I thought they would have had a better career...

Barry Zito belongs in this conversation, but so do a lot of pitchers. I was talking to a very smart baseball person the other day—he's in the sport—and pitching, he said, is the part of the game he still doesn't understand. It's still a little voodoo-y. It makes you really respect the guys who delivered for ten or 15 or even 20 years and the best hitters in baseball still couldn't figure them out.

 

As Knick fan, I hated that hire when it happened because I hate Jackson from his tenure with Chicago.
I never understood the assumption that he would be a good GM. Just because someone is a good coach does not mean he will be a good GM.
He may have been a good GM; he turned out not to be. But I was dumbfounded by the media and fan assumption that he would be good.

 

Since I just heard her on the radio, Jewel. She was being hailed as a superstar in the making circa 1995-96. She was in every magazine and her songs were all over radio and MTV. Her second album got a ton of buzz and then she seemed to vanish.

 

Only if you consider being the "poet laureate" of her generation vanishing!

 

I have to admit I loved that first Jewel CD. Between her looks and that CD, I had a little celebrity crush on her.
I really liked that first CD.

 

Music is interesting. I mentioned Crowe because she was positioned as a female James Taylor. I think changes in music and radio, and the limited generational shelf life of most musical acts is mostly what what keeps artists from reaching those heights. Hence the title's "better career."

Looking through Hosts and musical guests on SNL there are more that a few that qualify here.

 

Wonder if desire also plays into Crowe's status. Heard Howard Stern interview her a few months ago and she pretty much raises her kids on her own and seems to be a big part of their lives. She came from a musical family and was a backround singer for Michael Jackson, didn't seem like being a musical superstar was something that consumed her or even really interested her that much.

 

Sheryl Crow has had an interesting career; she scuffled for years as a backup singer and then made it really really big for about a half decade, since then she's been drifting along between active artist and oldies act.

With the 70s/80s generation of female rockers nearing 70, Crow is one of the leaders of the 40s-50s group.

 

Yes, but even though she scuffled it sounded like she's set. Was a good interview. Sounded like she would've been content as a career backup singer. Stern always tries to get salary/net worth out of his guests, she didn't say but definitely seemed like she is good.

 

Watching him in person for four years at LSU, he seemed like an absolute beast. Big play threat who could carry the workload of a featured back. Maybe he lasted so long in the NFL because he never developed into that and didn't get beat up as much.
Still, though, not a terrible career. He's third on the Patriots' all-time list for total yards from scrimmage.

 

Crow has cultivated friendships with a lot of the 70s groups, e.g. Fleetwood Mac, which she almost joined, and is kind of a den-mother for a lot of countryish alt-rock women in their 40s/30s. So she'll continue to have good staying power.

Funny thing, Maria McKee is only 2 years younger than Crow. It's certainly possible to see her having a comparable career if things had broken differently.

Actually I would be completely non-stunned to see those two tour together on one of these combo tours.

Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde have been doing one, that you'd think sounds weird, but on the other hand, could kick ass.

 

Crow has had a better career than James Taylor.