Joan Osborne

In a career that spans over fifteen years, Joan has proven to be an artistically restless yet consistently enthralling performer. In 2002, she cemented her reputation as a top tier soul singer with an incredible turn in the acclaimed documentary film 'Standing in the Shadows of Motown,' followed by a tour with legendary Motown backing band The Funk Brothers.

In 2003, Osborne toured with the Dixie Chicks and then surprised and wowed audiences touring throughout America for two years as the lead singer for The Dead. In 2007, she graced the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.

Osborne loves to sing and perform in many different genres, but she came back to her soulful rock roots on 'Little Wild One,' her fall 2008 release that reunites her Grammy All-Star team of Rick Chertoff and Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian of The Hooters. The team last worked together on Osborne's breakthrough, debut album 'Relish,' which sold five million copies worldwide and yielded the smash hit "One Of Us" as well as scoring six Grammy nominations.

In writing songs for her new album 'Little Wild One' (September 9th; Womanly Hips / Plum / Saguaro Road / Music Allies) Joan Osborne fell under the spell of two of New York's most beloved poets.

"The album's opening track, 'Hallelujah in the City', is a riff on the idea of the city as a spiritual place," says Osborne. "This idea comes up in Walt Whitman's and Alan Ginsberg's poetry, the concept that the shared bond of humanity of all the citizens, all their interactions, adds up to a unique environment of the soul.

Rick Chertoff sets the scene, saying, "On album opener 'Hallelujah in the City,' Eric's mandola intro and Rob's hammond chord organ bring us immediately back into the modal world of 'Relish.' And Joan's vocal, from its very entrance, grabs you with a simple power and grace that speaks of faith and intimacy, where Brooklyn and Appalachia meet in earnest."

"Sweeter Than The Rest", the albums next track, actually takes a reference from the Whitman poem, "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry." Joan explains, "Sweeter was written about a man who no longer speaks to me but who continues to haunt my thoughts and dreams. The old Brooklyn ferry landing is now a park with a beautiful view of lower Manhattan, and this man and I went there one night after walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and climbing on its cables."

www.myspace.com/joanosborne