Editing Blessid Union of Souls (section)

==History==
Blessid Union of Souls formed in 1990 with guitarist Jeff Pence ([[Morrow, Ohio]]), vocalist/pianist Eliot Sloan ([[Cincinnati|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 (United Kingdom)|pub rock]] band of the [[The Movies (band)|same name]]). The band's name originated from an episode of the TV series ''[[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]''.<ref name="awaited">{{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}}</ref>

The band was heavily influenced by the [[cowpunk]] scene that was burgeoning around the time it formed.<ref name="crossrhytms">{{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}}</ref> In 1992, the band sent a [[Demo (music)|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 (Blessid Union of Souls album)|Home]]'', in March 1995. Later that year, the album was certified [[Music recording sales certification|gold]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]]. The album's most popular song was the aforementioned "[[I Believe (Blessid Union of Souls song)|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]] hit 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 (album)|Blessid Union of Souls]]'' in 1997. This album was not as popular as ''Home'' but contained the Top 40 hit "I Wanna Be There" as well as "[[Light in Your Eyes (Blessid Union of Souls song)|Light in Your Eyes]]."

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.&nbsp;33 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''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.<ref>[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 }}</ref>

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 Ball Park|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.

The band's fourth studio album, ''[[Perception (Blessid Union of Souls album)|Perception]]'', was released in 2005.{{cn|date=April 2025}} Its fifth studio album, ''[[Close to the Edge (Blessid Union of Souls album)|Close to the Edge]]'', was released on September 16, 2008, on Torque Records.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

The band's debut [[Contemporary Christian music|Contemporary Christian]] album, ''The Mission Field'', was released on Salvation Road Records through [[Sony Music|Sony]]/[[Provident Label Group|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 [[Up TV|Gospel Music Channel]] & [[JUCE TV|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.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20130506012749/http://hear2heal.net/</ref> 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 revival|vinyl]] album that included vintage live versions of ''Home'' classics and ''Home-''era demo recordings, in 2021.<ref>{{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}}</ref>