The group formed on December 25, 1970 with Randy Perry and his sisters Debbie and Libbi in Georgia. In the mid-80's, the group signed with former pianist for the Happy Goodman Family, Eddie Crook on his, then new, Morning Star Records label. Also during this time Libbi met and married Tracy Stuffle who would become the group's bass singer.
Eventually Debbie left the group to rear her family and the Perrys were joined by soprano singer Denise Helton. During this time the Perrys experienced enormous growth in their popularity with such songs as "I Remember The Day", "I'll Go On", "The Mountain", "He Knows How", "Get Involved", "This Is Just What Heaven Means To Me" (a remake of a classic Happy Goodman Family song) and "The Rock of Ages".
In the mid-90's, shortly after the release of the very popular "Grace" album, Randy Perry left the road to concentrate more on evangelistic work and Denise Helton would also leave the group to pursue other ventures. Nicole Watts and Barry Scott would come in to fill these spots. Barry Scott soon left the group and was replaced by Mike Bowling, a former member of the New Hinsons. In 1997, the group made a record label transition from their home of a dozen years, MorningStar Records, to Daywind records owned by Dottie Leonard Miller. They also signed an exclusive booking agreement with Harper and Associates. Their debut album on Daywind, "Crossings", included their first two #1 songs on the Singing News charts, "Not Even a Stone" and "By Faith I Can Touch Him Now."
Mike would also leave to join with the The Crabb Family and also pursue his own solo career; and Nicole Watts married and departed the group shortly after Mike's departure. David Hill joined the Perrys and held the lead position for approximately nine months. His only album with the group was, "Absolutely, Positively, Live!", which featured the #1 hit, "Praise God, It's Settled, I'm Saved." Loren Harris, formerly of the Wilburns, took the lead position shortly afterward. After Nicole's departure, this time marked a turning point for the Perrys.
Having always been a quartet consisting of two females and two males, the group was faced with a decision that many had been anticipating for some time. The group decided to not fill the position of Nicole Watts with another soprano but to turn that position over to a male- hence the hiring of baritone Curt Davis.The group has since became a 3 male, one female group and has gained very high status in the southern gospel community. After the departure of group pianist Dennis Horton in 2000, Adam Harman joined the group. Adam departed the group in 2002 to join the Dollywood based quartet, the Kingdom Heirs. It was during this time that the Perrys had their fourth #1 song, "I Rest My Case at the Cross" written by the great master songwriter Kyla Rowland. Justin Ellis, formerly of the Accords, took the pianist position and remained with the group until July of 2004. In August of 2003, Curt Davis resigned his baritone position with the Perrys. After the fill-in from the Perrys' producer Wayne Haun including National Quartet Convention 2003, the Perrys hired Joseph Habedank for the baritone position. Soon after Joseph Habedank joined the group, patriarch of the Perrys, George Perry, passed away in November of 2003. Though this was a time of testing for Libbi and all of the Perrys, they managed to keep on singing for God's kingdom. After the departure of Justin Ellis to perform with the Crabb Family, the Perrys hired Matthew Holt as the group's pianist in September of 2004 at the National Quartet Convention. It was around this time that the Perrys had their fifth and latest #1 song, "I Wish I Could Have Been There." Mr. Holt was hired as pianist approximately one day before the Perrys were awarded their first Singing News Fan Award for Favorite Mixed Quartet of the Year.
Fans and the Southern Gospel Music industry showed the Perrys support for their hard work by honoring them Singing News Fan Awards for the 2004, 2005, and 2006 Mixed Quartet Of The Year. The Perrys also received the Harmony Honors Awards for Favorite Album of the Year, This Is the Day, and for Favorite Song of the Year, I Wish I Could Have Been There written by Wayne Haun and Joel Lindsey. Libbi Perry Stuffle was awarded Singing News Fan Awards for the 2005 Female Vocalist and Alto Singer Of The Year and the 2006 Alto Singer of the Year. The Perrys were also awarded the Singing News Fan Award for Album of the Year in 2006 for their album Remembering the Happy Goodmans.
