Strong Enough (Sheryl Crow song)

"Strong Enough" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow from her debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club (1993). The song reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks, number three in Australia, and number one in Canada, becoming her second chart-topper there following "All I Wanna Do". In Australia, the song received a double-platinum certification for sales and streams exceeding 140,000 units.

"Strong Enough"
U.S. CD single cover art
Single by Sheryl Crow
from the album Tuesday Night Music Club
B-side	"All I Wanna Do" (live) "Reach Around Jerk" (live) "Leaving Las Vegas" (live) "Run Baby Run" "What I Can Do for You"
Released	November 15, 1994
Genre	Folk[1]
Length	3:10
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Sheryl Crow Bill Bottrell Kevin Gilbert Brian MacLeod David Ricketts David Baerwald
Producer(s)	Bill Bottrell
Sheryl Crow singles chronology
"All I Wanna Do" (1994) "Strong Enough" (1994) "Can't Cry Anymore" (1995)
Audio sample
file help
Music video
"Sheryl Crow - Strong Enough (Official Music Video)" on YouTube

Crow performed the song on her live album Sheryl Crow and Friends: Live from Central Park alongside the Dixie Chicks. The song was later included on Crow's greatest hits album, The Very Best of Sheryl Crow.

Background and composition

"Strong Enough" is an acoustic folk-pop song. In live performances, Crow often plays the accordion to it, although this instrument was not featured on the original recording. The song is written in the key of D major with a moderately slow tempo of 79 beats per minute in the unusual ⁶
₄ time signature.^{[citation needed]} It follows a chord progression of D–G5–Bm♭6–A, and Crow's vocals span from A₃ to B₄.^[2] Lyrically, the song finds the narrator in a frustrated relationship, looking for solace from her partner, despite the fact that his commitments may not be as true as her own.

Critical reception

Steve Baltin from Cash Box wrote, "On the heels of her good-time up-tempo number 'All I Wanna Do', Crow comes back with a ballad, which was co-written by David Baerwald, formerly of David & David, along with five other people. And yet, even with all those helping hands, the song is a very straight-forward love song. Simple in arrangement though somewhat lush in melody, the real point is to showcase Crow’s vocal talents—which she has. Though the song may not be as big a hit as her first two singles, it sets Crow up for the long haul and is likely to be an adult/contemporary monster."^[3] Alan Jones from Music Week described "Strong Enough" as "another pleasing, though less commercial [than "All I Wanna Do"], song – a lilting, understated folksy piece. Not a huge single, but it will direct further attention to her album, Tuesday Night Music Club."^[4]

Music video

A simple black-and-white music video was directed by Martin Bell. It features Crow in a largely empty room alternatively singing the song into a microphone and pacing anxiously through the room.

Track listings

US and Australian CD single[5][6] "Strong Enough" (LP version) – 3:40 "All I Wanna Do" (live) – 4:12 "Reach Around Jerk" (live) – 4:22 "Leaving Las Vegas" (live) – 5:29 US 7-inch single[7] A. "Strong Enough" – 3:10 B. "Run Baby Run" – 4:53 US cassette single[8] "Strong Enough" "What I Can Do for You" UK 7-inch single[9] A. "Strong Enough" B. "No One Said It Would Be Easy"

UK CD1[10] "Strong Enough" "All by Myself" "Strong Enough" (live at the Borderline) "Reach Around Jerk" UK CD2[11] "Strong Enough" "No One Said It Would Be Easy" "All I Wanna Do" (live in Nashville) European CD single[12] Australian cassette single[13] Japanese mini-CD single[14] "Strong Enough" (LP version) – 3:10 "Leaving Las Vegas" (live) – 5:29

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1995) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[15] 3 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[16] 1 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[17] 3 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[18] 78 Germany (GfK)[19] 69 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[20] 9 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[21] 19 Netherlands (Single Top 100 Tipparade)[22] 7 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[23] 42 Scotland (OCC)[24] 27 UK Singles (OCC)[25] 33 US Billboard Hot 100[26] 5 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[27] 11 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[28] 34 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[29] 10 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[30] 3

