One of Us (Joan Osborne song)

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"One of Us"
Song
B-side"Dracula Moon, Crazy Baby(live)"

"One of Us" is a song written by Eric Bazilian (of The Hooters) and originally released by Joan Osborne. Released in March 1995 on the album Relish and produced by Rick Chertoff, it became a top 40 hit in November of that year. The song is the theme song for the American television series Joan of Arcadia. The song was nominated for three Grammys and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. The song samples "In My Life" by The Beatles.

History

In an interview, Bazilian said, "I wrote ['One of Us'] one night — the quickest song I ever wrote — to impress a girl. Which worked, because we're married and have two kids. But we were in the middle of writing Joan's album, which was a group effort with Rick Chertoff and Joan and Rob and I, and I did a demo of 'One of Us,' this wacky little demo which I ended up putting as a hidden track on the CD of my first solo record, and I played [it] for them. And it really hadn't even occurred to me that it was something that Joan might do, but Rick, in his wisdom, asked Joan if she thought she could sing it. And I think it was better that he asked it that way rather than 'Do you want to sing it?' Because the answer to that might not have been yes. But she definitely said she could sing it, and we did a little live demo of a guitar and her singing it. And when I got into my car and popped the cassette in, I started practicing the Grammy speech that I should've gotten to give."[1]

Lyrics

The song deals with various aspects of belief in God by asking questions inviting the listener to consider how they might relate to God, such as "Would you call [God's name] to his face?" or "Would you want to see [God's face] if seeing meant that you would have to believe in things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints and all the prophets?"

The album version starts off with the first four lines of a recording titled "The Aeroplane Ride", made on October 27, 1937 by American folklorist Alan Lomax and his wife Elizabeth for the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress, with Mrs. Nell Hampton of Salyersville, Kentucky singing a variation of the 1928 John S. McConnell hymn "Heavenly Aeroplane".[2][3]

Music video

Directed by Mark Seliger and Fred Woodward, the video was mainly shot on Coney Island, with various attractions like rollercoasters, ferris wheels and the New York Aquarium shown, interchanged with the vintage-looking shots in sepia and Joan singing in front of the camera.

Critical reception

Roch Parisien called the song "a simple, direct statement of faith, honest and unadorned, one framed in a near-perfect chorus and delectable Neil Young-ish guitar riff."[4] In 2007, the song was ranked at number 54 on "VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s".[5] and number 10 on the network's 40 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the '90s.

Track listings

  1. "One of Us" (single edit) – 5:05

CD single – France

  1. "One of Us" (edit) – 4:16
  2. "One of Us" (album version) – 5:21

CD single – US

  1. "One of Us" (album version) – 5:21
  2. "Dracula Moon" – 6:21

CD maxi single – Europe

  1. "One of Us" (edit) – 4:16
  2. "Dracula Moon" – 6:21
  3. "One of Us" (album version) – 5:21
  4. "Crazy Baby" (live from Fox Theatre) – 8:06

Personnel

Accolades

The song received Grammy nominations in 1996 for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year.

Charts and certifications

In January 1996, "One of Us" hit the top 10 in the US, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

Appearances in other media

Cover versions and parodies

See also

References

  1. ^ Will Harris (February 25, 2008). "Popdose Interview: Eric Bazilian of the Hooters".
  2. ^ "The aeroplane ride / Nell Hampton [sound recording]" Traditional Music and Spoken Word Catalog from the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress [1]
  3. ^ A sample of the recording "The Airplane Ride" by Nell Hampton from the album "The Gospel Ship" (New World Records)[2]
  4. ^ Roch Parisien. "Joan Osborne - Relish - Review".
  5. ^ "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s". Blog.vh1.com. 2007-12-13. Archived from the original on 2007-12-20. Retrieved 2012-08-29. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Joan Osborne – One of Us". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  7. ^ "Joan Osborne – One of Us" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  8. ^ "Joan Osborne – One of Us" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  9. ^ "Joan Osborne – One of Us" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  10. ^ "Adult Contemporary - Volume 63, No. 10, April 22, 1996". RPM. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  11. ^ "Rock/Alternative - Volume 62, No. 21, January 08 1996". RPM. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  12. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 62, No. 25, February 05 1996". RPM. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  13. ^ Billboard April 27, 1996. Billboard. Retrieved 2010-12-01. {{cite book}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ "Joan Osborne: One of Us" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
  15. ^ "Joan Osborne – One of Us" (in French). Les classement single.
  16. ^ "Irish Singles Chart – Search for song". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  17. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Joan Osborne" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  18. ^ "Joan Osborne – One of Us" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  19. ^ "Joan Osborne – One of Us". Top 40 Singles.
  20. ^ "Joan Osborne – One of Us". VG-lista.
  21. ^ "Joan Osborne – One of Us". Singles Top 100.
  22. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  23. ^ "Joan Osborne Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  24. ^ "Joan Osborne Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  25. ^ "Joan Osborne Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
  26. ^ "Joan Osborne Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  27. ^ "Joan Osborne Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  28. ^ 1996 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved September 5, 2008)
  29. ^ 1996 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved September 5, 2008)
  30. ^ 1996 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved September 5, 2008)
  31. ^ "Single top 100 over 1996" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  32. ^ 1996 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com Archived 2009-01-24 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved April 20, 2010)
  33. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1996". Archived from the original on 2006-11-10. Retrieved 2010-08-27. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ Norwegian certifications. Ifpi.no. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  35. ^ U.S. certifications. riaa.com. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  36. ^ What if God Smoked Cannabis? | The Bob Rivers Show
  37. ^ The Not Al Page Archived August 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  38. ^ What If God ... by JayGilbert | Jay Gilbert | Free Listening on SoundCloud
  39. ^ Malkin, Mark (September 29, 2010). "Hallelujah? Glee Has a Spiritual Awakening". E! Online. E!. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  40. ^ "STOPPOK - Ergebnisse". Stoppok.de. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2012-08-29. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

External links

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