Richard Wayne Mullins (October 21, 1955 – September 19, 1997) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Christian musicContemporary Christian music is a genre of popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
singer and
songwriterA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer.-History and background of songwriters:...
born to John and Neva Mullins in
Richmond, IndianaRichmond is a city largely within Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, which borders Ohio. The city also includes the Richmond Municipal Airport in Boston Township which is separated from the rest of the city...
. He was killed in a jeep accident in September 1997.
Mullins is best known for his worship songs "Step by Step" (later incorporated into his hit single "Sometimes by Step") and "
Awesome God"Awesome God" was a popular worship song in United States during the late 1980s, composed by Rich Mullins and is one of his most popular compositions...
", both of which have been embraced as modern classics by many Christians. Some of his albums are also considered among
Christian music'sContemporary Christian music is a genre of popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
best, including
Winds of Heaven, Stuff of EarthWinds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth is the third album by American singer/songwriter Rich Mullins, released in 1988. The album received 31st place in the book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music ....
(1988),
The World As Best As I Remember It, Volume One (1991) and
A Liturgy, A Legacy, & A Ragamuffin BandA Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin Band is the seventh album by American singer/songwriter Rich Mullins, released in 1993. The album was very well received, and received the third place in the book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music ."A Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin Band"...
(1993). His music has been covered by many artists, including
Caedmon's CallCaedmon's Call is a Contemporary Christian band which fuses traditional folk with world music and alternative rock. They are composed of Cliff Young , Danielle Young , Derek Webb , Andrew Osenga , Garett Buell , Jeff Miller , Todd Bragg , and...
,
Five Iron FrenzyFive Iron Frenzy was a Christian ska band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1995 and disbanded in 2003....
,
Amy GrantAmy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, author, media personality and occasional actress, best known for her contemporary Christian music. Grant was born in Augusta, Georgia....
,
Jars of ClayJars of Clay is a Grammy Award winning Christian rock band from Franklin, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois....
,
Michael W. SmithMichael W. Smith is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, musician, recording artist, composer, and actor. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian Music, and he has achieved considerable success in the mainstream music industry as well...
,
John TeshJohn Frank Tesh is an American pianist and composer of pop and contemporary Christian music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. Besides playing keyboards , he plays the trumpet and sings, and has sold over 7 million records...
,
Chris RiceChris Rice is an American songwriter who works in the contemporary Christian music, contemporary folk, and adult contemporary genres with a style similar to David Wilcox and James Taylor. He became a recording artist as well in 1996 after signing a contract with Michael W...
and
Third DayThird Day is a CCM and Christian rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia during the 1990s. The band was founded by lead singer Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee and former member Billy Wilkins. The other band members are bassist Tai Anderson and drummer David Carr...
.
Rich Mullins is also remembered for his devotion to the
Christian faithChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
, which was often an inspiration to others. He was heavily influenced by St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). In 1997, he composed a musical called
Canticle of the Plains, a retelling of the life of
St. FrancisSaint Francis of Assisi was a Catholic deacon and the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, more commonly known as the Franciscans....
set in the Old West.
Life
Richard Mullins was born to John Mullins, an Indiana tree farmer, and Neva Mullins, a
QuakerThe Religious Society of Friends is a religious movement, whose members are known as Friends or Quakers. The roots of this movement are with some 17th century Christian English dissenters, but today the movement has branched out into many independent national and regional organizations, called...
. Mullins' family called him by his middle name, Wayne, which he went by until college where his friends called him Richard. Mullins grew up attending Arba Friends Meeting, a church in
Lynn, IndianaLynn is a town in Washington Township, Randolph County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,143 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lynn is located at ....
. The Quaker testimonies of
peacePeace testimony, or testimony against war, is a shorthand description of the action generally taken by members of the Religious Society of Friends for peace and against participation in war. Like other Quaker testimonies, it is not a "belief", but a description of committed actions, in this case...
and
social justiceSocial justice is a notion used to describe a society with a greater degree of economic egalitarianism through progressive taxation, income redistribution, or even property redistribution, policies aimed toward achieving that which developmental economists refer to as equality of opportunity and...
later inspired many of his lyrics. Mullins was baptized when he was in the 3rd grade. His great-grandmother had taught him to play hymns in four part harmony when he was very young; he began to study classical piano with a Quaker teacher while in elementary school.
