Blessid Union Of Souls
With their optimistic, spiritual outlook and song-oriented mix of pop, R&B, and folk -- dubbed "rural soul" by the band -- Blessid Union of Souls quickly became one of the most popular bands in the post-Hootie & the Blowfish adult alternative radio format in the mid-'90s. Their 1995 debut album, Home, was a huge success, producing a Top Ten hit in the single "I Believe."
Blessid Union of Souls were founded in Cincinnati by vocalist/songwriter Eliot Sloan and guitarist/songwriter Jeff Pence in 1990; keyboardist C.P. Roth, who had played in Ozzy Osbourne's touring band, and drummer Eddie Hedges, who toured with several R&B acts, soon completed the band's early lineup. Sloan and Hedges had played together in the mid-'80s in an R&B band called the Movies, and briefly signed with CBS. Taking their name from a line in an episode of M*A*S*H (and misspelling the first word to ensure correct pronunciation), Blessid Union of Souls recorded a demo tape in 1992 that found its way to EMI Records, which immediately offered the group a contract. Their debut album, Home, took over two years to craft properly, and was finally released in March of 1995; it was an immediate success, thanks to Cincinnati DJs who had already begun playing the then-unreleased lead single, "I Believe," and spread the word about the band. "I Believe" eventually reached number eight on the Billboard singles chart and became one of the most played songs of the year; like many of Sloan's songs, the lyrics reflected subtly Christian sentiments, but never became overbearing or preachy. The follow-up, "Let Me Be the One," also reached the Top 40 and was featured prominently in the soap opera All My Children.
After EMI went under, Blessid Union of Souls switched over to Capitol, also adding full-time bassist Tony Clark in 1996. Their self-titled follow-up was released in 1997, featuring the lead single "I Wanna Be There"; while there were well-crafted collaborations with professional songwriters like 1996 Grammy winner Tommy Sims, the album was not quite as commercially successful as its predecessor. Walking Off the Buzz was released in the spring of 1999. A collection entitled Singles followed in early 2001. Even though the band took the next four years away from the recording studio, Blessid Union of Souls did continued to play live. C.P. Roth and Eddie Hedges left in 2002 and were soon replaced with longtime friends of the band, Bryan Billhimer and Shaun Schaefer. The new lineup released Perception on the Ultrax label in 2005. In September 2008 the band released a new studio effort, Close to the Edge; the album’s 12 tracks included eight that had previously appeared on Perception.
© Steve Huey /TiVo
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Discography
21 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me for Me - Artist's Choice)
Pop - Released by Legend Entertainment Corp. on 5 May 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Almost Acoustic, Vol. 1
Pop - Released by Legend Entertainment Corp. on 30 Oct 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Blessid Union Of Souls
Rock - Released by Capitol Records on 1 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Believe (Single)
Pop - Released by Toucan Cove Entertainment on 11 Nov 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live at Never on Sunday (Live)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Cleopatra Records on 23 Jun 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Long Way Home
Rock - Released by Blessid Union of Souls on 2 Aug 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Believe (Artist's Choice)
Pop - Released by Legend Entertainment Corp. on 1 Jun 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
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I Believe
Blessid Union Of Souls, Building 429
Rock - Released by Mountain Road Records on 17 Nov 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
You Can Come Back from This
Pop - Released by Blessid Union of Souls on 28 Apr 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Long Walk to Love
Rock - Released by Blessid Union of Souls on 2 Aug 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
American Dreamers
Rock - Released by Blessid Music on 15 Jun 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Blessid Christmas
Gospel - Released by Shay Watson Music on 4 Dec 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
One Way Highway
Pop - Released by Blessid Union of Souls on 22 Aug 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Who Dey Nation (feat. Rayne Johnson)
Pop - Released by Mountain Road Records on 25 Jan 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Christmas Weather
Gospel - Released by Shay Watson Music on 8 Dec 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Christmastime Is Here
Gospel - Released by Shay Watson Music on 4 Dec 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Best Friend In The World
Pop - Released by Mountain Road Records on 3 May 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo