"So many people say, 'Oh, I never thought I could do this.' Well, we always thought we could do this. We always knew we could do this, which is probably what makes it so much sweeter..." - Perry Sparks
Perry Sparks was still in high school when he first laid eyes upon Gwen Wallace. "She was actually dating a friend of mine at the time," he laughs. "That didn't last long, of course."
In 1985, Perry and Gwen were married and began making beautiful music together. "We both had a passion for it," Gwen relates. "We ended up kind of going underground, so to speak, and releasing some records. They were actually pretty good for demos, but you have to consider how much money we actually put into them! We were spending thousands of dollars to make these tapes and then we'd do these shows and sell them all in a week. I'm not saying that to be boastful, I'm just saying it to say that we were very, very successful in a very, very short period of time."
Independent releases Perwen (released in 1986) and A World Away (released in 1988) built the couple quite a following, but it was a chance entering in a contest that brought them into the big leagues. "Billboard was having this contest," Perry recalls. "The Future Stars of Tomorrow. So I went ahead and sent in our latest demo and we kind of sat around and waited. I knew we'd place. I didn't know if we'd win or not, but I knew we'd at least win something. I wouldn't have even entered if I didn't."
Sparks won the top prize, which was $15,000 dollars and a screening with three major labels. The first two went, in Gwen's estimation, "okay. They weren't bad, but we could tell that we weren't what they were looking for." However, the third, with Joel Gibson of JLN Records, seemed like a winner. "We walked out of there and I turned to Perry and said, 'That's it. This is the one.'"
The couple was signed to JLN in early 1989 and began work on their debut record shortly thereafter. "The Light it Up record is pretty much a remix of the A World Away record," Perry admits. "We just redid the songs, since we were a little short on time and we really liked the songs on A World Away anyway."
The resulting album, peppy dance record Light it Up hit the stores on November 26, 1989. While it's way too early to tell just where it will lead Perry and Gwen Sparks, they are both optimistic. "We have no doubt that it's all just beginning for us," Perry insists. "Get used to us, because you're going to be seeing us for a long, long time!"
In 1985, Perry and Gwen were married and began making beautiful music together. "We both had a passion for it," Gwen relates. "We ended up kind of going underground, so to speak, and releasing some records. They were actually pretty good for demos, but you have to consider how much money we actually put into them! We were spending thousands of dollars to make these tapes and then we'd do these shows and sell them all in a week. I'm not saying that to be boastful, I'm just saying it to say that we were very, very successful in a very, very short period of time."
Independent releases Perwen (released in 1986) and A World Away (released in 1988) built the couple quite a following, but it was a chance entering in a contest that brought them into the big leagues. "Billboard was having this contest," Perry recalls. "The Future Stars of Tomorrow. So I went ahead and sent in our latest demo and we kind of sat around and waited. I knew we'd place. I didn't know if we'd win or not, but I knew we'd at least win something. I wouldn't have even entered if I didn't."
Sparks won the top prize, which was $15,000 dollars and a screening with three major labels. The first two went, in Gwen's estimation, "okay. They weren't bad, but we could tell that we weren't what they were looking for." However, the third, with Joel Gibson of JLN Records, seemed like a winner. "We walked out of there and I turned to Perry and said, 'That's it. This is the one.'"
The couple was signed to JLN in early 1989 and began work on their debut record shortly thereafter. "The Light it Up record is pretty much a remix of the A World Away record," Perry admits. "We just redid the songs, since we were a little short on time and we really liked the songs on A World Away anyway."
The resulting album, peppy dance record Light it Up hit the stores on November 26, 1989. While it's way too early to tell just where it will lead Perry and Gwen Sparks, they are both optimistic. "We have no doubt that it's all just beginning for us," Perry insists. "Get used to us, because you're going to be seeing us for a long, long time!"