Belinda Carlisle and Joan Osborne

Born the first of seven siblings, Carlisle’s earliest musical excursion was playing drums in the punk band Germs under the moniker Dottie Danger. After leaving the Germs and providing backing vocals for Black Randy and the Metrosquad, the singer co-formed the Go-Gos alongside Margot Olavarria, Elissa Bello, and Jane Wiedlin. The line-up changed soon after and became Carlisle on lead vocals, Charlotte Caffet on guitar, Kathy Valentine on bass, and Gina Shock on drums.

The Go-Gos proved ever popular across the U.S., were the first all-female band to achieve a No. 1 U.S. album, and help introduce the new wave genre to the ‘80s with their debut album “Beauty and the Beat”. The group went on to sell over seven million records and become one of the world most successful all-female bands.

In 1985 the group disbanded and Carlisle pursued a solo career. The year after in 1986 the singer released her debut solo album “Belinda” to positive reviews, led by the summer hit “Mad About You”. The album later spawned the singles “I Feel the Magic”, “Band of Gold”, and “Since You’ve Gone”, and led to Carlisle contributing songs to the film soundtracks “Mannequin”, “Out of Bounds”, and “Burglar”. Taking her sound in a more power-pop direction, Belinda Carlisle’s sophomore album “Heaven on Earth” was a Top Five hit in the UK and Australia, and proved to be the singer's most successful album. Earning Carlisle a Grammy nomination, the album was supported by a worldwide tour including a sold-out show at Wembley Arena in London.

The singer’s subsequent album “Runaway Horses” (1989) once again rose to the Top Five in the UK and Australia, aided by the singles “Leave a Light On” featuring George Harrison, “Summer Rain”, “La Luna”, and “(We Want) The Same Thing”. The year after Carlisle reunited with the Go-Gos for a worldwide tour in support of their best-of compilation album “Greatest”.

Carlisle’s fourth solo effort “Live Your Life Be Free” arrived in 1991, which became her first album to fail to reach the charts. Coupled with the commercial disappointment of her fifth album “Real”, Carlisle resumed the comeback with the Go-Gos in 1994 and embarked on a celebrated world tour.

The singer has subsequently released the solo albums “A Woman and a Man” in 1996, and “Voila” in 2007, both of which performed well in the charts, and which rejuvenated the Go-Gos continued touring and compilation albums.

Born in Kentucky, Joan Osborne moved to New York City the late 1980's in order to start her music career. However, instead of going down the same path as many before her and performing as much as she could until someone discovered her, she decided to take matters into her own hands and formed the independent record label Womanly Hips. This strategy worked wonders and after a few releases on her label, she signed a proper record deal with Mercury Records, and released her first full-length record, a live album titled “Soul Show: Live At Delta 88”, in 1991.

Wisely enough, after her initial releases she decided to take her time with her follow up records, not releasing anything else until 1995. This proved to be a great move, as her first single “One Of Us”, was a huge surprise hit, hurtling into the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 and propelling her debut studio album “Relish” into the top ten of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was especially popular in her home country, where it was certified triple Platinum just over a year after its release. Osborne became something of a celebrity for the summer of 1995, something that she was never comfortable with despite her success.

With that in mind, it's almost fortunate that the kind of all-consuming commercial success that she had enjoyed wouldn't strike again for the rest of her career. However, the record was also a critical hit, and one that made Osborne a hero among her peers, so well into the 21st century she found herself performing and collaborating with everyone from The Funk Brothers to members of The Grateful Dead, along with support slots for the Dixie Chicks and a slot on Nashville's legendary Grand Ole Opry in February 2007. Osborne is famous for having one of the best voices in modern country music, there are few that can touch her for her sheer interpretative mastery, and for that, she comes highly recommended.