Sheryl Crow

Though she first caught the music industry’s attention as a backup singer for Michael Jackson during his 1987 “Bad” tour, Sheryl Crow resisted early offers to record as a dance-pop artist, waiting until 1993 to release her first album, Tuesday Night Music Club, which established her as a something-for-everyone singer-songwriter. On 2008’s Detours, a record inspired by her breakup with cyclist Lance Armstrong and her victory over breast cancer, Crow re-embraced the confessional folk and roots-rock that first gave her a taste of fame in the ’90s, but her upcoming seventh studio album, 100 Miles from Memphis, which is scheduled for a July 20 release, promises a departure from her comfort zone. Recorded at Jimi Hendrix’s famed Electric Lady Studios in New York, it pays homage to the earthy soul and R&B of Nashville.