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Erica Atkins, Tina Atkins

Personal Information

Born Erica Atkins ca. 1972; Tina Atkins born ca. 1975; both born in Inglewood, CA; father Eddie Atkins (a youth minister); mother Thomasina Atkins (choir director); Erica: married producer Warryn Campbell, 2001; Tina: married musician Teddy Campbell
Education: Studied classical voice at El Camino College.
Religion: Church of God in Christ.

Career

Performed in gospel musicals Mama I'm Sorry and Sneaky; wrote songs that appeared on various secular and sacred CDs and on Dr. Dolittle and The Prince of Egypt soundtracks; Mary Mary signed to Columbia label, 1999; released Thankful, 2000; single "Shackles (Praise Him)" reached top levels of R&B and gospel charts; released Incredible, 2002.

Life's Work

Gospel music has often enriched itself with secular elements, and in the 1990s the music achieved a sharp increase in popularity when acts such as Kirk Franklin and Yolanda Adams incorporated elements of hip-hop and R&B styles into the gospel musical language. The contemporary gospel duo Mary Mary, which rocketed to the top of the charts in the year 2000 with their debut release, Thankful, went even further than those two pioneers in a secular direction. Indeed, in the words of J. D. Considine of the Baltimore Sun, that album "sounds like an R&B album that just happens to mention Jesus a lot."

No matter how their music might be classified, the two women that make up Mary Mary have a strong sense of their own musical direction. Mary Mary consists of sisters Erica and Tina Atkins, who composed most of their material. The duo's name is taken from the two women named Mary in the Bible--Mary Magdalene and the Virgin Mary. "We wanted to give the world the gospel according to Mary Mary, which is different from how others have done," Erica Atkins told Ebony.

Music Restricted to Gospel

The Atkins sisters grew up in Inglewood, California, outside of Los Angeles. "We heard the occasional gunshot," Tina Atkins told Ebony. "But it was a good neighborhood. There were so many people who believed in God and were involved in church." These pillars of the community included Erica and Tina's mother, Thomasina, who was a choir director at the Evangelistic Church of God in Christ, and their father, Eddie, a youth minister. The atmosphere at home was strict--there were plenty of gospel records but no secular music. "We learned as we got older that it's important for kids to have bylaws and some rules," Erica told the Los Angeles Times.

There were nine Atkins siblings in total, and all but one brother sang as teenagers. Their church choir's soprano section was almost exclusively stocked with Atkins sisters for a time, and Erica and Tina still put in occasional appearances there. The entire group of siblings once appeared on the Bobby Jones Gospel program on the BET cable television channel. But Erica and Tina, with their sights set on making music a career, 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."

Joined Stage Show

So the sisters dropped out of school and joined the cast of the touring gospel musical Mama I'm Sorry, later extending their stage experience with another gospel show, Sneaky. In over a year on the road, the sisters received an education of a different kind, learning to move on stage and to grab the attention of an audience. "We had to find things that would make the crowd go 'Awwww!' Tina Atkins told the Times. "We had to act and sing and cry in a heartbeat." Back in Los Angeles the sisters took more college classes and worked at retail jobs (Erica at Boyd's Market, Tina as a makeup artist at Nordstrom's), keeping an eye out for a way into the music industry.

Opportunities began to come when the Atkins sisters teamed themselves with Warryn Campbell, a bassist and aspiring producer whom they had met while performing on the gospel-show circuit--and whom Erica Atkins married in May of 2001. Campbell noticed the sisters' songwriting skills and suggested that they all work together in composing secular as well as gospel music. The results were productive indeed: a publishing deal with the giant EMI music conglomerate and a series of songs that landed on the soundtracks of the films Dr. Dolittle and The Prince of Egypt, as well as an album by the female trio 702. At the same time, Mary Mary as a musical entity took shape. The sisters' profile in the gospel industry was raised when they landed a pair of songs, "Time to Change" and "Yeah," on the Mountain High, Valley Low CD by hot-selling gospel diva Yolanda Adams. Mary Mary signed with the Columbia label in 1999, becoming the first gospel act to record for that industry giant since Tramaine Hawkins in the mid-1990s. Their debut album, Thankful, was released in the year 2000, and even Mary Mary's most enthusiastic backers in the industry may well have been surprised by its success.