An important part of Rich Mullins Musical talents in Richmond Indiana was being the piano player, song writer and vocalist for the New Creations Choir which was started by Tim Cummins in the early 70's. The choir had a bus, toured several states and even produced a record album. The New Creations is a church and school for teens today and Rich Mullins was a contributing factor in its beginning.
In 1974-78, Mullins attended
Cincinnati Bible CollegeCincinnati Christian University in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, is one of the oldest and largest schools in the Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. CCU was established in 1924 and has served the Cincinnati area for over 80 years...
. He worked in a parking garage to help pay for his schooling. From 1975 to 1978 he was the Music Director and Youth Director near Cincinnati at Erlanger United Methodist Church, Erlanger, Kentucky.
In the 1980s he moved to
Nashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state...
to begin his professional recording career.
Mullins was engaged sometime between the late '70's and early '80's and had written the song
Doubly Good To You (recorded by Amy Grant on her album
Straight Ahead) for the wedding. However, his fiancée broke off the engagement, at which time Mullins wrote
Damascus Road.
Years later Rich shared thoughts about his relationships and personal life in a radio interview with Rick Tarrant:
I would always be frustrated with all those relationships even when I was engaged. I had a ten year thing with this girl and I would often wonder why, even in those most intimate moments of our relationship, I would still feel really lonely. And it was just a few years ago that I finally realized that friendship is not a remedy for loneliness. Loneliness is a part of our experience and if we are looking for relief from loneliness in friendship, we are only going to frustrate the friendship. Friendship, camaraderie, intimacy, all those things, and loneliness live together in the same experience... I have no interest in anybody else and she is married to someone else so that's the way it goes and I don't mind that. Right now I cannot imagine that life could be happier married than it is single so I'm not in a panic about getting married. And I think, you know, maybe God wanted me to be celibate and the way that he accomplished that was to break my heart. So that's the way it goes.
In 1988, Mullins moved to
Wichita, KansasWichita is a city in and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2000 census its population was 344,284. The 2006 estimated population of 361,420 made it the 51st largest city in the country and the most populous city in Kansas...
where, in 1991, he enrolled as a student at
Friends UniversityFriends University is a private non-denominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas.Friends University was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield University, but was donated in 1898 to the Religious Society of Friends by James Davis, a St. Louis...
and lived with his best friend,
David StrasserBeaker is a pseudonym for David Strasser, a Christian songwriter and musician well-known for his collaborations with artist Rich Mullins. He received his nickname as a young man, when friends said he looked like Beaker the Muppet....
(a.k.a. Beaker). He graduated with a
B.A.A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for four years, but can range from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Music Education on May 14, 1995 . After graduation, he and
Mitch McVickerMitch McVicker is a Contemporary Christian Music artist who attended Friends University in Wichita, KS in the early 1990s, where he met and befriended the late Rich Mullins. After graduating in May 1995, Mitch moved to New Mexico, eventually touring and writing songs with Mullins.McVicker released...
moved to a
NavajoThe Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American homeland covering about 26,000 square miles , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico...
reservationAn Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. Because Native American tribes have limited national sovereignty, laws on tribal lands vary from the surrounding area...
in
Tse Bonito, New MexicoTse Bonito is a census-designated place in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 261 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
to teach music to children. They lived in a
hoganA hogan is the primary traditional home of the Navajo people. Other traditional structures include the summer shelter, the underground home, and the sweat house...
at the reservation until his death.
The profits from his tours and the sale of each album went to his church, which divided it up, paid Mullins the average salary in the U.S. for that year, and gave the rest to charity. Mullins was also a major supporter of
Compassion InternationalCompassion International is a Christian child sponsorship organization dedicated to the long-term development of children living in poverty around the world. Compassion International, headquartered in Colorado Springs, functions in 25 countries and currently helps more than 1,000,000 children. The...
and Compassion USA.
