Sheryl Crow Reveals 'Demoralizing' Michael Jackson Tour Experience, To Sing for Sandy Hook Victims

Sheryl Crow
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia

Sheryl Crow has a relatively quiet music career - in that her talents were recognized but one could rarely hear her involved in any scandal. This does not mean she did not experience nor see the ugly side of the colorful industry. In fact, she said now that the music industry felt demoralizing at times, particularly when she saw what happened while touring with Michael Jackson.

The 60-year-old singer rose to fame in 1987 when she was given the opportunity to tour with the late global superstar Michael Jackson, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 50 after a turbulent career in the entertainment industry.

She admitted that while she found the experience "inspiring," she was exposed to things she didn't necessarily want to see. She stated that literally six months before to her tour with Michael Jackson, she was a school teacher. By the end of 18 months, she was unquestionably exhausted. She was experienced. She had encountered sexual harassment and witnessed things I did not like to see.

She added that she cannot sugarcoat the story of a young man who experienced trauma.

Observing him perform unbelievable, never-before-seen moves was certainly inspiring. However, she believe knowing about the music industry was demoralizing. As part of the new documentary "Sheryl," the "If It Makes You Happy" singer discusses her life and explains that while she first had reservations about documenting her life in show business when asked, it has been "liberating" to share her own narrative for the first time.

Sheryl Crow, Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town, and Alternate Routes will perform in a performance organized by Artists for the Prevention of School Shootings and Youth Violence at City Winery in Nashville on November 30. The earnings from the event, produced by In Plain View Entertainment, will benefit Sandy Hook Promise, a national non-profit whose aim is to educate and empower adolescents and adults to avoid violence in schools, homes, and communities.

SHP also promotes school safety and mental health at the state and federal levels via nonpartisan policies and collaborations. Mark Barden, musician and chief executive officer of the Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund, and Rick Korn, film director, founded Artists for the Prevention of School Shootings and Youth Violence to raise awareness about school safety programs and other measures to keep children safe in school.

The City Winery performance will be filmed as part of a series of docu-concerts preceding the release of "A Father's Promise," a feature-length documentary about Barden, whose son was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, and the ways he turned his tragedy into activism and rediscovered his lost passion for music.

The film commemorates the 10th anniversary of the killing of 26 students and teachers in the bloodiest school massacre in U.S. history. In addition to Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Tim McGraw and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels are featured in the documentary.

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