Joan Osborne

Born in Kentucky, Joan Osborne moved to New York City the late 1980's in order to start her music career. However, instead of going down the same path as many before her and performing as much as she could until someone discovered her, she decided to take matters into her own hands and formed the independent record label Womanly Hips. This strategy worked wonders and after a few releases on her label, she signed a proper record deal with Mercury Records, and released her first full-length record, a live album titled “Soul Show: Live At Delta 88”, in 1991.

Wisely enough, after her initial releases she decided to take her time with her follow up records, not releasing anything else until 1995. This proved to be a great move, as her first single “One Of Us”, was a huge surprise hit, hurtling into the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 and propelling her debut studio album “Relish” into the top ten of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was especially popular in her home country, where it was certified triple Platinum just over a year after its release. Osborne became something of a celebrity for the summer of 1995, something that she was never comfortable with despite her success.

With that in mind, it's almost fortunate that the kind of all-consuming commercial success that she had enjoyed wouldn't strike again for the rest of her career. However, the record was also a critical hit, and one that made Osborne a hero among her peers, so well into the 21st century she found herself performing and collaborating with everyone from The Funk Brothers to members of The Grateful Dead, along with support slots for the Dixie Chicks and a slot on Nashville's legendary Grand Ole Opry in February 2007. Osborne is famous for having one of the best voices in modern country music, there are few that can touch her for her sheer interpretative mastery, and for that, she comes highly recommended.