Joan Osborne will be gracing Johnny D’s with her presence on March 6.

By Jim Clark

Joan Osborne’s 1995 mega-hit single One Of Us made her an overnight sensation, and the widely popular song, from her Relish album, has stood as a classic standard of its time.

Her career has not rested on the laurels bestowed to her for that effort alone, and she has kept recording and playing for grateful fans throughout the ensuing years, serving up nine studio and two outstanding live albums along the way.

She will be making a stop along her current tour route for a show at Johnny D’s on Friday, March 6.

Defining Osborne’s sound is a challenging exercise. Her eclectic style borrows from many musical traditions and genres including folk, blues, soul, pop, R&B and country. Even though the success of One Of Us managed to get her pigeonholed into the alternative rock scene of the 90s – including her stint touring with Lilith Fair, sharing the stage with the likes of Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Tracy Chapman, Jewel and other female superstars of the time – the breadth of her work has helped her to maintain a vibrant presence on the music scene right up to the present time.

Her latest album, Love and Hate, was released last year to the delight of her many fans and to critical acclaim.

Osborne hails from Anchorage, Kentucky, an affluent suburb of Louisville. She moved to New York City in the late 1980s, where she formed her own record label, Womanly Hips, and released a few independent recordings.

In 1991 she signed with Mercury Records, and released her first full-length album, Soul Show: Live at Delta 88. Her second album, Relish (1995), became a hit on the strength of the single One of Us.

Osborne appeared on Austin City Limits in 2001. In a brief interview segment at the end of the show, she reflected on her gladness to have gotten out of the limelight of her mid-90’s stardom.

She was featured in the 2002 documentary film, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, and toured with Motown sidemen the Funk Brothers. In the summer of 2003 she 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. She covered Dolly Parton’s Do I Ever Cross Your Mind on the 2003 tribute album Just Because I’m a Woman: Songs of Dolly Parton.

Osborne is also currently a member of the band Trigger Hippy.

A powerhouse vocalist who we should all welcome to become “one of us” here in Somerville, be sure to catch her performance at Johnny D’s on Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m.