Allies was a

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. This music is typically performed by Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to whi ...

band. They released six albums during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Band members

The most notable band members were guitarist Randy Thomas, formerly of the

Jesus music Jesus music, known as gospel beat music in the United Kingdom, is a style of Christian music that originated on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This musical genre developed in parallel to the Jesus movement ...

group Sweet Comfort Band and vocalist

Bob Carlisle Robert Mason Carlisle (born September 29, 1956) is an American Contemporary Christian singer and songwriter. He performed with several bands, most notably Allies and Billy Thermal, before launching a solo career where he received a Grammy Award a ...

. Carlisle went on to pursue a solo career and recorded the hit song " Butterfly Kisses", which was co-written with Randy. Sam O. Scott and Jimmy Erickson were both formerly of

Psalm 150 Psalm 150 is the 150th and final psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Praise ye the . Praise God in his sanctuary". In Latin, it is known as "Laudate Dominum in sanctis eius". In Psalm 150, the psalmist ...

. * Randy Thomas: lead guitar, vocals, bass * Bob Carlisle: lead vocals, rhythm and acoustic guitars * Sam O. Scott: keyboards, synth-bass, backing vocals (1984–1986) * Matthew Chapman: bass, backing vocals (1985–1991) * Jim Erickson: drums, backing vocals (1985–1991) * Kenny Williams: keyboards, saxophone, backing vocals (1987, died 2019) * Scott Sheriff: keyboards, backing vocals (1992) * Mark Hill: bass, backing vocals (1992) * Brian Fullen: drums (1992)

History

Thomas formed the act in San Bernardino, California in 1984 by bringing together members of two of his former acts: he had been with Carlisle and Jimmy Erickson in

and was also at one time in the Band Sonrise with Sam Scott and Matt Chapman. (Scott was also part of Psalm 150 though not at the same time as Thomas.)

Light Records Light Records is a gospel record label founded in 1966 by Ralph Carmichael, as a joint venture with the Waco, Texas-based Word Records. It is a subsidiary of the MNRK Music Group. History Light Records' first roster included Ralph Carmichae ...

signed the group before they recorded a demo. The self-titled album, released in 1985, took the band name at face value as the group appeared on the album jacket in military fatigues.

Discography

* ''Allies''—1985 (

) (Remastered CD, Girder Records, 2021) * ''Virtues''—1986 (Light Records) (Remastered CD, Girder Records, 2021) * ''Shoulder to Shoulder''—1987 ( DaySpring Records) * ''Long Way from Paradise''—1989 (DaySpring) * ''The River''—1990 (DaySpring) * ''Man with a Mission''—1992 (DaySpring) * ''The Light Years''—1995 (Light Records) (compilation disc: contains three tracks from ''Allies'' and nine of the ten tracks from ''Virtues'')

References

* Powell, Mark Allan (2002). ''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music'', Hendrickson Publishers. p. 30. American Christian rock groups Musical groups established in 1985 1985 establishments in the United States {{Christian-music-stub