Joshua Radin Biography

Joshua Radin is an American singer-songwriter born and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Radin, raised on the sounds of 1960s Motown, Stax and Beatles records, as well as singer-songwriters of the early '70s such as Paul Simon, Cat Stevens and James Taylor, turned to music after college, when he moved to New York City, bought a guitar and taught himself to play and write music. In 2004, his friend Cary Brothers gave a demo featuring his very first composition, "Winter," to TV star Zach Braff, who promptly used it to score a scene in the hit television series "Scrubs." Other Hollywood types found his music just as evocative, and soon various Radin songs were being heard in TV shows such as "Grey's Anatomy," "Brothers and Sisters," "American Idol," "One Tree Hill," and "So You Think You Can Dance," among others, as well as movies including The Nanny Diaries, The Last Kiss, Catch and Release. His debut album, 2006's We Were Here drew critical acclaim and passionate listener response. His favorite song is 'You Got Growin' Up To Do'. Radin has also had a number of well known musicians on his studio recordings, including Ryan Adams who played guitar on the song "Lovely Tonight".

On a "Meet & Greet" after his concert in Cologne on October 11, 2009, Radin stated that his biggest musical inspiration is Bob Dylan.

We Were Here (2006)

Released on Columbia Records in 2006, We Were Here presented the first batch of songs Radin ever wrote. The album drew critical acclaim and received a 4-star review from Rolling Stone, who praised it for Radin's "whispery, silver-bell voice" and its themes, calling them "poignant and refreshingly frank." The record hit No. 1 on the iTunes Folk Album Chart.

Simple Times (2008)

For his second full-length album, Simple Times, Radin enlisted highly regarded producer Rob Schnapf (Elliott Smith, Beck). The two spent seven weeks recording at L.A.'s legendary Sunset Sound Studio working with a cast of musicians that included guitarist Greg Leisz, bassist Johnny Flaugher, keyboardist Jason Borger, drummer Victor Indrizzo and percussionist Lenny Castro. Among the album's many highlights are "You Got Growin' Up To Do," featuring guest vocalist Patty Griffin, lead single "I'd Rather Be With You" and "Brand New Day." Tracks from the album were featured on TV shows such as "Bones," "Scrubs," "House," "Grey's Anatomy," "One Tree Hill," "90210," "Brothers and Sisters" and "American Idol," among others.

Upon turning in his sophomore album "Simple Times" to Columbia Records, the label told him he had to add a song to the collection that would be more of a radio hit. Not wanting to kowtow to the label bigwigs, Radin decided to give all their money back to them and go it on his own. Shortly thereafter he found a new independent label Mom & Pop Music to release "Simple Times" without changing it at all and upon release, the album went to number 1 on the overall iTunes chart, providing instant vindication for Radin.

Touring

Over the course of his career, Radin has played to packed-house crowds around the world and shared stages with artists such as Sheryl Crow, Tori Amos, Imogen Heap, Meiko, Missy Higgins, Maria Taylor, Gary Jules, Amber Rubarth and many more. His first sell-out crowd was in Minneapolis.