Joseph was born in San Francisco and attended the West Valley College and the Montalvo School Of The Arts in Saratoga, California. He began his career in the early 1970's as a painter in the Bay Area. His interest in sculpture began about fifteen years ago creating work that was more three-dimensional.

In the early 90's he resumed studies, attending San Jose State University, San Jose, CA. where he got his BFA in Sculpture. He thus began working in cast bronze, then steel fabrication. Eventually he was working primarily in copper, because of its malleability and the beauty of the metal. He soon started incorporating glass components into his copper work to create more depth and vibrancy.

Joe (Joseph) Birdsong and his partner Jon Lightfoot, also an artist (a painter), live and work in Tucson, Arizona. Jon is the more well known of the two.