Named in honor of a passage from C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, the Austin, Texas-based CCM trio Sixpence None the Richer began taking shape in the early 1990s, when guitarist Matt Slocum first met vocalist Leigh Nash (nee Bingham) at a church retreat. Initially a trio rounded out by bassist T.J. Behling, the group recorded a 1993 demo which led to their signing with the R.E.X. label; their debut LP, The Fatherless and The Widow, appeared soon after. With rhythm guitarist Tess Wiley, new bassist J.J. Plasencio and drummer Dale Baker, Sixpence None the Richer toured before returning to the studio to record their sophomore effort, 1995's This Beautiful Mess; the Tickets for a Prayer Wheel EP followed later that same year. Both Wiley and Plasencio exited prior to the group's next LP, an eponymously titled effort issued in 1997.