4 Songs You Didn't Know Sheryl Crow Wrote For Other Famous Musicians

All Sheryl Crow wants to do is make music — whether it be for herself or others. The multi-time Grammy Award-winning musician remains known for her hit tracks like "All I Wanna Do" and "If It Makes You Happy," but she's also an accomplished songwriter in her own right and penned songs for others. The nature of how some of these tracks came to find new homes is a fascinating story in itself.

Crow planned to release her debut album in 1992, but there was a dissatisfaction surrounding the final product. Starting over with a different producer, she got to work on a new record; however, she was still forced to pay back the production costs through the royalties of 1993's "Tuesday Night Music Club." Some tracks off the 1992 unreleased album, though, ended up being claimed by other musicians. With that said, let's take a look at songs that Crow wrote for other famous musicians. One or two of the names listed might surprise you.

Off the 2001 album "Trouble in Shangri-La," Stevie Nicks' "It's Only Love" is a stripped-down, acoustic-driven, and poignant song that simmers in the background like memories of a long-lost love. If you listen closely, you can hear Sheryl Crow's unmistakable backing vocals on the track. However, that isn't Crow's only influence on "It's Only Love," as she served as both a producer and writer of the track.

As Nicks told CNN's "WorldBeat" (via Fleetwood Mac's UK fansite), she personally asked Crow to contribute to her album. "Sheryl probably would have produced the whole record if she hadn't have been also releasing ['The Globe Sessions'] right in that time," Nicks said. "So she really couldn't do it all. So — but our friendship, you know, we've become such good friends now, that even on the songs that Sheryl didn't produce, she was pretty much there."

Stevie Nicks also wrote songs for other famous musicians, so this is a case of Crow restoring balance to the musical universe. This wouldn't be the only time in which Crow and Nicks would combine their melodic powers, though. Famously, they also teamed up for "If You Ever Did Believe" from the "Practical Magic" soundtrack.

Sheryl Crow's unreleased 1992 album is a treasure trove packed with hidden gems. One of the songs from this scrapped release was "All Kinds of People." This track ended up captivating another major artist's imagination, as Tina Turner snapped it up for her 1996 album "Wildest Dreams," which would peak at the No. 61 position on the Billboard 200 chart.

Credited to the songwriting team of Crow, Kevin Gilbert, and Eric Pressley, "All Kinds of People" fits Turner's vocal style like a ribbon on a gift box, utilizing her soulful and powerful range to the max on this introspective number. Thanks to folks who gained access to Crow's 1992 recorded version of the track, you can hear the similarities between the original and Turner's adaptation. The setup is all there, and the tone remains mostly the same throughout the song; however, it's clear that certain tweaks were made to adjust to Turner's larger-than-life voice and flourishes.

It should be no surprise that Turner picked "All Kinds of People" either, since she loved her rock melodies more than pop fodder. In fact, the one song that Tina Turner did that she couldn't stand was "What's Love Got To Do With It" — arguably the poppiest single in her entire music catalog.

It's easy to see why a Sheryl Crow song would fall into Wynonna Judd's wheelhouse. Both artists appreciate country music and use a lot of the twangy influences in their approach. What's probably more surprising, though, is how Judd turned "Father Sun" into an overall poppier number. There's a more playful and bouncy quality to Judd's interpretation, helping to make it a far more enticing song than Crow's original version — which isn't bad at all, but you can see why Crow may have had apprehensions about releasing this track. Compare it to some of her most notable tracks, and this one is weaker.

Off Crow's unreleased 1992 album, it didn't take too long for the originally titled "Father Son" to find a new home and owner. In 1993, "Father Sun" appeared on Judd's album "Tell Me Why," and the songwriting is credited to both Crow and Jay Oliver. While the song didn't turn out to be one of the main singles off the album (though it was released as a maxi-single in Germany), it certainly assisted the climb of "Tell Me Why" to success. The record hit the No. 5 spot on the Billboard 200 chart and went on to become platinum in the U.S.

After Eurovision forever changed Celine Dion's life in 1988, it took a few more years for Dion to take the next step as a global superstar. Her 1992 eponymous album certainly aided her on that remarkable journey. One of the major singles off the album was "If You Asked Me To," a Patti LaBelle cover. The track hit No.4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but it also received a single release featuring the song as the B-side, "Love You Blind."

Credited to the songwriting team of Sheryl Crow and Jay Oliver, "Love You Blind" is another castaway track from Crow's famous unreleased 1992 album. It's not what anybody would have expected from her either, showcasing an early '90s pop aesthetic that one might have associated more with Paula Abdul than Crow. As it has been documented, Crow wanted more rock 'n' roll attitude to her sound than corporate-approved pop, so she abandoned the record — and this song.

Oddly, "Love You Blind" doesn't sound like a Celine Dion song either. While the singer performs admirably well and hits every note like you'd expect her to, it's clear that this isn't her niche. Let's consider "Love You Blind" as a what-if alternate-universe scenario of what Dion's career might have been had she ventured down this musical path.