Sheryl Crow, Maren Morris, and Audrey McGraw Unite for <i>Three Generations of Songwriters</i>

Audrey McGraw is nervous about cursing. “My mom’s going to be so mad at me,” she laughs after dropping an f-bomb as Sheryl Crow, quick to make her feel comfortable, rattles off a list of curse words in the background. “Oh my God, I love you,” McGraw says, with Crow topping it all off with a grand “asshole.”

Crow, Maren Morris, and McGraw have come together at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City for Three Generations of Songwriters, the second episode of the new series that brings three women together for a cross-generational conversation. Crow is a genre-eclipsing music icon who’s about to play a series of acoustic shows in Nashville, Tennessee, called the Love Now Sessions. Morris, a country-pop mainstay, recently released the deluxe edition of her album Dreamsicle and is currently on the road for her grand tour. McGraw recently opened for Brandi Carlile and is headlining a show at Cafe Wha? in New York City at the end of the month. The three women have many threads connecting them, and they come together to discuss the music industry, their outspoken natures, and how songwriting can truly impact the world.

Watch the full video above, and read highlights from their conversation below.

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Maren Morris: You’ve always been so supportive of me. I think one of my first “I’ve made it” moments was getting a voicemail from you, and the fact that it was not an Instagram DM. You found my phone number and called me.

Sheryl Crow: I stalked you.

MM: You heard “My Church.” It was before AI and all this stuff. I was like, “Is this real? Is it really her?” I had to confirm with someone we both knew that it was your number. You had been so influential for me since I was a kid, but it never occurred to me that I could just do whatever I wanted. You just fit where your music fit. You were blowing down these bumpers on the lanes. That voicemail you left gave me a lot of perspective. I could do this in any way I want. I have the co-sign of Sheryl.

Audrey McGraw: I used to sing “If It Makes You Happy” to myself in the mirror all the time. Like, screaming, crying…not even singing.

SC: I used to sing “Landslide” [by Fleetwood Mac] with the curling iron.

AM: I don’t even know where it came from, because I was a kid. I’m like, “Why do I have this much rage?”

MM: Because it’s in that iconic scene in Crossroads with Britney Spears.

SC: I met you, [Audrey], it might not have even been the first time, but early, early days. I was living in L.A., and you, your dad, and your sisters came and swam in the pool. Then I would run across Faith, and it was all about our kids. I was constantly hearing about you. Next thing I know, you’re opening for Brandi Carlile.

AM: I still have to play [opening for Brandi] back in my memory. It was so cool, and she’s just the best. This is how I feel about the both of you. You guys are able to inspire in a way where you don’t have to confine [yourselves] to one thing. Yet, you still stay very grounded in what your artistry is and allow yourself to explore. It’s very empowering.

SC: It’s hard for people to talk to you about you.

MM: I was talking to someone the other day about whether you can truly enjoy music or songwriting while watching a show anymore. Sometimes, it’s hard for me to not go into writer-brain or vocalist-brain. When you do have someone who removes that analytical part of you, and you just get to be a feeler, it’s so rare.

SC: I recommend weed.

MM: I’ll be more analytical because I’m high.

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AM: The first solid song I wrote [at 17], and I called it “Mental Breakdown.” I showed it to my parents, [Tim McGraw and Faith Hill], and I was so scared. Everything I made, I hid, not because they were harsh or unsupportive. It was just a lot of pressure.

SC: These are not just your normal parents. They know a little something about writing songs.

AM: “I showed them this one song. My dad was like, “Why are you going to drama school? Why do you want to be an actor? Are you sure?”....That song hasn’t seen the light of day. But I think he gave me the confidence [to pursue music] after I showed him the song.

SC: Now watch, you’ll put that out someday, and it’ll be your biggest song.

SC: I really don’t think I felt like I was a great songwriter until “My Favorite Mistake.” I was playing bass and Jeff [Trott] was playing those chords. I started singing on the mic, and then filled in the blanks. It felt like something that had already been written. I called Aimee Mann. I was like, “I’ve written a song, and I think you might have written it already.” She’s like, “No, I have not written that song, but I wish I would have.” Then I called my publisher. I felt like I’d stolen this song. It’s still the only song I’ll hear on the radio of mine that I don’t [turn down].

MM: This is interesting to say out loud, and with you, [Audrey], here. It was eight months into me living there, and I wrote this song with my now ex-husband, who I love dearly, called “Last Turn Home.” The next day, it felt like an episode of the show Nashville. They were like, “Tim McGraw is recording this. He heard [the demo] on his way home last night.” I was like, “Bullshit.” They threw an album release party. He played a couple of songs. [Faith] pulled me aside and was like, “This is one of my favorites on this album.” That was my first cut. It gave me so much street cred on Music Row, because it was my first big recording from another artist, and it was Tim.

