Mary Mary is a three time Grammy-award winning American gospel music
duo, consisting of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell (born April 29,
1972(1972-04-29))[1] and Tina Atkins-Campbell (born May 1, 1974(1974-05-01))[1].
The duo are often credited along with Kirk Franklin for broadening
the fan base of urban contemporary gospel in the 2000s by introducing
elements of soul music, hip hop, funk and jazz. Mary Mary broke onto
the music scene with their popular song "Shackles (Praise You)" which
is considered one of the pioneering songs of urban contemporary gospel
music [2].
Their debut album Thankful (2000) was certified Platinum. The duo
has released three Gold albums: Incredible (2002), and Mary Mary
(2005), which all charted No. 1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums.
The sisters were born Erica Atkins and Trecina Atkins. The Campbell
(formerly Atkins) sisters grew up as part of a large family of nine
children in Inglewood, California. Their parents are Thomasina, an
evangelist and choir director at the Evangelistic Church of God in
Christ, and Eddie, a youth minister.
The sisters quickly entered the world of church choirs, traveling
gospel shows, and some television productions. All eight Atkins children
were on the Bobby Jones Gospel show on BET.
The sisters had their sights set on making music a career and enrolled
at El Camino College to study voice. There they ran up against the
divide between academic music studies and the popular musical world. "We
had to study classical and sing arias, which was fine," Erica
told the Times, "but the teachers would tell us if we sang anything
else it would damage our instrument".
The sisters toured with the 1995 Michael Matthews traveling gospel
show Mama I'm Sorry and Sneaky. Each sister subsequently toured as
a backup singer for a variety of R&B acts including Brandy.
[edit] Personal life
Due to their proximity in age, the two sisters grew up closer to
one another than to any of their seven siblings [1]. The Atkins children
are Darrel (b. 1965)(the only boy; the second boy having died whilst
as a child); Maliea (b. 1967); Erica and Tina; Delisa (b. 1978);
Thomasina (b. 1979); Alana (b. 1985) and Shanta(b. 1986). Thomasina
and Alana sometimes sing back up for their big sisters [1].
Both sisters are married to unrelated men with the last name Campbell
[3].
Teddy has daughter Cierra (b 1993) with an ex girlfriend. Their
daughter Laiah Simone Campbell was born on Tuesday, September 9,
2003 [4]. Second daughter Meela Jane was born on June 11, 2007 [5][6].
On October 20, 2009 their son Ted Jr was born [7][8].
Erica married their record producer Warryn Campbell on May 26, 2001.
On September, 13 2004, Erica gave birth to their first child, Krista
Nicole Campbell. On April 24, 2010, she gave birth to the couple's
second child, Warryn Campbell III [9].
[edit] Author
In November 2003 the sisters released their biography Transparent
[10].
In April 2010 the sisters released the book, Be U via Simon & Schuster
[11].
[edit] Musical career
A meeting with producer Warryn Campbell led to their song publishing
deal with the giant EMI music conglomerate and a series of songs
that landed on movie soundtracks. They wrote "Dance" and
performed it with Robin S. for the soundtrack to the 1998 film Dr.
Dolittle; they performed "Let Go, Let God" for The Prince
of Egypt. Several of their songs were recorded by 702. The sisters'
profile in the gospel industry was raised when their songs "Time
To Change" and "Yeah" were recorded by Yolanda Adams
on Mountain High... Valley Low. At the same time, Mary Mary as a
musical entity took shape. They have won multiple awards, including
three Grammys. On December 23, 2010, Mary Mary along with Bebe & Cece
Winans featuring the West Angeles Choir performed on The Tonight
Show. [12]
[edit] Thankful (2000)
Main article: Thankful
The duo was subsequently signed to Columbia Records/C2 Records and
decided to perform under the name Mary Mary, honoring Mary, the mother
of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. They were first gospel act to record
for the industry giant Columbia Records since Tramaine Hawkins in
the mid-1990s. Their first single, "Shackles (Praise You)" became
a crossover hit, being popular with gospel, R&B, and pop audiences.
