''Thankful'' is the debut studio album by American duo

Mary Mary Mary Mary is a female American urban contemporary gospel duo composed of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell (born April 29, 1972) and Trecina Atkins-Campbell (born May 1, 1974). Formed in 1998, Mary Mary was launched into mainstream recognition fo ...

. It was released on May 2, 2000, through

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in the United States. Chiefly produced by

Warryn Campbell Warryn Stafford Campbell, Jr. (born August 21, 1975) is an American record producer. He has worked with a number of gospel, hip hop and R&B artists. Campbell originally got his start as a session musician and producer under the tutelage of DJ Q ...

, the album is

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

with stylings of

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythm ...

. It produced the smash crossover hit "

Shackles (Praise You) "Shackles (Praise You)" is the debut single by American gospel singer-songwriter duo Mary Mary, released on February 29, 2000, in the United States. It is considered the group's signature song. Stan North of GospelFlava.com deemed it one of the p ...

", which reached the top ten in seven countries and the single " I Sings", which was also a significant hit. ''Thankful'' established Mary Mary as one of the leading artists in

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

, and won the duo the

Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality gospel albums incorporating ...

at the 43rd awards ceremony as well as a

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

, a Lady of Soul Award, and a

Stellar Award A Stellar Award is an award presented by SAGMA to recognize achievements in the gospel music industry.Sagma
The Stell ...

Critical reception

The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics. William Ruhlmann from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave ''Thankful'' a grade of four and a half out of five stars. He wrote that "''Thankful'' is pure gospel music, a series of praise songs and cautionary tales with religious messages, but it is likely to have a broader appeal than most gospel music." ''

Cross Rhythms Cross Rhythms is a Christian media organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It operates an FM and online radio station, produces radio shows sent internationally, and its website has resources about contemporary Christian music. Hi ...

'' felt that Mary Mary "look set for big things both on the secular and gospel market. That's because they have very attractive vocals and the use the very same musical styles and beats currently popular within secular R&B. But somehow, even though their lyrical content is very much gospel-based, they've managed to appeal equally to the secular market."

Chart performance

''Thankful'' peaked at number one on the US

Top Gospel Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

, number twenty-two on the US ''Billboard'' Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number fifty-nine on the US ''Billboard'' 200. It was certified 2X platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) for selling over 2 million copies in the United States.

Track listing

;Samples * "Shackles (Praise You)" contains a replayed bass sample from "

Don't Look Any Further "Don't Look Any Further" is a 1984 song by American singer Dennis Edwards featuring Siedah Garrett, and is written by Franne Golde, Dennis Lambert and Duane Hitchings. It is taken from the singer's debut album by the same name and peaked at No. ...

", performed by

Dennis Edwards Dennis Edwards Jr. (February 3, 1943 – February 1, 2018) was an American soul and R&B singer who was best known as the frontman in The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a serie ...

Siedah Garrett Deborah Christine "Siedah" Garrett (born June 24, 1960) is an American singer and songwriter who has written songs and performed backing vocals for many recording artists in the music industry, such as Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, Brand N ...

. * "Can't Give Up Now" contains a replayed sample from "I Don't Feel No Ways Tired", performed by Rev. James Cleveland. * "Good to Me" contains a replayed sample from "Give Me Your Love", written & performed by

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2000 debut albums Mary Mary albums Albums produced by Warryn Campbell Columbia Records albums