Creative Breakthrough in Shower

Everything came together in the single "Shackles (Praise You)," released before the album itself hit the streets. The shower stall is widely known as a site of musical creativity, and it served as one in this case. "We wrote 'Shackles' in about 30 minutes," Campbell told the Los Angeles Times. "I pulled up something that I had worked on to play the girls while I took a shower. But listening to them through the shower, I heard it as something completely different, and I started singing the hook ... 'take the shackles off my feet so I can dance.' I sang it to them, and they just freaked on it." Adorned with a big beat, the sisters' note-perfect harmony, and an accompaniment of running hip-hop commentary, the song evolved into an irresistible dance hit. It became the first gospel song in five years to crack the R&B top ten, made the pop top 40, and gained wide exposure on the MTV video cable channel.

Meanwhile Mary Mary cultivated a connection with traditional gospel fans by touring with superstars Shirley Caesar and Yolanda Adams. Adams was a special influence. "That's our girl," Erica Atkins told USA Today. "She treats us like we were her little sisters and gives us advice and encourages us." Together with its hip-hop influenced tracks, Thankful features the gospel standard "Wade in the Water," and the Atkins sisters' familiarity with gospel quartet recordings shows in their sound. The gospel industry recognized Mary Mary's efforts with four Stellar Awards in 2001, including New Artist of the Year and Contemporary CD of the Year. Featuring guest appearances by the pop trio Destiny's Child and other stars, Thankful was eventually certified platinum for sales of over one million copies.

"We are very much a part of the hip-hop culture, but, at the same time, gospel is a very important part of our lives," Erica Atkins explained to Ebony in an interview that was accompanied by a photograph showing the Atkins sisters in bare-midriff outfits that confirmed their distance from gospel norms. Mary Mary's second album, Incredible, was slated for release in June of 2002; advance reports indicated that it maintained the same balance of gospel and urban contemporary elements heard on its predecessor. The duo had already notched a major accomplishment: they had succeeded commercially with music that had a positive outlook. "People are searching for answers," Tina Atkins told the Los Angeles Times. "They call Psychic Hotline and spend all this money on seeing psychiatrists. We just want to do our part."

Awards

Four Stellar awards, including New Artist of the Year and Contemporary CD of the Year, for Thankful, 2001.

Works

Selected discography

  • Thankful, Columbia, 2000.
  • Incredible, Columbia, 2002.

Further Reading

Periodicals

  • Baltimore Sun, May 4, 2000, p. Live-10.
  • Billboard, January 27, 2001, p. 6; June 30, 2001, p. 34.
  • Boston Globe, August 3, 2000, p. Calendar-8.
  • Ebony, September 2000, p. 55.
  • Jet, June 18, 2001, p. 27.
  • Los Angeles Times, July 9, 2000, p. Calendar-55.
  • USA Today, January 12, 2001, p. E8.
On-line
  • http://www.columbiarecords.com
  • http://www.gospelflava.com/articles/marymary2.html
  • http://www.jamsline.com
  • http://www.mary-mary.com

— James M. Manheim

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Artist: Mary Mary
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Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Group Members:

Tina Atkins, Erica Atkins

Similar Artists:

Tina Atkins, Melinda Doolittle, Erica Atkins, Michelle Williams, Trin-I-Tee 5:7, JoAnn Rosario, Smokie Norful, Kelly Price, Deitrick Haddon, Out of Eden, Woody Rock

Influenced By:

Yolanda Adams, Donnie McClurkin, Fred Hammond, Kirk Franklin, The Winans, The Clark Sisters

Worked With:

Harry K

Formal Connection With:

Warryn Campbell
See Mary Mary Lyrics
  • Genres: Gospel
  • Representative Albums: "Thankful," "The Sound," "Mary Mary"
  • Representative Songs: "Shackles (Praise You)," "I Sings," "The Real Party (Trevon's Birt"

