Sheryl Crow – If It Makes You Happy

Self-titled album, 1996: Trott’s guitar, Crow’s production, a weary rock hook

On 27 August 1996, A&M released If It Makes You Happy as the lead single from Sheryl Crow’s second studio album, simply titled Sheryl Crow (24 September 1996). Crow wrote the song with Jeff Trott and produced the track herself. Recording credits list Kingsway in New Orleans and Sunset Sound Factory in Los Angeles. Trina Shoemaker engineered; Tchad Blake mixed; Bob Ludwig mastered. On the cut, Crow plays keyboards, Trott plays guitars, Dan Rothchild plays bass, and Michael Urbano plays drums.

Trott has described trying the song in several clothes before the rock arrangement stuck: a twangy sketch, a fast punk pass, country and funk shapes. Crow added a second verse and tightened the melody. The finished album version runs about 5:23 (radio edit nearer 4:30). The vocal sounds tired on purpose: verses sit close to the mic, the chorus opens without turning into a power-ballad shout. Guitars stay dry enough that the lyric remains readable.

The single peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 (27 weeks on the chart) and number 9 in the UK. It reached number 1 in Canada. At the 1997 Grammys, Crow won Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the song, and the album won Best Rock Album. Keir McFarlane directed the video. Follow-up singles from the same disc (Everyday Is a Winding Road, A Change Would Do You Good) kept the album on radio through 1997.