JOAN OSBORNE Biography - Musicians

 
 

Biography » musicians » joan osborne

JOAN OSBORNE
                                                                                                 
Name: Joan Osborne                                                                           
Birth name: Joan Elizabeth Osborne                                                           
Born: 8 July 1962 Anchorage, Kentucky, U.S.                                                 
                                                                                             
Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an North-American singer-songwriter,           
best known for her song "One of Us".                                                         
                                                                                             
Originally from the Louisville suburb of Anchorage, Kentucky, Osborne moved to               
New York City in the late 1980s, where she formed her own record label, Womanly             
Hips, to release a few independent recordings before signing to Mercury Records.             
Her second (and first major label) album is Relish (1995), which became a hit on             
the strength of the single "One of Us." The song was much more pop-oriented than             
the rest of the album, which was steeped in country, blues and folk music. "Right           
Hand Man" and "St. Teresa" were minor hits following the success of "One of Us".             
                                                                                             
Her audience grew significantly with her appearance at Lilith Fair, which placed             
her in the same school of female singer-songwriters as Tori Amos and Sarah                   
McLachlan. Her third studio album was Righteous Love, a long-delayed release,               
which fell off the charts quickly.                                                           
                                                                                             
She was featured in the 2002 documentary film Standing in the Shadows of Motown             
and toured with legendary Motown sidemen the Funk Brothers. She and her band                 
accompanied the Dixie Chicks for a national tour in the summer of 2003, during               
which time she also joined veteran San Francisco jam-rockers the Dead as a                   
vocalist, and released her fourth album, titled How Sweet It Is, a collection of             
classic rock and soul covers.                                                               
                                                                                             
During 2005 and 2006, Joan Osborne performed on numerous occasions with Phil                 
Lesh and Friends. In February 2007, she appeared on the Grand Ole Opry.                     
                                                                                             
In November 2006, she released Pretty Little Stranger, her self-described "Nashville         
album." It includes one song "After Jane" about a relationship with a woman (Osborne         
herself is bisexual).                                                                       
                                                                                             
In May 2007, she issued Breakfast in Bed, a return to the soul music that she               
had covered on How Sweet It Is. Breakfast in Bed also featured the two songs ("Heatwave"     
and "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted") that she had covered for the film                   
Standing in the Shadows of Motown.                                                           
                                                                                             
She sings lead vocals on the cover of "Spoonful" on Vivian Campbell's solo album             
Two Sides Of If. She also provided some vocals for "Wayfaring Stranger" on                   
Spearhead's 1997 album Chocolate Supa Highway. She is featured on the Holmes                 
Brothers 2007 collection State of Grace performing Those Memories of You, an old             
Allan O'Bryant and Bill Monroe bluegrass tune.