The article highlights three folk-influenced singers whose 1990s songs became widely recognisable, even where listeners may not readily know the performers’ names. It presents Joan Osborne, Paula Cole and Shawn Colvin as artists whose signature tracks reached large audiences through radio, television and award recognition.

– Joan Osborne’s 1995 album Relish included “One of Us”, written by Eric Bazilian and still her best-known song.
– Paula Cole’s This Fire produced “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” and “I Don’t Want to Wait”, the latter used as the theme for Dawson’s Creek.
– Shawn Colvin’s “Sunny Came Home”, from A Few Small Repairs, won Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Record of the Year; her 1988 debut Steady On had already won Best Contemporary Folk Album.