Mary Mary's Back
The shackles are off as Mary Mary re-enters the gospel scene with a new album and a new outlook on their career
Back from a three-year hiatus, the Grammy-winning gospel duo Mary Mary will be releasing their third and self-titled album on July 19th. The follow up to 2002’s Incredible, Mary Mary is a reflection of the Campbell sister’s newfound confidence in their music.
“Sometimes when you first come out, you don’t really know who you are as artists and musically, you haven’t really found your niche,” says Tina, who, along with her sister, had her first child during the group’s hiatus. “This time around, we’re so comfortable being Mary Mary and I feel like we’ve grown as women and ministers.”
In their journey to find their “niche” as artists, the sisters say that radio success has not been something crucial to them, despite having hits such as the worldwide smash “Shackles” and their newest single, “Heaven,” which has already reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Radio Monitor Chart.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
“Confidence doesn’t come with a successful hit,” Erica says. “Think of millions of people who sell millions of records and then fill themselves. Or the millions of people who travel the world and make loads of money and then they’re depressed or take drugs to alter their current state because they’re not happy. We’re so content with who we are, both our flaws and our strengths.”
“‘Shackles’ was great!” adds Tina. “It opened a bunch of doors for us and I’m grateful for that but you can never do your beginning again. We can’t make the record again and you can’t redo what you’ve already done. Obviously we want to make more songs that impact people but God is a God of the present and he’s doing great things today so we don’t like to live in the past.”
Produced by Warren “Baby Dubb” Campbell (Erica’s husband), Mary Mary offers up the duo’s signature high-energy dance numbers, as well as some new sounds including the 1930’s big band influenced “The Biggest Greatest Thing.”
“I was listening to Ella Fitzgerald before we recorded it and I thought I couldn’t do it because I’m not Ella Fitzgerald,” shares Tina. “But it came out really well.”
“In the end the harmonies sound like the Andrews Sisters,” Erica adds. “We’re very proud of the song because it was foreign to us. You have to challenge yourself and not always do what’s comfortable for you. With the big band, we were just trying a few things out!”
While pushing stylistic boundaries has always been part of the sister’s approach to their music, Mary Mary hopes that what will be most appealing about the album will be the messages in the lyrics.
“I hope that this album changes lives more than anything else,” says Erica. “I want people to hear it and be encouraged to keep going. We want people to hear the record and respond.”
One song that the sister’s hope will garner a response is the track “Yesterday,” which contains the lyrics: “I had enough heartache and enough headache/I’ve had so many ups and downs/Don’t know how much more I can take but I’ve decided that I cried my last tears yesterday.”
“I guarantee that somebody is going to cry when they hear that song,” says Erica. “The lyrics are so strong. Whatever devastation you’ve had in your life, you can’t let it keep you down because that was yesterday and today is today. If you’re still living in yesterday you won’t appreciate God’s greatness for today.”
For more information on Mary Mary, go to www.mary-mary.com and www.colombiarecords.com.
