Sheryl Crow revisits first album

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Back in early 1995 when Sheryl Crow won Grammy gold for her debut album, her bank account was hardly glistening.

The album, "Tuesday Night Music Club," had already sold about two million copies in the seven months before Crow walked off with honours for best new artist, record of the year and female pop vocalist.

But it was not until the following year that the rock singer/songwriter received her first royalty check, she recalled in a recent interview with Reuters.

"My manager was still working out of a storage unit," Crow, aged 47, said. "That was his office, and I was still driving an old Corvair and paying my rent.

"The way it's set up is that the money comes in and they (the record label) hold it for as long as possible, and you ultimately have to make threats to get the money."

She said things got "nasty," but ultimately her relationship with A&M Records was a happy one.

Crow's problem is not uncommon. Record labels spend a fortune establishing new artists, and it can take a while for them to recoup their expenses. Moreover Crow had recorded an album before "Tuesday Night Morning Club." She and A&M decided it was not worthy of release, so she owed the label for the cost of making two albums.

The royalty checks quickly piled up as Crow's career soared, and her finances are about to get a boost from the re-release of "Tuesday Night Music Club" as a deluxe package. The album, which contained such hits as "All I Wanna Do" and "Strong Enough," now boasts a bonus CD of b-sides and rarities and a DVD of video clips and unseen tour footage.