SC: It’s really funny when I think about how much our industry’s changed. When I was writing my second record, there was a shooting by a kid who had gone into a Walmart and had bought killer bullets. I just found that to be shocking. Anyone could just go in, buy a gun, and kill somebody. When the album was coming out, because I had named Walmart [on the song about that called “Love Is a Good Thing”], they said they wouldn’t carry my record. At that time, it was Target, Kmart, and Walmart—Walmart being the predominant one. They did tell me if I changed it to Kmart, they would carry it. That’s where music and politics sometimes intersect. People knew that they might have to find a way to find it. The news was everywhere. People went and bought the record because of that.

MM: After George Floyd’s murder, I wrote a song called “Better Than We Found It.”

SC: When you put that song out, first I was just like, “Oh my god, I love it,” and then I was like, “Dammit, I wanted to write that song. I wish I would have written that.” So good.

MM: It started a conversation, which was the point.

AM: I’ve never understood the critique that artists get for speaking out about their beliefs. It’s part of who we are. Politics are humanity. It affects everyone. Why shouldn’t artists be humans, too?

MM: We’re mirrors. Artists, songwriters, [and] creatives are mirrors to what’s happening in society. I’ve had Tucker Carlson talking shit about me. I’ve of course dealt with the backlash over the years of being more than just a voice on a song.

SC: “Why don’t you just shut up and sing?” I’ve read that about 9,000 times.

MM: Which is physically impossible! You can’t fucking shut up and sing. I’ve never understood that. I’ve lost fans along the way who thought I was this “My Church” girl, and it’s still a daily struggle. You sort of have to accept I’m growing and I’m changing. That kind of makes some people uncomfortable, but I can’t do the same revolving door that a lot of people do, because they want to keep the dollars in their pocket. They’re terrified of losing what they’ve built, which is completely understandable. It’s also just not for me.

SC: What do you see yourself doing?

AM: I love being in the studio. That’s my favorite place. I love performing. It took me a long time to really have the confidence to actually pursue music. I have stage fright. It took me a long time to overcome that. I still get really nervous, but now that I feel more comfortable when I’m onstage, I don’t want to get off. I see myself playing gigs as much as I can, and playing little bars as much as I can, because that’s the best.

SC: It’s good to get that experience. I feel like if I had to come up now, I would really struggle with it. There’s so much attention with cell phones, YouTube. When I first came up, there weren’t any cell phones. There are a lot of years in there where I just got to be terrible before I could figure out how to be really great. There wasn’t scrutiny. But for you guys, it’s a different thing.

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AM: I’m so bad at it. I post the most random stuff on my social media. I hear what my mom and dad talk about. They had so much room to mess up. There’s a magnifying glass on artists these days. Your every move when you perform or release something obviously gets seen.

SC: You’re having to promote yourself and curate a brand, which I would have been terrible at.

MM: I was talking to Zedd years ago about these sort of algorithmic numbers and hits on a post. He was like, “I could have literally four likes on my post and nothing is translating to the show. The real bodies are at the show.” Engagement on a post translating to people showing up for something, buying merch, and being in that room with you is so unscalable sometimes.

SC: My mom does not make memories anymore. But, when I play the piano, my mom suddenly is my mom. Her voice was always amazing. I can play Burt Bacharach or Henry Mancini, and she’s immediately back in it. Burt Bacharach died a few years ago. He knew all day long he had hits. He had songs recorded by everyone, by the greatest. But can you ever know that after you’re gone, a song could connect someone to somebody they’re losing? You don’t even know what song you have might go on without you. What a tremendous occupation.

AM: The music will always be there. It truly impacts people, music, and art in general.

MM: Your songs are eternalized. They end up living without you and take on different meanings to other people. That’s just me having songs around for 10 or 15 years that already have evolved into something that was different from the day I wrote it.

SC: I also think of it in terms of what you leave behind. As I get older, I think about some of the people I’m witnessing now and think, Are you going to be proud of what you’re leaving behind? That’s just my snarky comment.

On Sheryl Crow: Hair by Jo Baker; makeup by Mark Townsend. On Maren Morris: Hair by Dina DiPietro; makeup by Mikol. On Audrey McGraw: Styling by Emily Sanchez; hair by Damian Monzillo; makeup by Viktorija Bowers.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.