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.
How Long
The Perrys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear
Rejoice rejoice Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel
O come Thou Rod of Jesse free Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of hell Thy people save and give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice rejoice Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel
Shall come to thee O Israel
But how long until you come again bring evil's final end, and justice finally wins
O come O King of nations bind in one the hearts of all mankind
Bid all our warring wounding cease and be Thyself our King of Peace
O Come O Come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel
Come ransom captive Israel
How long until you come again bring evil's final end, and justice finally wins
How long till heaven comes to stay and all nations shout your praise when not yet will be no more
How long until you come again bring evil's final end and justice finally wins
How long till heaven comes to stay and all nations have been saved when not yet will be no more
How long how long Emmanuel
O Come O Come Emmanuel
I'm coming soon O Israel
The Perrys's song How Long is a powerful plea for the return of Christ and the end of evil in the world. The song begins with an adaptation of the traditional Advent hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," which invokes the promised Messiah to come and rescue Israel from its exile and sorrow. The singers call out for Emmanuel, the "God with us," and ask Him to save His people from Satan's tyranny and from the power of the grave. The refrain, "Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel," expresses both the hope and the frustration of waiting for Christ's return.
As the song progresses, the singers become more urgent in their longing for Christ's coming. They ask, "How long until you come again, bring evil's final end, and justice finally wins?" They want to see heaven come to earth, and all nations united in worshiping God. They pray that Christ, the King of Peace, will bind the hearts of all mankind, and end all wars and wounds. The repeated refrain, "How long?" emphasizes the sense of waiting and anticipation that characterizes the Christian faith.
Line by Line Meaning
O come O come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel
We ask you, God, to come and save your people Israel who are held captive
That mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear
They are mourning in exile, waiting for your Son to come and save them
Rejoice rejoice Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel
We will rejoice when your Son, Emmanuel, comes to save Israel
O come Thou Rod of Jesse free Thine own from Satan's tyranny
Please free your people from the grip of Satan's power, you descendant of Jesse's lineage
From depths of hell Thy people save and give them victory o'er the grave
Rescue your people from the depths of hell, and give them victory over death
Rejoice rejoice Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel
We will rejoice when your Son, Emmanuel, comes to save Israel
Shall come to thee O Israel
Your Son will come and save your people Israel
But how long until you come again bring evil's final end, and justice finally wins
We wonder, how long will it take for you to come again and end evil, bringing final justice?
How long till heaven comes to stay and all nations shout your praise when not yet will be no more
How long will it take for heaven to permanently come and all nations to praise you, and there will be no more suffering?
O come O King of nations bind in one the hearts of all mankind
We ask you, King of all nations, to unite the hearts of all people together
Bid all our warring wounding cease and be Thyself our King of Peace
Command peace among warring nations, and may you be our King of Peace
Come ransom captive Israel
Please come and rescue your captive people Israel
How long how long Emmanuel
How long will it take for you, Emmanuel, to come again?
O Come O Come Emmanuel
We ask you, Emmanuel, to come and save us
I'm coming soon O Israel
I will come soon to rescue you, Israel
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Integrity Music
Written by: Thomas Helmore
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Deron Orbison
on Come On And Join Us
Question: What Are The "ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY" (Live) Song (Lyrics) To: The (Song:) "ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY" (By) THE PERRYS? I Would Really Like To Have The (Lyrics) To That Song. That Song Really Excites Me. It Really Does. Dear (LIBBI,) Of THE PERRYS, I Have A NEW email Address Of (My Own) On My (MOM'S Computer. LIBBI, Please email Me (Individually) The (Lyrics) To "ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY" Being Performed (Live!) Okay? THANK YOU LIBBI. (DERON ORBISON) From KANNAPOLIS, NORTH CAROLINA (CABARRUS COUNTY) LIBBI, My NEW (email) Is: dlorace1987@windstream.net