Maranatha! Praise Band

A distinct "Praise Band" associated with the Maranatha! Music and Word Maranatha labels, known for their contemporary versions of praise and worship music in the late 1980s and 1990s. In 1989, Greg Laurie asked Maranatha! Music to help him create a new sound for his evangelistic crusades. Tommy Coomes, a contemporary Christian music pioneer, took the challenge and gathered a team of musicians to form the Maranatha! Praise Band. The group became one of the most popular worship leading teams in the United States, and the term "Praise Band" became a more generic name for contemporary music groups serving churches - replacing the more common "Worship Team" in many churches. Members of the original Maranatha! Praise Band included Tommy Coomes, Bob Somma, Bill Batstone, Marsha Skidmore, John Barbour, Anne Barbour, Smitty Price, Jeffrey Lams, and Bob Wilson. However, in 1997, the lineup changed when Paul Baloche was asked to step in and produce the continuing series of Praise Band albums. Paul brought in several of the musicians who had - up to that point - been more known for their association with Integrity Music. This lineup included Ed Kerr, Jamie Harvill, Rita Baloche, Leann Albrecht, Don Harris, Carl Albrecht, as well as Matthew Ward, Lisa Lopez, Terry McMillan, Glenn Pearce, Gary Leach, Shannon Wexelberg, and Tim Davis. Some of these recordings featured early versions of songs that were later featured on Integrity Music recordings, including "Open The Eyes Of My Heart," "Rock Of Ages," "We Humble Ourselves," and "Stir Up A Hunger," from Paul Baloche's breakout album First Love and its follow-up God Of Wonders. These recordings also featured an early version of "Meet With Me" by Lamont Hiebert from the band Ten Shekel Shirt, and "You Are My Treasure" which was written and performed on the album by Chris Tomlin before his association with Passion, Worship Together, and sixstepsrecords made him a "household name" in the worship music community.