Year-end charts Chart (1995) Position Australia (ARIA)[31] 26 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[32] 8 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[33] 31 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[34] 73 US Billboard Hot 100[35] 30 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[36] 40 US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard)[37] 18

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[38]	2× Platinum	140,000‡
United States (RIAA)[39]	Gold	500,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	November 15, 1994	7-inch vinyl CD cassette	A&M	[citation needed]
Japan	January 25, 1995	Mini-CD		[40]
United Kingdom	January 30, 1995	7-inch vinyl CD cassette		[41]

Covers and interpolations

Travis Tritt wrote and released an answer song called "Strong Enough to Be Your Man" in 2002.^[42]

References

1. "Tuesday Night Music Club by Sheryl Crow". Classic Rock Review. April 28, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
2. "Strong Enough". www.musicnotes.com. September 10, 2007. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
3. Baltin, Steve (November 26, 1994). "Pop Singles — Reviews: Pick of the Week" (PDF). Cash Box. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
4. Jones, Alan (February 4, 1995). "Talking Music" (PDF). Music Week. p. 30. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
5. Strong Enough (US CD single liner notes). Sheryl Crow. A&M Records. 1994. 31458 0866 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
6. Strong Enough (Australian CD single liner notes). Sheryl Crow. A&M Records, Polydor Records. 1994. 580 883-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
7. Strong Enough (US 7-inch single vinyl disc). Sheryl Crow. A&M Records. 1994. 31458 0932 7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
8. Strong Enough (US cassette single sleeve). Sheryl Crow. A&M Records. 1994. 31458 0798 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
9. Strong Enough (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Sheryl Crow. A&M Records. 1995. 580 918-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. Strong Enough (UK CD1 liner notes). Sheryl Crow. A&M Records. 1995. 580 921-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. Strong Enough (UK CD2 liner notes). Sheryl Crow. A&M Records. 1995. 580 919-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
12. Strong Enough (European CD single liner notes). Sheryl Crow. A&M Records. 1995. 580 919-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
13. Strong Enough (Australian cassette single sleeve). Sheryl Crow. A&M Records, Polydor Records. 1994. 580866-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
14. Strong Enough (Japanese mini-CD single liner notes). Sheryl Crow. A&M Records. 1995. PODM-1050.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
15. "Sheryl Crow – Strong Enough". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
16. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9071." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
17. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 7750." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
18. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 8. February 25, 1995. p. 15. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
19. "Sheryl Crow – Strong Enough" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
20. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (11.3. '95 – 17.3 '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). March 11, 1995. p. 26. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
21. "Sheryl Crow – Strong Enough" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
22. "Sheryl Crow – Strong Enough" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
23. "Sheryl Crow – Strong Enough". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
24. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
25. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
26. "Sheryl Crow Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
27. "Sheryl Crow Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
28. "Sheryl Crow Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
29. "Sheryl Crow Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
30. "Sheryl Crow Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
31. "1995 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
32. "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1995". RPM. Retrieved October 27, 2018 – via Library and Archives Canada.
33. "RPM Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1995". RPM. Retrieved October 27, 2018 – via Library and Archives Canada.
34. "Árslistinn 1995". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 2, 1996. p. 25. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
35. "Billboard Top 100 – 1995". Archived from the original on August 15, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
36. "The Year in Music: Hot Adult Contemporary Singles & Tracks" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. December 23, 1995. p. YE-80. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
37. "The Year in Music 1995: Top 40/Mainstream Top Titles". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 3, no. 51. December 15, 1995. p. 8.
38. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
39. "American single certifications – Sheryl Crow – Strong Enough". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
40. "ストロング・イナフ | シェリル・クロウ" [Strong Enough | Sheryl Crow] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
41. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. January 28, 1995. p. 27.
42. Ruhlmann, William. "Strong Enough review". Retrieved September 23, 2010.