By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
Joan Osborne
Joan Osborne, who is performing tonight (June 4) at the Keswick Theater (291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 215-572-7650, www.keswicktheatre.com), had one of the major hits in the 1990s with her song “One of Us.”
The song’s popularity continues to this day.
Who can resist a song with lyrics such as “What if God was one of us, Just a slob like one of us.”
“One of Us” is a tune from her debut studio album, “Relish” (1995) which was written by Eric Bazilian of the Hooters and produced by Rick Chertoff.
The song became a hit in November of that year. It peaked at Number Four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and earned three Grammy nominations.
“One of Us” was also a hit around the world, topping the charts of Australia, Canada, Flanders, and Sweden, reaching number six on the UK Singles Chart, and becoming a Top 20 hit in at least 12 other countries.
That single was just the start of a long and successful career for Osborne. She definitely was no “One Hit Wonder.”
Throughout her three-decade, multi-Grammy nominated career, Osborne has never been an artist confined to one space.
She has shared the stage with artists ranging from Stevie Wonder and Mavis Staples to Bob Dylan and Lucinda Williams, and she continues to seamlessly blend into any genre.
In the last decade, Osborne released the original album “Love and Hate” in 2014 and followed in 2017 with “Songs of Bob Dylan.” In 2023, Osborne released the studio album “Nobody Owns You.”
A few weeks ago, Osborne released her 14th album — “Dylanology Live.”
Now, she is on tour supporting “Dylanology Live,” which dropped on April 25 via Womanly Hips Records.
“In 2017, we put out a studio album of Bob Dylan covers,” said Osborne, during a phone interview from her home in Brooklyn.
“Doing a covers album is an idea I borrowed from Ella Fitzgerald. She released this whole series of what are now called the “Songbook” albums.
“She would choose a different writer and do an album of their music. So, this is an idea that has been around.
“The initial inspiration for the album of Dylan covers came from when I got a residency at the Café Carlyle in New York.
“I thought that this would be a good place to explore this idea. When we thought about doing an entire residency devoted to one person’s music, we decided on Bob Dylan.”
The shows at the Café Carlyle went well, and the album met with a positive reception from fans and critics.
The album’s list of songs includes “The Mighty Quinn,” “Highway 61 Revisited,” “Tangled Up in Blue,” “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,”
“Buckets of Rain,” “Spanish Harlem Incident,” “Masters Of War,” “High Water (For Charley Patton)” and several others.
Osborne followed with an album support tour in 2018 with a show that featured special guests Amy Helm, Jackie Greene and Robert Randolph. It included the album’s songs and a few that were not on the disc.
“
Instead of a big tour, we just wanted to make it a party,” said Osborne, who had an art exhibit — “Singing On Paper” — last year at City Winery New York City.
“It was a short tour, and we recorded some of the nights.”
The show that stood out took place at the Tarrytown Music Hall.
“That show sounded so good,” said Osborne, who sang with the Grateful Dead for two-and-one-half months in 2003.
“I was looking through my archives and it just sort of popped up. It captured such a cool night – such a good vibe with the band and the audience. Everyone was having a great time.”
It was purely a coincidence that Osborne’s album of Dylan music arrived around the same time the major production Dylan biopic was released.
“Now that the film has come out, I’ve been seeing a younger audience at the shows,” said Osborne. “They are right there with the returning older fans.
“The movie really conveyed what a charismatic figure Dylan was and how his songs galvanized people. The movie was also good for putting so many songs in.”
Last October, Osborne performed at Ardmore Music Hall in support of her most recent studio album, “Nobody Owns You” (Womanly Hips Records).
Osborne’s prior album, “Trouble and Strife,” took blunt and honest outlook on the U.S. political Climate, while “Nobody Owns You” had a more personal and introspective point of view.
But, the latest release is all about Bob Dylan.
The Dylanology dates will feature special guests Nicki Bluhm, Gail Ann Dorsey (David Bowie), Cindy Cashdollar (Bob Dylan, Van Morrison) and Anders Osborne.
“Lee Falco is our drummer,” said Osborne. “We have Anders Osborne on vocals and guitar and Will Bryant on keyboards and vocals. We’re all seasoned players.”
Video link for Joan Osborne – https://youtu.be/1cqlZGgajIE
The show at the Keswick Theater on June 4 will start at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $64.84.
