Laura Story - Open Hands (2017)

A Christian singer and songwriter who got her start as the bass player in the Christian rock act Silers Bald, Laura Story took the CCM world by storm by penning the Chris Tomlin-performed hit "Indescribable," which managed to stay at the top of that genre's charts for seven weeks. Originally a string bassist and never expecting to pursue what would eventually become her career path, Story joined Silers Bald as (eventually) a bass player after meeting vocalist Shane Williams at Columbia International University. With the band, Story would be a part of four albums, but felt that her true calling lay elsewhere, and by 2000, she was off on her own. Upon entering the studio to record her debut album, Story needed one more track, and quickly composed the work "Indescribable." The track would give the album a name, and was given an even wider audience when singer Chris Tomlin took the track to the top of the charts and to churches from coast to coast. Taking her success in stride, Laura Story went to work on independent album number two, There Is Nothing, which was released in 2005 while the musician continued on as women's leader and pastor at Perimeter Church in Atlanta, Georgia. The success of the album led to a deal with INO records, which released her third album, Great God Who Saves, in 2008. It was followed in 2011 by Blessings, which topped the Billboard Christian albums chart. INO became Fair Trade Services before releasing God of Every Story in 2013 and the Christmas album God with Us in 2015. The latter saw Story joined by Steven Curtis Chapman, Brandon Heath, and on multiple tracks, a 120-piece choir and 50-piece orchestra. ~ Chris True.