In August of 2006, the Perrys announced that longtime lead vocalist, Loren Harris, had resigned his position with the group in order to spend more time at home with his family. The decision was made by the Perrys to move Joseph Habedank to the vacant lead position and bring in Nick Trammell (son of legendary baritone Mark Trammell) to fill the baritone position. The first recording, entitled "Look No Further", under the new line-up was released in September 2007 at the National Quartet Convention. In addition to the release of the album, Nick Trammell received the Horizon Individual award by the Singing News Fans for 2007. Several months later in July 2008, Matthew Holt announced his departure from the group to pursue other interests. Bryan Elliott, formerly of the Anchormen and the Palmetto State Quartet, joined the Perrys as pianist in August 2008. His first concert with the group was August 8, 2008.
It was announced February 24 that Nick Trammell was departing as baritone singer. Former sound manager Troy Peach has been hired as Trammell's replacement.
I Got a Hold of God This Morning
Perrys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and I feel so all alone;
Then, I try to reach my Father,
And I know that He'll be home.
For when life gets hard to handle,
When I'm fearful and alarmed,
I get anxious to find Jesus
and see Him stand with open arms.
I got a hold of God this morning,
I talked directly to the throne.
Oh, I went there broken hearted,
So afraid and so alone;
satan almost overtook me,
Trying hard to block my way.
But, I just prayed a little harder
I got ahold of God today.
of that precious Holy One,
As I waited there in silence,
I knew that He would come.
Then, I saw the light of Heaven,
it came right into my room;
When I felt His presence touch me;
'Oh' I knew that I prayed through.
I got a hold of God this morning,
I talked directly to the throne.
Oh, I went there broken hearted,
So afraid and so alone;
satan almost overtook me,
Trying hard to block my way.
But, I just prayed a little harder
I got ahold of God today.
I got a hold of God this morning,
I talked directly to the throne.
Oh, I went there broken hearted,
So afraid and so alone;
satan almost overtook me,
Trying hard to block my way.
But, I just prayed a little harder
I got ahold of God today.
I just prayed a little harder
I got ahold of God today.
The song "I Got a Hold of God This Morning" by Perry is a stirring expression of faith and the power of spiritual connection. Throughout the lyrics, the singer describes feeling rejected, alone, and fearful in the face of life's difficulties. But instead of succumbing to despair, the singer turns to prayer and seeks a relationship with God.
The imagery in the song is particularly striking. The idea of "talking directly to the throne" suggests a direct line of communication with God, one that is unmediated by any earthly authority. The image of the "light of Heaven" coming into the singer's room also conveys a sense of transcendence and the possibility of an intimate encounter with the divine.
The song also touches on the idea of spiritual warfare, with the singer invoking Satan as a force that attempts to block their connection with God. But through prayer and determination, the singer is able to overcome these obstacles and reach a deeper level of spiritual understanding.
Overall, "I Got a Hold of God This Morning" is a powerful testament to the transformative power of faith and the importance of seeking connection with something larger than oneself.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, Sometimes, I am rejected
There are moments when I feel rejected
and I feel so all alone;
And those moments make me feel incredibly alone
Then, I try to reach my Father,
So I reach out to God
And I know that He'll be home.
And I know that He will be there for me
For when life gets hard to handle,
Whenever life becomes too difficult to handle
When I'm fearful and alarmed,
When I am filled with fear and panic
I get anxious to find Jesus
I become eager to connect with Jesus
and see Him stand with open arms.
And see Him welcome me with open arms
I got a hold of God this morning,
Today, I was able to connect with God
I talked directly to the throne.
I was able to speak directly to God
Oh, I went there broken hearted,
I approached God feeling broken-hearted
So afraid and so alone;
Filled with fear and feeling very alone
satan almost overtook me,
Satan almost succeeded in blocking me
Trying hard to block my way.
Trying very hard to stop me from reaching God
But, I just prayed a little harder
But, I persevered and prayed even harder
I got ahold of God today.
And I was successful in connecting with God
of that precious Holy One,
I was able to experience the presence of the Holy One
As I waited there in silence,
As I waited for God in silence
I knew that He would come.
I knew that God would hear me and come to me
Then, I saw the light of Heaven,
And then I was able to see the light of heaven
it came right into my room;
Which came into my room
When I felt His presence touch me;
And when I felt the presence of God touch me
'Oh' I knew that I prayed through.
I knew that my prayers had been answered
I just prayed a little harder
I just prayed with more strength and determination
I got ahold of God today.
And because of that, I was successfully able to connect with God today
Contributed by Aaliyah M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.