Blessid Union of Souls
{{short description|American alternative rock band}}
{{about|the band|the band's eponymous album|Blessid Union of Souls (album)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{refimprove|date=April 2009}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Blessid Union of Souls
| image = Blessid Union of Souls (3826961790).jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Blessid Union of Souls
| alias = BUOS, Blessid Union
| origin = Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
| genre = Alternative rock, pop rock, power pop, jangle pop, Christian rock{{cite web|title=allmusic (((Home > Overview)))|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r217551|pure_url=yes}}|publisher=AllMusic|last=Demalon|first=Tom|access-date=May 26, 2009}}{{failed verification|date=December 2023|reason=No mention of Christian Rock at this reference}}
| years_active = 1990–present
| label = EMI Records
V2 Records
| associated_acts =
| website = {{URL|www.blessidunionofsouls.net}}
{{URL|www.facebook.com/blessidunion}}
| current_members =
| past_members =
}}
Blessid Union of Souls (sometimes abbreviated to Blessid Union or BUOS) is an American alternative rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, that was formed in 1990 by friends Jeff Pence and Eliot Sloan.
The band's first studio album, Home, had some success due to its lead single, "I Believe". The song popularized the band with local-area DJs[http://www.tntbooking.com/bios/blessid_union_of_souls.htm TNT Booking's summary] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307164921/http://www.tntbooking.com/bios/blessid_union_of_souls.htm |date=March 7, 2016 }} of the band's career. Retrieved October 23, 2008. and became the group's most successful song.[http://blessidu.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=4&id=13&Itemid=31 Home track listing] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113020242/http://blessidu.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=4&id=13&Itemid=31 |date=January 13, 2009 }} on Blessid Union of Souls' official website. "I Believe" is the most played song.{{better source|date=April 2025}} Their second album, the self-titled Blessid Union of Souls, did not reach the same level of success as Home, but the band's third album, Walking Off the Buzz, spawned the hit single "Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me for Me)".[http://cdbaby.com/cd/blessid CD Baby's review] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617003639/http://cdbaby.com/cd/blessid |date=June 17, 2016 }} of Perception, which also describes the history of the band. Retrieved October 23, 2008.
History
Blessid Union of Souls formed in 1990 with guitarist Jeff Pence (Morrow, Ohio), vocalist/pianist Eliot Sloan (Cincinnati, Ohio), keyboardist C.P. Roth (who had been in Ozzy Osbourne's touring band), and drummer Eddie Hedges. Sloan and Hedges had previously played together in a band in the 1980s called The Movies (not to be confused with the British pub rock band of the same name). The band's name originated from an episode of the TV series M*A*S*H.{{cite web|title=Blessid Union of Souls Releases Long-Awaited Album|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2009-03-03-voa21-68632352/407667.html|publisher=VOA News|date=March 3, 2009|access-date=May 23, 2010}}
The band was heavily influenced by the cowpunk scene that was burgeoning around the time it formed.{{cite web |last1=Cummings |first1=Tony |title=Blessid Union Of Souls: Ohio's mainstream hitmakers who still announce "I Believe" |url=https://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/music/Blessid_Union_Of_Souls_Ohios_mainstream_hitmakers_who_still_announce_I_Believe/34728/p1/ |website=Cross Rhythms |access-date=21 March 2024}} In 1992, the band sent a demo to EMI Records, which immediately offered them a contract and spread the word about them.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
The band released its debut album, Home, in March 1995. Later that year, the album was certified gold by the RIAA. It is now certified platinum. The album's most popular song was the aforementioned "I Believe", with reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, #2 on the magazine's Mainstream Top 40 chart, and #1 on the CHR/Pop survey from Radio & Records.{{cn|date=April 2025}} It also spawned the Top 40 hits "Oh Virginia" and "Let Me Be the One", which was featured in the soap opera All My Children.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
Also in 1995, the band covered the song 'Way Over Yonder' by Carole King for the tribute album Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
After EMI Records collapsed in 1996, the band signed with Capitol Records and added bassist Tony Clark.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
The band released its second album, Blessid Union of Souls in 1997. This album was not as popular as Home, but still released two Top 40 hits, "I Wanna Be There" and "Light in Your Eyes".{{cn|date=April 2025}}
