 AA, 8 AR, 15 MR, 11 CN, 26 AU, 7 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 1.2 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 172.61 video, 342.32 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: In 1995, Oasis and Blur went head-to-head with competing singles released on the same day in what the British press proclaimed “The Battle of Britpop.” Blur won the battle with their “Country House” song outselling “Roll with It” but Oasis won the war. Their second album, What’s the Story Morning Glory? produced four hits which reached #1 or #2 on the UK charts and made the album one of the top 100 best-selling in the world. While Oasis were treated as a second coming of the Beatles in their native UK, they were competing with multiple alternative rock juggernauts in the United States. Interestingly, though, they found some success in the U.S. with songs that weren’t even released as singles in the UK. One of those was “Champagne Supernova.” While it didn’t chart in the UK, it topped the alternative rock charts in the U.S. “Noel Gallagher’s stab at psychedelic songwriting might not be up there with ‘I Am the Walrus,’… but no one ever went to him when they wanted great lyrics. ‘Champagne Superova’ is still up there with the very best of his tunes, thanks in large part to an epic vocal performance from his brother Liam and a crashing guitar guest spot from Noel’s dad-rock hero Paul Weller. Though the song has no distinct meaning, it works best as an escape fantasy.” XFM Noel has acknowledged that he hasn’t even made up his mind what the song is about, saying, “It means different things when I’m in different moods.” WK “When Noel bought his house in Hampstead he changed the name (from number nine) to Supernova Heights. The song provided an epic finale to their record-breaking Knebworth gigs of 1996.” XFM Resources: XFM Mike Walsh (editor) (2010). The XFM Top 1000 Songs of All Time. Elliott & Thompson Limited: London, England. Pages 301-2. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/25/2023.