When Crow finally heard herself on the radio for the first time, she was in a very successful place. Literally. "The first time I heard myself on the radio, I was in a rented car because my car had broken down," Crow told Radio.com. "I had an old Corvair and it wasn't working. I rented a little convertible Volkswagen for the week while it got worked on. I was driving through Beverly Hills of all places and 'Leaving Las Vegas' came on the radio. It was just such a California experience: beautiful weather, top down [and] my song came on the radio."

Crow had relocated to Los Angeles from Missouri, where she was a teacher, to pursue her dream of becoming a singer and songwriter. And that particular California moment was experienced by Crow like many of the city's commuters: alone in her own car.