Don Henley’s advice to Shery Crow

In an interview published by Esquire magazine Sheryl Crow he recounted the advice he received at the beginning of his musical journey from Don Henley of the Eagles.

Crow explained that in her early days she found considerable interest in her compositions from important artists. Initially, this appeared to her as confirmation of her talent, but Henley opened her eyes by advising her to maintain control of her creative output.

Says the 63-year-old Missouri-born musician: “I had a song sung by Celine Dion (“Love You Blind,” ed.) and one by Tina Turner (“All Kinds of People,” ed.). Then I had a song that Eric Clapton kept on hold. He had to record it, so they kept it on hold so no one else could record it.”

This experience pushed me
Don Henley
to intervene and explain to her: ‘You need to stop giving away your songs. If you want to be serious, you have to keep your songs to yourself.’” This breakthrough came at a time when she was establishing herself as a songwriter for hire which was her ultimate ambition, she had never seen herself as the star of the show.

“I never wanted to be a famous rock star. I wanted to be a great songwriter. My first records were by Carole King and James Taylor, they were like lifelines for me. “Tapestry”, “Mud Slide Slim” and “Blue Horizon”. When you’re a kid and you can’t figure out where you belong, music was the most important thing. That was the escape. That was where I could feel less alone. It also gave me the feeling of being able to get out of my hometown and see new things. And that was what I didn’t think I was Mick Jagger. I just wanted to write songs that made other people feel the same way I did when I listened to them.”