Biography

One of the most commercially successful contemporary gospel acts of the early 2000s, Mary Mary is the sisterly duo of Erica and Tina Atkins, who grew up in Inglewood, CA in a family that also comprised five other sisters and a brother. The girls' parents were gospel singers, and before long the children were singing in their local church choir, eventually turning up on the Bobby Jones Gospel show on BET. The siblings joined the Michael Matthews traveling gospel show Mama I'm Sorry in 1995, followed by a second Matthews production, Sneaky. Each sister subsequently toured as a backup singer for a variety of R&B acts. Meanwhile, they wrote gospel material. A meeting with producer Warryn Campbell (who would eventually marry Erica) led to their signing a song publishing deal, and "Dance," a song that the sisters wrote and performed with Robin S., appeared on the soundtrack to Dr. Doolittle in 1998. Later that year, their "Let Go, Let God" was used on The Prince of Egypt -- Inspirational, one of three soundtrack albums for the film, and their songs were also recorded by 702 and Yolanda Adams. Mary Mary then signed to Columbia/C2 Records and released their debut single, "Shackles (Praise You)," a Top 10 R&B and Top 40 Hot 100 hit that was followed by the album Thankful in May 2000. Thankful was a huge success with Christian audiences, offering a younger, hipper version of gospel that audiences could relate to. Two years later, the duo released Incredible, an album whose material was largely written by the sisters themselves. Both Erica and Tina became mothers before their self-titled album appeared in 2005. The Sound, released in 2008, was their most crossover-savvy album yet, benefiting tremendously from Campbell's role as the set's sole producer. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
Wikipedia: Mary Mary
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
This article is about the musical duo. For other uses, see Mary Mary (disambiguation).
Mary Mary
Birth name Trecina "Tina" Atkins & Erica Atkins
Also known as The Campbell Sisters
Origin Inglewood, California, Chicago, Illinois United States
Genres Gospel, R&B, soul, jazz, electronica
Occupations Singers, Songwriters
Instruments Voice
Years active 1998-present
Labels C2 Records
Columbia
Associated acts Warryn Campbell
Kierra Sheard
Kirk Franklin
Website Mary-Mary.com
Members
Erica Atkins Campbell (37)
Trecina "Tina" Atkins Campbell (35)

Mary Mary is a two-time Grammy award winning Platinum American gospel music duo, consisting of sisters Erica Campbell (born April 29, 1972(1972-04-29))[1] and Trecina 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 #1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums.

Their current release, The Sound,again was #1 on the Top Gospel Albums; as well as #7 on the Billboard 200. It has spawned two highly successful singles: Get Up and God In Me. In Spring 2009 God In Me began achieving crossover success (as Shackles had nine years earlier), reaching #5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play.

They have currently been nominated as best R&B Group for the American Music Awards of 2009 [3].

Contents

Biography

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 choirdirector 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.

Personal life

Due to their proximity in age, the two singers grew up closer to one another than to any of their seven siblings [1]. The Atkins children are Darrel (1965)(the only boy; the 2nd boy died in childhood); Maliea (1967); Erica and Tina; Delisa (1978); Thomasina (1979); Alana (1985) and Shanta(1987)[1]. Thomasina and Alana sometimes sing back up for their big sisters [1].

Both sisters are married to unrelated men with the last name Campbell [4]. Tina married drummer Teddy Campbell from Chicago in August 2000. Ted has daughter Cierra (1993) with an ex girlfriend. Their daughter Laiah Simone Campbell was born sixteen days early on Tuesday, September 9, 2003, weighing 5 lbs 4oz [5]. Tina/Teddy welcomed their second child, Meela Jane on June 11, 2007 [6][7]. On October 20, 2009 their son Ted Jr was born [8][9].

Erica married their record producer Warryn Campbell on May 26, 2001[10]. They have daughter Krista Nicole Campbell (September 13, 2004). On October 20, 2009 Erica announced via twitter the birth of her newphew TJ [11][12][13]; as well as her second pregnancy [14][15] [16].

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 the 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 and won more than two Grammy's Inspirational. 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 the Mountain High... Valley Low CD. At the same time, Mary Mary as a musical entity took shape.

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 #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 #1 on the Gospel album chart and at #59 of the overall Top 200 chart, and was certified Platinum for shipments of 1 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 UK chart hit to date is "Shackles (Praise You)", which reached No.5 in June 2000. The follow-up "I Sings" peaked at a dismal No.32. The band have never made the Top 40 since 2000, and are genrally[who?] thought of as one-hit wonders in the U.K[citation needed].

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 #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.

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 #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 #10. On the R&B/Hip Hop chart, the song became their second biggest hit since "Shackles" in 2000, reaching the #50. The album's final single, "Believer" indicated testimonies of being a Christian. The song hit #33 on the Gospel Radio chart.

A Mary Mary Christmas (2006)

On October 10, 2006`, the duo released a Christmas album called A Mary Mary Christmas.