His faith can be understood by a quote he gave at a concert shortly before his death. He stated that:
JesusJesus of Nazareth —also known as Jesus Christ or occasionally Jesus the Christ—is the central figure of Christianity. Within most Christian denominations...
said whatever you do to the least of these my brothers you’ve done it to me. And this is what I’ve come to think. That if I want to identify fully with Jesus Christ, who I claim to be my savior and Lord, the best way that I can do that is to identify with the poor. This I know will go against the teachings of all the popular evangelicalEvangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s.Most adherents consider its key characteristics to be: a belief in the need for personal conversion ; some expression of the gospel in effort; a high regard for biblical authority; and an emphasis on the...
preachers. But they’re just wrong. They’re not bad, they’re just wrong. Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in a beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken....(concert recording cuts off at this moment, losing any further context for this particular quote)
Music career
As a musician, Mullins was primarily a pianist, but he showed a prodigious talent for unusual instruments. He was an expert player of the
hammered dulcimerThe hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings...
, lap dulcimer and the Irish tin whistle. Examples of this can be heard in Mullins' songs "Calling Out Your Name," "Creed," "Boy Like Me/Man Like You" and "The Color Green." Mullins' compositions were distinctive in two ways: unusual and sometimes striking
instrumentationInstrumentation is the branch of engineering that deals with measurement and control.According to ISA or known as Instrumentation and Systems Automation Society formerly known as Instrument Society of America, the official definition of Instrumentation - is a collection of Instruments and their...
, and highly poetic
lyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
that usually employed complex metaphors.
Mullins formed his first band in 1976-77 while attending
Cincinnati Bible CollegeCincinnati Christian University in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, is one of the oldest and largest schools in the Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. CCU was established in 1924 and has served the Cincinnati area for over 80 years...
. His musical career formally began with Zion Ministries in the late 1970s, where he wrote music and performed with a band called Zion.
The band released one album in 1981 entitled
Behold the ManBehold the Man is the only album by the band Zion, released in 1981. It is best known as the recording debut of Christian singer/songwriter Rich Mullins , who wrote all of the songs on the album....
. While working for this ministry, Mullins wrote a song called "Sing Your Praise To The Lord" which was recorded by singer
Amy GrantAmy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, author, media personality and occasional actress, best known for her contemporary Christian music. Grant was born in Augusta, Georgia....
in 1982 and became an immediate hit on
Christian RadioChristian radio is a radio format that focuses on transmitting programming with a Christian message. In the United States, where it is more established, many such broadcasters play popular music of Christian influence, though many programs have talk or news programming covering associated topics...
. In 1983
Debby BooneDebby Boone is an American singer and theater actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, "You Light Up My Life," which spent a record ten weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and won her a Grammy Award the following year for Best New Artist...
recorded Mullins' "O Come All Ye Faithful" (formerly titled "In Worship of the Coming King" - one of the CBC band songs), for her
Surrender album. In 1984, the song was also featured in a TV movie called
Sins of the Past.
In 1986, Rich Mullins released his eponymous
debut album-Side one:# "A Few Good Men" – 3:45# "A Place To Stand" – 4:10# "Live Right" – 4:43#*Features guest vocals by Amy Grant# "New Heart" – 3:10...
, followed in 1987 by
Pictures in the SkyPictures In The Sky is the second solo album by songwriter Rich Mullins and was released in 1987 on Reunion Records.The single "Screen Door" became a long-time concert favorite among Rich Mullins fans...
. Neither album sold very well, but the Christian radio hit "
Awesome God"Awesome God" was a popular worship song in United States during the late 1980s, composed by Rich Mullins and is one of his most popular compositions...
" on his third album,
Winds of Heaven, Stuff of EarthWinds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth is the third album by American singer/songwriter Rich Mullins, released in 1988. The album received 31st place in the book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music ....
, brought his music to a wider audience. The song "Awesome God" was written at a Christian camp "Rock Lake Christian Assembley" in a small town in Michigan.
