Singer-songwriter and 8-time Grammy nominee Joan Osborne stopped by the KNKX Seattle Studios while in town for a show at the Triple Door July 23.
Best known for her 1995 hit song “One of Us,” which achieved multi-platinum status, a closer look reveals a singer steeped in blues, R&B, Americana and country music. KNKX plays several of her songs on both blues and jazz programs.
During our conversation, we talked about how her early love of filmmaking carries over into her storytelling and songwriting. A prolific songwriter, Osborne’s said she is “a magpie of ideas” collecting bits of lyrics and melodies and creating a play-space where she assembles songs like choosing building blocks. Having fun is a key part of her process.
While talking about songwriting, she told me about working with Bob Dylan, who has written around 600 songs. In 1998, Osborne was asked to sing a duet on Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom” for the NBC mini-series The '60s.
To her surprise, Dylan wanted to sing the duet with her using just one microphone, so their faces were literally inches apart. That turned out to be a benefit as there was no rehearsal, and she was able to match her phrasing by watching him from take to take. As a songwriter, she has tried to emulate his ability to write political songs that have a timeless quality and are not preachy.
She's demonstrated this on her last two releases, Trouble and Strife from 2020 and Nobody Owns You in 2023, which have been more politically outspoken and manage to shine a light on such topics as women’s rights and immigration. She celebrates America’s vibrant urban life with songs like “Great American Cities” and touches on the issue of immigration with “What’s That You Say,” featuring the spoken word voice of young immigrant Anna Maria Rea.
The Louisville, Kentucky native moved to New York City in the early 1980s to study filmmaking at NYU, but after singing at some blues open-mic shows, decided to pursue a career in music instead. Osborne said that she fell in love with blues music in NYC in the late '80s, taking inspiration from the example singers like Etta James, Bessie Smith and Big Mama Thornton, who had a sense of confidence and attitude.
A fiercely independent spirit, she formed her own record label, Womanly Hips, to release her first album Soul Show: Live at Delta 88, and built a strong regional following in the Northeast. So when the album Relish broke through in 1995, she had already been performing and recording for several years. Osborne’s voice has a wide range, from a deep and gritty alto to an airy breathiness on higher notes. She conveys deep emotion without resorting to vocal histrionics.
Looking at her catalog, Osborne comes through as musically omnivorous—Righteous Love, her 2000 follow up to Relish, is mostly a rock record. In 2002, she released a soul music album How Sweet it Is, and after that was an album of Christmas music followed by Pretty Little Strangers, which had country influences.
A release that gets considerable airplay on KNKX’s All Blues show is Bring it On Home, which features remakes of blues standards by Muddy Waters, Slim Harpo, Bill Withers and Ray Charles. A few years later came Songs of Bob Dylan. In addition to Dylan, she has sung duets with Stevie Wonder, Patti Smith and even Luciano Pavarotti.
Almost 30 years after its release, Osborne still includes her hit song “One of Us” in her live shows and takes great pleasure knowing that her audience still wants to hear it. Her next endeavors include a new live album, and possibly another album inspired by the blues.
Click "Listen" above to hear the full interview.
