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 2004. In August 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, died in November 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 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 engineer Troy Peach was hired as Trammell's replacement. After Troy joined the vocal lineup of the Perrys, the group began work on a new album for Daywind Records. The album, "Almost Morning", features songs from the pens of Joseph Habedank, Rodney Griffin, Lonnie Combs, Kyla Rowland, Matthew Holt, Joel Lindsey, and Wayne Haun. Little did the group know that the first single, "If You Knew Him", would land the #1 position for December 2009 according to the Singing News magazine. In the meantime while at the 2009 National Quartet Convention, Libbi Perry Stuffle and Joseph Habedank were voted Favorite Alto and Favorite Young Artist respectively in the 2009 Singing News Fan Awards.
The Mountain
The Perrys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One of many children
Everybody has
Their own opinion
Everybody has
Their own opinion
Holding it back
Hurts so bad
And I said
Cash in!
Cash in now honey
Cash in now
Cash in now
Cash in now honey
Cash in miss smith
Cash in now!
I was comin down the mountain
Met a child she had pin eyes
We had the same opinion
Had the same opinion
She was holding it back
It hurts do bad
Jumping out of her flesh
And I said
Cash in!
Cash in now honey
Cash in now
Cash in now
Cash in now honey
Cash in miss smith
Cash in now!
The Perrys' song, The Mountain, is a song about the journey of self-discovery and the need to make a move even when it hurts. The song opens up with the persona coming down the mountain - possibly a metaphor for overcoming challenges, trials, and tribulations in life. As the persona contemplates their journey, they encounter many people with differing opinions, and they realize that everyone has their own baggage to deal with in life. The persona becomes introspective, looking inwardly and acknowledging that holding back their feelings and thoughts hurt them, causing them to long for an outlet for their pent-up emotions.
In desperation, the persona cries out "Cash in," meaning it's time to let go, to stop holding back and express themselves. This depicts the idea of seizing the moment and making the most of every opportunity to live and grow, even if it's outside one's comfort zone. The second verse of the song continues the story, with the persona meeting a child who shares the same opinion. Interestingly, the child has pin eyes, which could be interpreted as an indicator of the child being wary or suspicious. Nevertheless, the persona connects with the child and encourages them to 'cash in,' to let go and free themselves from whatever is burdening them.
In essence, The Mountain tells a story of the journey of life, the need to overcome one's challenges, and the importance of seizing every opportunity to grow, whether it's hard or not.
Line by Line Meaning
Comin' down the mountain
Leaving a difficult situation or experience behind
One of many children
One of many who have experienced the same situation
Everybody has their own opinion
Everyone has their own perspective on the situation
Holding it back hurts so bad
Suppressing one's feelings has negative consequences
Jumping out of my flesh
Feeling a strong urge to express oneself
Cash in now honey, cash in now
Seize the opportunity now to improve your situation
Cash in miss smith, cash in now!
Urging someone specific to take advantage of the opportunity
I was comin down the mountain
Referring back to the opening line, reflecting on the difficult experience
Met a child she had pin eyes
Encountering someone who has also been through a difficult experience
Had the same opinion
Sharing similar thoughts and feelings
She was holding it back, it hurts so bad
Seeing the negative effects of suppressing one's emotions
Jumping out of her flesh
Feeling the same strong desire to express oneself
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Eric Adam Avery, Perry Farrell, David Navarro, Stephen Perkins
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@morning77light
Love this song. So thankful for what Jesus done for me and not just me but us all.
@katie2152
I am so glad to have finally found this song. I heard it many years back, but couldn't remember who sang it and the name of the song. Love this beautiful song. Praise God we have the victory.
@mikey1131999
amazing song.
@KittenKrazyisMe
still one of my favorites after all these years!
@katie2152
I'm thankful for Mount Calvary and for what Jesus done that day. Most of all I'm thankful for Jesus. He carried me through some dark days. This life can be hard but no matter how difficult, no matter how many times you fail He is a friend that will stay till the end. Yes I'm glad that as Christians we Have The Victory! Thank You Jesus.