Erica Atkins-Campbell and Trecina Atkins-Campbell were born in Inglewood,
California. 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). Because of their proximity in age, the two singers grew up closer to one another than to any of their seven siblings. The sisters quickly entered the world of church choirs, traveling gospel shows, and some television productions. All nine 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 tours 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.
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; "Let Go, Let God" for The Prince of Egypt Inspirational, one of three soundtrack albums for the film; and songs of theirs were recorded by Yolanda Adams and 702. At the same time, Mary Mary as a musical entity took shape.
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. 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 first album, Thankful (Mary Mary Album) in May 2000, which would go on to win the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album, and a second single, "I Sings". Peaking at #1 on the Gospel album chart and at #59 of the overall Top 200 chart, Thankful was certified Platinum for sales of 1 million copies in the USA. 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.
With their second album Incredible, the duo was able to maintain their success. The record, soon after its release, went to #1 on the Gospel chart, and was able to enter the Top 20 of the Top 200 album chart. Incredible was later certified Gold for 500,000 copies sold in the United States. The album's singles In The Morning and I Try became relatively large hits within the contemporary gospel nation.
After taking time off to have children, their third album Mary Mary appeared. 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" containing 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, "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 #53 spot so far.
On October 10, 2006`, the recording group released their most recent album inspired by Christmas songs and is called A Mary Mary Christmas.
Good To Me
Mary Mary Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Uh yo check it out
Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh
Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh
Yo we gonna do something a little different here
Yo this is Mary Mary why'all
And Destiny's Child
Uh let me see you clap your hands(Oh, oh)
Let me see you clap your hands
Let me see you clap your hands
(Yeah, yeah)
[Chorus]
No, no
It ain't the way they used to be
And yeah, yes
It may be hard to believe
When, when
I think about all my blessings
I oh I'm telling you God's been good to me
[Mary Mary]
Growing up in a real big family
I had to take what I could get
There was always a sister or brother
I had to share every thing with
I had to share my room
Wear hand-me-downs
Cause we didn't have much money
But now there's not much I long for
Telling you God's been good to me, oh no, no
[Chorus]
[Beyonce']
You may think I've got it easy
And that's the way it's always been
But that's not really my story
I'll tell you how it all happened
I had to work real hard to get here
But I didn't do it all alone
Someone was watching over me
And that is why I sing this song, oh no
[Chorus]
[Destiny's Child & Mary Mary]
If I began to count my blessings
I wouldn't know where to begin
God has done so much for me
He's been much more than a friend
He's been protector and provider
Though I didn't always know
Always been right beside me
And without him where would I be
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Been good to me
(So good to me)
So good to me
(So good to me)
Ooh, ooh, ooh...
So good to me
(So good to me)
And it ain't the way it used to be, oh no
[Chorus: x 2]
[Smiley]
I hope you enjoyed our program this evening...
The song "Good To Me" by Mary Mary featuring Destiny's Child is an uplifting song about gratitude and the blessings in life. The lyrics reflect on the struggles and hardships the artists have faced in life, but also emphasizes the fact that they have been blessed by God. The chorus, "No, no it ain't the way they used to be, and yeah, yes it may be hard to believe. When, when I think about all my blessings, I oh I'm telling you God's been good to me", is a clear indication of the message of the song. The artists talk about their upbringing and how they had to work hard to achieve success, but along the way, they were grateful for everything that happened to them because they knew they were blessed.
The song also highlights the importance of having faith in oneself and in a higher power. Mary Mary and Destiny's Child sing about how they knew that their struggles and problems would not last forever, and that they were destined for greatness. The song serves as a reminder to stay positive and grateful no matter what life throws at you.
Overall, the song "Good To Me" is a moving and uplifting tribute to the power of gratitude and faith. It encourages listeners to reflect on the blessings in their lives and to trust that everything will work out in the end.
Line by Line Meaning
No, no
Things aren't the same as they used to be
And yeah, yes
It's hard to believe
When, when
Every time I
I think about all my blessings
I remember all the good things that have happened to me
I oh I'm telling you God's been good to me
I'm grateful to God for all the blessings I've received
Growing up in a real big family
I grew up in a large family
I had to take what I could get
We didn't have a lot, so I had to be content with what I had
There was always a sister or brother
I always had siblings around
I had to share every thing with
We had to share everything
I had to share my room
I had to share a room with my siblings
Wear hand-me-downs
I had to wear clothes that were passed down from older siblings
Cause we didn't have much money
We didn't have a lot of money
But now there's not much I long for
Now I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything
Telling you God's been good to me, oh no, no
I'm saying that God has blessed me and I'm grateful for it
You may think I've got it easy
You may think that my life is easy
And that's the way it's always been
But that's not necessarily true
But that's not really my story
My life wasn't always easy
I'll tell you how it all happened
I'll explain how things turned out the way they did
I had to work real hard to get here
I had to put in a lot of effort and hard work to get where I am now
But I didn't do it all alone
I had help along the way
Someone was watching over me
God was looking out for me
And that is why I sing this song, oh no
I'm singing this song to express my gratitude to God
If I began to count my blessings
If I tried to list all the good things that have happened to me
I wouldn't know where to begin
It would be hard to know where to start
God has done so much for me
I've been blessed by God in many ways
He's been much more than a friend
God has been like family to me
He's been protector and provider
God has protected me and provided for me
Though I didn't always know
Even when I didn't realize it
Always been right beside me
God has always been with me
And without him where would I be
I don't know where I'd be without God
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Been good to me
God's been good to me
(So good to me)
And it ain't the way it used to be, oh no
Things are better now than they used to be
I hope you enjoyed our program this evening...
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ERICA ATKINS-CAMPBELL, ERICA MONIQUE ATKINS-CAMPBELL, TRECINA ATKINS-CAMPBELL, WARRYN CAMPBELL, CURTIS L MAYFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind