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Song Stories

“One of Us”

Joan Osborne | 1995

When Eric Bazilian's fiancée asked him how songs were written, the Hooters singer produced a 4-track demo of a guitar riff that had been in his head. When she asked for words, he came up with lyrics that wondered "What if God was one of us/Just a slob like one of us/Just a stranger on the bus." The next day, he took it to Joan Osborne, who adopted it for her in-progress album. "Some people are pissed off that I would sing a song that represents God as anything remotely human," she told Rolling Stone.

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“Mistadobalina”
Del the Funky Homosapien | 1991
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“All Night Long (All Night)”
Lionel Richie | 1983

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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