The Sound (2008)

On October 21, 2008, the recording group released their fourth studio album of new music entitled The Sound.[17][18] 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 #7 on the Billboard 200, #2 on the US R&B chart, and topping the gospel and CCM charts. The album held the #1 position on the Billboard Gospel Album chart for over six months since its release.[19] 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.

Discography

Albums

Year Album Chart positions Certifications[20]
US US Gospel US Christian US R&B
2000 Thankful
 59 1 1 22 RIAA: Platinum
2002 Incredible
 20 1 1 10 RIAA: Gold
2005 Mary Mary
 8 1 1 4 RIAA: Gold
2006 A Mary Mary Christmas
 148 2 7 33 RIAA: None
2008 The Sound
 7 1 1 2 RIAA: 324,620

Singles

Year Singles Chart Positions Album
US US Gospel US R&B Hot Dance Club US Adult R&B
2000 "Shackles (Praise You)" 28 1 9 19 - Thankful
2001 "I Sings" - - 68 - -
"Can't Give Up Now" - 2 - - -
"Wade In The Water" - 16 - - -
2002 "In The Morning" - 1 54 - - Incredible
"Thank You" - - 105 - -
"I Try" - - - - -
2003 "Dance, Dance, Dance - 1 - - - Gotta Have Gospel Vol. 3
"Won't Ever Change" - 95 - - - The Fighting Temptations Soundtrack
2005 "Heaven" - 1 74 - 27 Mary Mary
"The Real Party" - 43 - - -
2006 "Yesterday" - 1 50 - 11
"Believer" - 33 - - -
"Gift of Love" - 35 - - - -
"Carol of the Bells" - - - - - A Mary Mary Christmas
2008 "Love Him Like I Do" - 9 124 - - Revealed
"Get Up" 106 2 30 1 12 The Sound
"I Worship You" - - - - -
2009 "God In Me" 68 1 5 1 10

Videography

Music videos

T.V. and Film Appearances

Awards

List of awards and nominations received by Mary Mary

References

  1. ^ a b c d e biography AMry Mary fansite bio
  2. ^ http://www.gospelflava.com/reviews/marymary.html
  3. ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20091013abc04
  4. ^ Tavis Smiley. Archives. Monday, August 1, 2005 |PBS
  5. ^ http://www.christianmusicplanet.com/magazine/viewarticle.asp?id=156
  6. ^ EURweb.com
  7. ^ EURweb.com
  8. ^ http://www.bvbuzz.com/2009/10/20/mary-mary-one-birth-one-pregnant Tina gives brth to son TJ
  9. ^ http://www.gospelpundit.com/2009/10/21/word-has-it-now-the-other-mary-is-pregnant Tina Gives Birth, Erica Is Pregnant
  10. ^ Erica Atkins (Mary Mary) and Warryn Campbell Wedding
  11. ^ http://twitter.com/therealmarymary/status/5021154952
  12. ^ http://twitter.com/therealmarymary/status/5027541156
  13. ^ http://twitter.com/therealmarymary/status/5028765386
  14. ^ http://www.bvbuzz.com/2009/10/20/mary-mary-one-birth-one-pregnant BV Buzz can also report exclusively that Erica is now 3 mo pregnant
  15. ^ http://twitter.com/therealmarymary/status/5029579732 guess my secret is out now!
  16. ^ http://twitter.com/therealmarymary/status/5383887166 I'm 4mo/16wks and growing
  17. ^ Yarbrough, Kenya M. (May 9, 2008). "MARY MARY MOTHER'S DAY GIFT SONG: Gospel duo helps Colgate-Palmolive send smiles.". http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur43365.cfm. 
  18. ^ Official Mary Mary Website
  19. ^ America's #1 Gospel Group Mary Mary Invited to Open Final Three Shows on Maxwell's North... (August 2, 2009). Columbia Records/Forbes. Accessed 2009-08-08.
  20. ^ Searchable Database "Mary Mary" duo

External links

v • d • e
Mary Mary
Erica Atkins Campbell · Trecina "Tina" Atkins Campbell
Studio albums
Singles
"Shackles (Praise You)" · "I Sings" · "Cant Give Up Now" · "In The Morning" · "I Try" · "Heaven" · "Believer" · "Yesterday" · "Carol of the Bells" · "Get Up" · "God In Me"

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