In the early 1990s, Mullins released a pair of albums entitled
The World As Best As I Remember It, Volume One and
Two. These albums featured more of a stripped-back, acoustic feel than his earlier work, with nods to Irish music. "Step By Step", a song written by good friend Beaker and included on volume one, and incorporated into "Sometimes By Step" with additional lyrics by Mullins on volume two, became an instant hit on
Christian RadioChristian radio is a radio format that focuses on transmitting programming with a Christian message. In the United States, where it is more established, many such broadcasters play popular music of Christian influence, though many programs have talk or news programming covering associated topics...
, and, like "
Awesome God"Awesome God" was a popular worship song in United States during the late 1980s, composed by Rich Mullins and is one of his most popular compositions...
", it became a popular praise chorus.
In 1993, Mullins assembled a group of
NashvilleNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state...
musicians (including
Jimmy AbeggJimmy Abegg aka Jimmy A, is a guitarist, composer, director, photographer and artist, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee....
,
BeakerBeaker is a pseudonym for David Strasser, a Christian songwriter and musician well-known for his collaborations with artist Rich Mullins. He received his nickname as a young man, when friends said he looked like Beaker the Muppet....
,
Phil MadeiraPhil Madeira is an American songwriter, producer, musician and singer from Nashville, Tennessee. He was raised in Barrington, Rhode Island and attended Taylor University....
,
Rick EliasRick Elias is a Nashville based singer and songwriter.From 1993 to 2002, Elias was a member of Rich Mullins' A Ragamuffin Band.Rick was a founding member of Rich Mullins and a Ragamuffin Band. Today Rick spends his time writing and producing music in Nashville TN., and continues to perform solo...
, and
Aaron SmithAaron "The A-Train" Smith is a Nashville-based drummer and percussionist.At the age of 21, Aaron Smith played drums on The Temptations' megahit...
) to form
A Ragamuffin BandA Ragamuffin Band is a musical group founded by Rich Mullins in 1993, when he gathered friends from other bands to back him on his "A Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin Band" album. The band continued to record and tour with Mullins, and even carried on after his 1997 death...
, whose name was inspired by the Christian book
The Ragamuffin GospelThe Ragamuffin Gospel is a popular book about Jesus' gospel by the Franciscan priest Brennan Manning. First published in 1990, its title was the inspiration for Christian musical artist Rich Mullins' group a Ragamuffin Band. Songwriter and musician Michael W...
by
Brennan ManningBrennan Manning is an author, friar, priest, contemplative and speaker.Born and raised in Depression-era New York City, Manning finished high school, enlisted in the US Marine Corps, and fought in the Korean War. When Manning returned to the United States, he enrolled at Saint Francis University...
. The band recorded
A Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin BandA Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin Band is the seventh album by American singer/songwriter Rich Mullins, released in 1993. The album was very well received, and received the third place in the book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music ."A Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin Band"...
, which was later named the #3 best Christian Album of All time by
CCMContemporary Christian music is a genre of popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
Magazine.
Liturgy was a
concept albumIn popular music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical". Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs...
that drew its inspiration, in part, from the Catholic liturgy. The Ragamuffins also appeared on Mullin's 1995 record
Brother's KeeperBrother's Keeper is the eighth album by American singer/songwriter Rich Mullins, released in 1995.-Track listing:# "Brothers Keeper" – 3:16#*Appeared on compilation Songs 2 1999...
.
In 1997, Mullins teamed up with Beaker and Mitch McVicker to write a musical based on the life of St. Francis of Assisi, entitled
The Canticle of the PlainsCanticle of the Plains is a musical written by songwriters Rich Mullins, Mitch McVicker and Beaker, loosely based on the life of St. Francis of Assisi....
. Mullins had great respect for St. Francis, and even formed "The Kid Brothers of St. Frank" in the late 1980s with Beaker.
