KENNETT LOVES SHERYL

KENNETT -- To most of the country Sheryl Crow is a rock 'n' roll star. But here in her hometown she's just Sheryl.

Saturday night at a benefit concert, Crow looked like she felt right at home as she pranced out on the stage in the center of the Kennett High School football field wearing a majorette's hat and twirling a baton. She had come to her hometown over the objections of her record company to perform in front of 3,000 friends and family -- many of whom had never seen her on stage before.

As she began her show, the audience showed the utmost courtesy and restraint by keeping their seats and applauding enthusiastically. It must have reminded Crow of one of her many award-winning piano recitals as a student of Arda McMullan many years ago.

But before the third song had been completed, the audience was on its feet to stay. Dancing in the aisles was mandatory and even Crow's grandmother, Naomi Crow, was standing and enjoying her first Sheryl Crow concert. Wendell Crow, Sheryl's father, also got in on the act and joined his daughter on stage to play jazz trumpet in a duet.

Even nursing a cold, Crow put on the type of performance you would expect from a Grammy-winning entertainer with a platinum record. But Crow wasn't there to kick off a world tour or sell a new album. She wanted to do something for her hometown.

The proceeds from Crow's concert will be distributed among three educational services: the Kennett Educational Foundation, the Kimberly Wilburn Memorial Drama Scholarship and the Wednesday Music Club Scholarship. Concert organizer Jim Baker said the show could bring in as much as $15,000.

That might not seem like a great deal of money with Crow donating her services. But even selling out the concert -- Baker said it was amazing to "sell 3,000 tickets in a town of 11,000 people" -- couldn't offset the cost of a professional production.

"The record company insisted that we had to have a certain kind of sound system. We had people calling us with the equipment and setup for 'only' $3,000. I'm sitting here thinking, Did he say only?" Baker said.

"When we were putting this together I thought we'd kind of set things up in the back of a pickup. You know, get together and make some music."

Baker said Crow paid for the bus which brought her and her band to Kennett from St. Louis, for food and lodging, plus the band's salary for the concert. All this so she can "knock around with her mom" for a few days, Baker said.

"When she comes home she doesn't want to be a celebrity, and people in town treat her like she's just like everyone else," he said.

McMullan was excited about seeing her pupil again.

"I haven't been to one of her concerts before," said McMullan, who has been giving private piano lessons in Kennett since 1957. "We're all big fans."

Crow was a talented student, winning many awards and a scholarship to the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she studied music. But asked if she ever thought in those days that her student would become a star, McMullan said "probably not."

"She was very talented, but I never thought of her writing pop music. I was teaching her a lot of theory and harmony and trying to give her a background that would do her some good. My teaching is pretty traditional.

"But I have to say, it's exciting to think you had something to do with her success," McMullan said.

She was not surprised by Crow's efforts in bringing the concert to Kennett.

"She's been very generous with her success," she said. "I know she is a celebrity now, but I visited with her just a few weeks ago at her brother's wedding and I can't tell a difference. She's just Sheryl around me."