Jump to content

Blessid Union of Souls

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Blessed Union of Souls)
This article is about the band. For the band's eponymous album, see Blessid Union of Souls (album).

Blessid Union of Souls
Blessid Union of Souls
Blessid Union of Souls
Background information
Also known asBUOS, Blessid Union
OriginCincinnati, Ohio, United States
GenresAlternative rock, pop rock, power pop, jangle pop, Christian rock[1][failed verification]
Years active1990–present
LabelsEMI Records
V2 Records
Websitewww.blessidunionofsouls.net
www.facebook.com/blessidunion

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[2] and became the group's most successful song.[3][better source needed] 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)".[4]

History

[edit]

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.[5]

The band was heavily influenced by the cowpunk scene that was burgeoning around the time it formed.[6] In 1992, the band sent a demo to EMI Records, which immediately offered them a contract and spread the word about them.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

After EMI Records collapsed in 1996, the band signed with Capitol Records and added bassist Tony Clark.[citation needed]

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".[citation needed]

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).[citation needed]

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.[citation needed] 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.[7]

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.[citation needed]

The band's fourth studio album, Perception, was released in 2005.[citation needed] Its fifth studio album, Close to the Edge, was released on September 16, 2008, on Torque Records.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

In 2012, the band began Hear 2 Heal project.[8] 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.[citation needed]

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.[9]

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]
Title Album details Peak positions
US
[10] 		US Heat
[11]
Home
  • Release date: March 21, 1995
  • Label: EMI
 78 1
Blessid Union of Souls
  • Release date: May 20, 1997
  • Label: Capitol
 127 —
Walking Off the Buzz
  • Release date: April 27, 1999
  • Label: V2
 143 —
Perception
  • Release date: May 10, 2005
  • Label: Ultrax
 — —
Close to the Edge
  • Release date: September 16, 2008
  • Label: Torque
 — —
The Mission Field
  • Release date: March 1, 2011
  • Label: Salvation Road
 — —
Home 25
  • Release date: January 15, 2021
  • Label: Wisconsin Music
 — —

Compilation albums

[edit]
Title Album details Peak positions
US
[10]
Blessid Union of Souls: The Singles
  • Release date: February 27, 2001
  • Label: V2
 178
Almost Acoustic (Volume 1)
  • Release date: October 30, 2007
  • Label: Alert Entertainment
 —
Playlist: The Very Best of Blessid Union of Souls —

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US
[12] 		US Top40 Main.
[12] 		US Adult Pop
[12] 		US Adult Cont.
[12] 		AUS
[13] 		CAN
[14] 		GER
[15] 		NL
[16] 		NZ
[17] 		UK
[18]
1995 "I Believe" 8 2 24 5 18 6 56 — 7 29 Home
"Let Me Be the One" 29 14 24 24 — 48 — — — 74
1996 "Oh Virginia" — 23 27 30 — 16 — — — —
"All Along" 70 26 — 27 — 58 — — — —
1997 "I Wanna Be There" 39 22 25 — — 19 — — — — Blessid Union of Souls
1998 "Light in Your Eyes" 48 25 29 16 — — — — — —
1999 "Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me for Me)" 33 8 16 — 17 7 — 73 44 — Walking Off the Buzz
"Standing at the Edge of the Earth" — 35 — — — — — — — —
"Rev It Up (Nascar Rocks)" — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single /
Blessid Union of Souls: The Singles
2000 "That's the Girl I've Been Telling You About" — — — — 100 — — — — — Walking Off the Buzz
2001 "Storybook Life" — — — — — — — — — — Blessid Union of Souls: The Singles
2008 "Could've Been with You" — — — — — — — — — — Close to the Edge
2011 "The Only Song" — — — — — — — — — — The Mission Field
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

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

[edit]
Year Video Director
1995 "I Believe"[19] Michael Salomon
1997 "I Wanna Be There"[20] Bill Fishman
1999 "Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me for Me)"[21] Geoff Moore
2011 "The Only Song"[22] Matt Rozzell

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Demalon, Tom. "allmusic (((Home > Overview)))". AllMusic. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  2. ^ TNT Booking's summary Archived March 7, 2016, at the Wayback Machine of the band's career. Retrieved October 23, 2008.
  3. ^ Home track listing Archived January 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine on Blessid Union of Souls' official website. "I Believe" is the most played song.
  4. ^ CD Baby's review Archived June 17, 2016, at the Wayback Machine of Perception, which also describes the history of the band. Retrieved October 23, 2008.
  5. ^ "Blessid Union of Souls Releases Long-Awaited Album". VOA News. March 3, 2009. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  6. ^ Cummings, Tony. "Blessid Union Of Souls: Ohio's mainstream hitmakers who still announce "I Believe"". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  7. ^ Blessid Union of Souls biography on Yahoo! Music Archived November 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20130506012749/http://hear2heal.net/
  9. ^ "Platinum-Selling Pop-Rock Band Blessid Union of Souls to Celebrate 25th Anniversary of Iconic Debut Album with Exclusive Vinyl Release". nashvillepublicity.prezly.com. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "allmusic ((( Blessid Union of Souls > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". AllMusic. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  11. ^ "allmusic ((( Blessid Union of Souls > Home > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". AllMusic. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  12. ^ a b c d "allmusic ((( Blessid Union of Souls > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". AllMusic. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  13. ^ australian-charts.com - Blessid Union Of Souls
  14. ^ Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada (search) - Blessid Union of Souls Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine *For "Believe": Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Top Singles - Volume 61, No. 22, July 03 1995 Archived 2011-08-28 at the Wayback Machine *For "Let Me Be the One": Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Top Singles - Volume 62, No. 17, November 27 1995 Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine *For "Oh Virginia": Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada - Top Singles - Volume 63, No. 11, April 29 1996 Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine *For "All Along": Top Singles - Volume 64, No. 2, August 26 1996 *For "I Wanna Be There": Top Singles - Volume 65, No. 21, July 28 1997 Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine *For "Hey Leonardo": Top Singles - Volume 69, No. 19, August 23, 1999 Archived December 9, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Blessid Union Of Souls". Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2011.
  16. ^ dutchcharts.nl - Blessid Union Of Souls
  17. ^ New Zealand charts - Blessid Union Of Souls
  18. ^ Blessid Union Of Souls - The Official Charts Company
  19. ^ ""I Believe" by Blessid Union of Souls". VH1. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  20. ^ ""I Wanna Be There" by Blessid Union of Souls". VH1. Archived from the original on June 5, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  21. ^ ""Hey Leonardo" by Blessid Union of Souls". VH1. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  22. ^ ""The Only Song" by Blessid Union of Souls". VH1. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blessid_Union_of_Souls&oldid=1287131134"