Mary Mary

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.