Country, rock, pop musicians

Women perform to fight breast cancer

	GALLERY
Country singer Wynonna joined the rockin' crowd at the Wiltern Theater in California to sing 'Barracuda'

By Sherri Sylvester
CNN Showbiz Today Correspondent

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- No matter how you listen, "Women Rock! Girls & Guitars" is an unlikely mix of sounds.

The Wiltern Theater on the edge of downtown is full of music this mid-October night. Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson perform their hit "Barracuda," with sister rocker Sheryl Crow and country singer Wynonna chiming in.

Then Cyndi Lauper pairs up with R&B girl group Destiny's Child. Amy Grant, whose music has run the gamut from Christian to popular, teams up with hard-driving Melissa Etheridge for a duet.

Finally, the entire ensemble gathers onstage for a tribute to Linda McCartney, who died of breast cancer in 1998. They give voice to "Maybe I'm Amazed, " a song written for her by husband Paul McCartney; the lyrics rise in heartfelt unison.

Heartfelt, because this is collaboration with a cause -- to raise breast cancer awareness through entertainment. The concert special airs this Sunday on Lifetime Television at 8 p.m. EDT.

For Crow, 38, the gathering was a chance to meet rock 'n'roll women she's admired for years. It also was a chance for her to speak exclusively with CNN about girls and their guitars.

CNN: What were the most memorable collaborations onstage?

ON AIR Correspondent Sherri Sylvester talks with these women of rock, 4:30 p.m. ET, Showbiz Today on CNN. U.S.    VIDEO CNN talks to Sheryl Crow, Wynonna, and Amy Grant Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

Sheryl Crow: A lot of the collaborations, I thought, were amazing. I loved Cyndi Lauper and Destiny's Child, and I loved Amy (Grant) and Melissa Etheridge doing Melissa's song, "You Can Sleep While I Drive." There were some really wonderful moments -- unpredictable pairings of people.

CNN: What is it like to have all those great women on one stage? Did you feel empowered by that?

Crow: I think less about the whole female aspect of it and more about their greatness, because there are people onstage tonight who have blown my mind for years.

I went and saw Heart when I was 14 ... they really were a huge part of my upbringing, and I couldn't imagine, ever, in my life even meeting Ann Wilson. And both of the Wilson sisters are amazing.

CNN: Is breast cancer awareness a cause with which you've been connected in the past?

Crow: I've done, I think, three of these shows now. I've been doing breast-cancer work for a very long time, so I never say "no."

CNN: Turning to current events, what do you see as the future of Napster?

Crow: I think that everybody now is feeling the urgency to work this out, because I think the people at Napster and all these other companies that are cropping up are seeing that they could possibly be shut down. ... Maybe everybody doesn't want to pay for music, (but) it can't work that way because it's intellectual property and it needs to be protected.

CNN: What issues are important to you this election season?

Crow: It's a day-to-day, minute-to-minute, changing situation with the Middle East, and I want to feel like whoever is in office is going to have enough experience to be able to handle the possibility of us entering into a conflict.

Then the usual issues that I'm always aware of are women's issues -- the right to choose (an abortion); gun laws, I think, need to be stricter, and I would like to see some sort of act created so that people on death row have the opportunity to have not just any (legal) representation, but representation that is (of) quality.

Quitting while they're ahead: Summer '99 to close Lilith Fair
May 4, 1999
Linda McCartney farewell celebrates her passions
June 8, 1998

Lifetime Online: WomenRock
Sheryl Crow
Fan site: Sheryl Crow

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