Mary Mary

Hailing from Inglewood, California, the sister duo Mary Mary—Erica and Tina Atkins—ranked among the top-selling contemporary gospel acts throughout the 2000s. They grew up in a large household that also included five additional sisters and one brother; their parents performed gospel, so the children soon joined their local church choir and later appeared on BET’s Bobby Jones Gospel. In 1995 the siblings took part in Michael Matthews’ traveling production Mama I’m Sorry and then in a second Matthews show, Sneaky, after which each sister worked as a backing vocalist for assorted R&B artists.

During the same period they composed contemporary gospel songs aimed at crossover listeners. An introduction to producer Warryn Campbell, who eventually married Erica, secured them a publishing deal. The track “Dance,” which the sisters wrote and recorded with Robin S., landed on the 1998 Dr. Doolittle soundtrack; later that year “Let Go, Let God” appeared on The Prince of Egypt -- Inspirational, and other material they penned was recorded by 702 and Yolanda Adams.

Mary Mary signed with Columbia/C2 Records and introduced themselves to audiences with the single “Shackles (Praise You),” a Top Ten R&B and Top 40 Hot 100 hit that preceded the May 2000 release of their debut album Thankful. The project found wide favor among Christian listeners by offering a younger, hipper approach to gospel. Two years later the sisters issued Incredible, an album consisting largely of their own compositions. Both Erica and Tina became mothers before the self-titled album arrived in 2005, marking their first Billboard 200 Top Ten entry.

The Sound, released in 2008, performed even better, debuting at number seven and representing Mary Mary’s most crossover-oriented effort to date under Campbell’s sole production. The singles “Get Up” and “God in Me” both reached the top of the Dance Music/Club Play chart, while the latter also claimed number one on Hot Gospel Songs. Something Big, featuring productions by Campbell and several other collaborators, appeared in 2011. The following year the duo starred in the We channel reality series Go Get It and released a May soundtrack that blended earlier and newly recorded tracks.