It was a Top 10 R&B and Top 40 pop hit, and peaked at No. 28
on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It became the first gospel song in
five years to crack the R&B top ten and gained wide exposure
on the MTV video cable channel. The album was a huge success because
it offered a younger, hipper version of gospel that audiences could
relate to. Their debut album,Thankful was released in May 2000. It
peaked at No. 1 on the Gospel album chart and at No. 59 of the overall
Top 200 chart, and was certified Platinum for shipments of one million
copies in the USA. It went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary
Soul Gospel Album. The second single "I Sings" features
rapper BB Jay. Both singles were also hits in the UK and Europe,
and to this day remain popular with Christian youths in the US, Latin
America, and Europe. Their only Top 10 UK hit to date is "Shackles
(Praise You)", which reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart in
June 2000. The follow-up "I Sings" peaked at UK No. 32.[13]
[edit] Incredible (2002)
Main article: Incredible
With their second album Incredible, the duo was able to maintain
their success. Soon after its July 2002 release it was No. 1 on the
Gospel chart and was able to enter the Top 20 of the Top 200 album
chart. Incredible was later on certified Gold for 500,000 copies
sold in the United States. The album's singles were In The Morning
and I Try. While this album charted higher than their debut, sales
were lower. The duo attributed the lower sales to less aggressive
promotion due to label switchovers and the advent of music piracy.
[edit] Mary Mary (2005)
Main article: Mary Mary
After taking time off to have children, Mary Mary released their
third album Mary Mary in July 2005. It became the duo's first album
to enter the Top 10 on Billboard and was later on certified Gold
for sales of 500,000 copies. The first single "Heaven" contained
a sample from seventies soul trio the Honey Cone's "Want Ads".
Heaven made history and broke chart records as it had an unprecedented
9 week run as the #1 record on Billboard's Gospel Radio chart. The
second single, "The Real Party" debuted at No. 43 on the
Gospel Radio Chart. The third single, "Yesterday", also
became a hit, especially on the Adult R&B charts where it peaked
at No. 10. On the R&B/Hip Hop chart, the song became their second
biggest hit since "Shackles" in 2000, reaching the No.
50. The album's final single, "Believer" indicated testimonies
of being a Christian. The song hit No. 33 on the Gospel Radio chart.
[edit] A Mary Mary Christmas (2006)
On October 10, 2006, the duo released a Christmas album called A
Mary Mary Christmas.
[edit] The Sound (2008)
On October 21, 2008, the recording group released their fourth studio
album of new music entitled The Sound.[14][15] The lead single "Get
Up" was released digitally via iTunes on July 15, 2008. The
Sound saw Mary Mary achieve even greater success in the mainstream
market; the album sold over 37,000 copies in its first week, and
was their best charting album to date, debuting No. 7 on the Billboard
200, No. 2 on the US R&B chart, and topping the gospel and CCM
charts. The album held the No. 1 position on the Billboard Gospel
Album chart for over six months since its release.[16] Warryn Campbell
again returned to produce the album and saw collaborations with Kierra
Sheard, David Banner, Marvin Winans, Daryl Coley, Andrae Crouch,
Rance Allen, Dorinda Clark Cole, Joe Ligon, Walter Hawkins, Tramaine
Hawkins, and Karen Clark Sheard. In Spring 2009 "God In Me" began
achieving crossover success (as Shackles had nine years earlier),
reaching No. 5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and No. 1 on the
Hot Dance Club Play.
The duo was nominated twice at the 52nd Grammy Awards in the Best
Gospel Song category for "Every Prayer" with Israel Houghton
and for God in Me. They won the award for the latter song. After
the awards, they were invited to participate in the remake of We
Are The World to benefit Haiti after the earthquake. The album also
won Mary Mary four Stellar Awards on January 16, 2010.
[edit] Something Big (2011)
In 2009, Mary Mary commenced recording their sixth studio album.
Originally titled OMG, the project was renamed Something Big (album)
after R&B singer Usher had a hit single, OMG in 2010. The album
was released on March 29, 2011. The duo released the lead single,
Walking, in the fall of 2010. A video was shot in January 2011 in
Santa Ana, CA [17]. Mary Mary debuted their follow-up single, the
title track Something Big on the BET Celebration of Gospel 2011.
The latter single will be the B-side of the former single.
[edit] Discography
Main article: Mary Mary discography
* 2000: Thankful
* 2002: Incredible
* 2005: Mary Mary
* 2006: A Mary Mary Christmas
* 2008: The Sound
* 2011: Something Big