All I Wanna Do (1999)

"All I Wanna Do" is a song performed by American singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow. It was written by Crow, David Baerwald, Bill Bottrell, and Kevin Gilbert, with lyrics adapted from Wyn Cooper's 1987 poem "Fun". Released in July 1994 by A&M Records, it was Crow's breakthrough hit from her 1993 debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club. The song is Crow's biggest US hit, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks in late 1994 and topping the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. It was the winner of the 1995 Grammy for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and was nominated for Song of the Year.

In addition to its US success, "All I Wanna Do" peaked at number one in Australia for one week and in Canada for four weeks, also topping the RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks chart in the latter country. In New Zealand and the United Kingdom, it peaked at number four, and in Europe, it reached the top 10 in Austria, Flanders, France, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The accompanying music video was directed by David Hogan and Roman Coppola and won an award at the 1994 Billboard Music Video Awards. Crow performed the song on her live album Sheryl Crow and Friends: Live from Central Park.

Background and structure

The lyrics of the song are based on the poem "Fun" by Wyn Cooper. Cooper was inspired to write the poem by a conversation at a bar with a friend and occasional writer, Bill Ripley, in which he said "All I want is to have a little fun before I die", which became the first line of the poem. In a 1994 interview, Cooper said: "The poem isn't really about him. Or me. They're different people. They're people you can sort of see as ... well ... objective correlatives. Symbols of people like us, or what we could have been, or what we would have become if we continued to drink and do nothing with our lives."

Toad Hall Studio, where the song was recorded, was next door to the Pasadena Playhouse. Crow's producer (Bottrell) discovered Cooper's poetry book The Country of Here Below in a nearby used bookstore in Pasadena, California. Crow had written a song called "I Still Love You" but was unhappy with its lyrics; she used its melody and adapted the poem for her lyrics to "All I Wanna Do".

The song earned Cooper considerable royalties and helped to promote his book, originally published in a run of only 500 copies in 1987, into multiple reprints. After the song became popular, Ripley brought an unsuccessful lawsuit against Cooper for some of the song's royalties, which ended their friendship.

The opening spoken line, "This ain't no disco", is a reference to the song "Life During Wartime" by Talking Heads.

In 1997, after attending a performance by Crow at the Rosemont Theatre in Illinois, veteran Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot called the song "a rewrite of Stealers Wheel's 'Stuck in the Middle with You'".

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard magazine wrote, "Critical darling is poised for a long-deserved top 40 breakthrough with this breezy hand-clapper. Crow has a friendly demeanor that adds extra bounce to a sweet instrumental setting of jangly guitars and toe-tapping beats. Live-sounding jam is a fitting soundtrack to a day at the beach or speeding down the highway with the top down." Troy J. Augusto from Cash Box felt it should have been the first single from Tuesday Night Music Club. "Devil-may-care lyrics ("I like a good beer-buzz, early in the morning"), a cool country twang and Sheryl's friendly vocal style should all spell hit for this feelin'-good number. Rock, country, adult and, particularly, hits radio should all find lots to love about this low-key frolic. Don't miss the live show." In a second single review, he noted, "Seriously infectious hook, simple yet clever instrumentation and Crow's likable personality all spell a winner here. A perfect summertime track, 'All I Wanna Do' could well be the song that kicks off Sheryl's run at the big leagues." In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton commented, that "All I Wanna Do" "certainly has potential to go further, not least with Lisa Loeb as a role model but my one overwhelming confession is that I honestly cannot see what all the fuss is about. It's a good record, but no more." Alan Jones from Music Week said "this cheery pop/rock smash is a wordy, but expertly delivered and invigorating confection with a catchy chorus." He added, "Brits may not smile as much as US rock buyers, but they'll grin enough to get this into the chart."

Music video

The music video for "All I Wanna Do" was directed by David Hogan and Roman Coppola, with Martin Coppen directing photography. It features Crow and her band performing the song on the street, with notable characters flying through the air. The video was filmed in front of the Roxy Theatre at the corner of Franklin Street and North 1st Street in Clarksville, Tennessee. It won an award for Best New Artist Clip of the Year in the category for Pop/AC at the 1994 Billboard Music Video Awards.