The band's third album, Walking Off the Buzz, was released in 1999. This album was moderately popular due to "Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me for Me)", a single from the album that reached No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top ten on both the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart (No. 8) and the CHR/Pop chart (No. 7).{{cn|date=April 2025}}
Between 2001 and 2005, Blessid Union of Souls stayed away from the studio. The band released Blessid Union of Souls: The Singles, a greatest hits album, in 2001.{{cn|date=April 2025}} Roth and Hedges left the band in 2002 and were replaced by Kyle Robinson, and then by Shaun Schaefer on drums and Bryan Billhimer on guitar.[http://music.yahoo.com/ar-269524-bio--Blessid-Union-Of-Souls Blessid Union of Souls biography on Yahoo! Music] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118082139/http://music.yahoo.com/ar-269524-bio--Blessid-Union-Of-Souls |date=November 18, 2008 }}
In 2003, the band released Blessid Union of Souls: Play Ball, an album about the Cincinnati Reds. The title track was used to promote the team in their first season in Great American Ballpark. This album did not receive much attention outside of Cincinnati. In 2006, Jeff Pence headed a project in which the band contributed two tracks for Clutch Hits, a CD that featured a variety of artists who contributed songs about the Cincinnati Reds. The songs were entitled "Play Ball" and "Me, Marty, Joe, Ted & Louise". The project was a fundraiser for the Reds Community Fund.In 1995, the band covered the song 'Way Over Yonder' by Carole King for the tribute album Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
The band's fourth studio album, Perception, was released in 2005.{{cn|date=April 2025}} Its fifth studio album, Close to the Edge, was released on September 16, 2008, on Torque Records.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
The band's debut Contemporary Christian album, The Mission Field, was released on Salvation Road Records through Sony/Provident in March 2011. The first single, "The Only Song", reached number 32 on the Nielsen BDS Christian AC chart. The video for "The Only Song" was also added to the Gospel Music Channel & JCTV. The second single, "Pray for You", was released on July 15, 2011.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
In 2012, the band began Hear 2 Heal project.https://web.archive.org/web/20130506012749/http://hear2heal.net/ Hear 2 Heal is an interactive performing arts project featuring Eliot Sloan along with the performing arts students of selected schools to give the students an opportunity to be heard and to heal through the process of expression. The project began with Brownsburg High School in Brownsburg, Indiana, on November 2 and sought to reach to other schools in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Kentucky.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its debut album, the band released Home 25, a limited-edition vinyl album that included vintage live versions of Home classics and Home-era demo recordings, in 2021.{{Cite web|title=Platinum-Selling Pop-Rock Band Blessid Union of Souls to Celebrate 25th Anniversary of Iconic Debut Album with Exclusive Vinyl Release|url=https://nashvillepublicity.prezly.com/platinum-selling-pop-rock-band-blessid-union-of-souls-to-celebrate-25th-anniversary-of-iconic-debut-album-with-exclusive-vinyl-release|access-date=2021-04-13|website=nashvillepublicity.prezly.com|language=en-US}}
Discography
=Studio albums=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Album details ! colspan="2"| Peak positions |
|---|
| style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="40"| US ! width="40"| US Heat |
| scope="row"| Home
|
| 78 | 1 |
| scope="row"| Blessid Union of Souls
|
| 127 | — |
| scope="row"| Walking Off the Buzz
|
| 143 | — |
| scope="row"| Perception
|
| — | — |
| scope="row"| Close to the Edge
|
| — | — |
| scope="row"| The Mission Field
|
| — | — |
| scope="row"| Home 25
|
| — | — |
=Compilation albums=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Album details ! Peak positions |
|---|
| width="40"| US |
| scope="row"| Blessid Union of Souls: The Singles
|
| 178 |
| scope="row"| Almost Acoustic (Volume 1)
|
| — |
| scope="row"| Playlist: The Very Best of Blessid Union of Souls
|
| — |
=Singles=
They also performed a track in Pokémon: The First Movie titled "Brother My Brother" and the main theme for Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls titled "It's Alright".
Music videos
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.blessidunionofsouls.net/ Band website]
{{Blessid Union of Souls}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blessid Union Of Souls}}
Category:Alternative rock groups from Ohio
Category:Christian rock groups from Ohio