Death and legacy
Mullins was killed in a car accident on September 19, 1997. He and his friend
Mitch McVickerMitch McVicker is a Contemporary Christian Music artist who attended Friends University in Wichita, KS in the early 1990s, where he met and befriended the late Rich Mullins. After graduating in May 1995, Mitch moved to New Mexico, eventually touring and writing songs with Mullins.McVicker released...
were traveling on
I-39Interstate 39 is an interstate highway in the midwestern United States. I-39 runs from Normal, Illinois at Interstate 55 to Highway 29 in Rothschild, Wisconsin, approximately six miles south of Wausau, Wisconsin....
north of
Bloomington, IllinoisBloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area which is often referred to simply as "Bloomington-Normal." ...
to a
benefit concertA benefit concert or charity concert is a concert, show or gala featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. Such events raise both funds and public awareness to address the cause at...
in
Wichita, KansasWichita is a city in and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2000 census its population was 344,284. The 2006 estimated population of 361,420 made it the 51st largest city in the country and the most populous city in Kansas...
when his
JeepJeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler. It is the oldest off-road vehicle brand, with Land Rover coming in second. The original vehicle which first appeared as the prototype Bantam BRC became the primary light 4-wheel-drive vehicle of the US Army and allies during the World War II and postwar...
flipped over. Neither of the two wore a seat belt and both were thrown from the vehicle. A passing
tractor-trailerA semi-trailer truck, also known as tractor-trailer or articulated truck or articulated lorry, often abbreviated to artic, is an articulated vehicle consisting of a towing engine ,...
swerving to avoid the Jeep killed Mullins. McVicker was badly injured but survived.
His funeral was open to the public and had a massive gathering. He is buried in the Harrison Township Cemetery in
Hollansburg, OhioHollansburg is a village in Darke County, Ohio, United States. The population was 214 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hollansburg is located at ....
, alongside his baby brother who died as an infant and his father.
Shortly before his death, Mullins had been working on his next project, which was to be a
concept albumIn popular music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical". Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs...
based on the life of Jesus Christ and was to be called "Ten Songs About Jesus". On September 10, 1997, nine days before his death, he made a rough
micro cassetteA Microcassette is an audio storage medium introduced by Olympus in 1969. It uses the same width of magnetic tape as the Compact Cassette but in a much smaller container. By using thinner tape and half or a quarter the tape speed, microcassettes can offer comparable recording time to the compact...
recording of the album's songs in an abandoned church. This tape was released as disc 1 of
The Jesus RecordThe Jesus Record is the ninth and final album by American singer/songwriter Rich Mullins, released posthumous on July 21, 1998, ten months after his death....
, which featured new recordings of the songs on disc 2 by the Ragamuffin Band, with guest vocalists
Amy GrantAmy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, author, media personality and occasional actress, best known for her contemporary Christian music. Grant was born in Augusta, Georgia....
,
Michael W. SmithMichael W. Smith is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, musician, recording artist, composer, and actor. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian Music, and he has achieved considerable success in the mainstream music industry as well...
,
Ashley ClevelandAshley Cleveland is an American singer/songwriter perhaps best known as a background vocalist and Grammy-winning gospel singer. Ashley Cleveland was born in Knoxville, Tennessee...
, and
Phil KeaggyPhilip Tyler Keaggy is an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist who has released more than 50 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the contemporary Christian music and mainstream markets...
. Ironically, "Heaven In His Eyes" was not a new song, but one that had been written over two decades earlier, a beloved favorite of Rich's.
Rich's interest in Saint Francis of Assisi led to an attraction to Roman Catholicism in his final years. There was no daily Protestant service on the Navajo reservation, so Rich frequently attended daily Mass. He never converted, and there is dispute over his intentions.
The year that he died, Rich himself declared,
In 1998, the tribute album
Awesome God: A Tribute to Rich MullinsAwesome God: A Tribute to Rich Mullins is a tribute album consisting of songs written by American singer/songwriter Rich Mullins, as recorded by popular Contemporary Christian Music artists. It was released on November 10, 1998, about a year after Mullins' death.-Track listing:Note: All songs...
was released, featuring favorite Mullins songs reinterpreted by his Christian music peers.
Mullins' family founded
The Legacy Of A Kid Brother Of St. Frank to continue his mission to develop programs of art, drama and music camps for Native American youth and provide a traveling music school serving remote areas of the reservations. Today it is administered by Tammy Pruitt.
Discography
- Behold the Man
Behold the Man is the only album by the band Zion, released in 1981. It is best known as the recording debut of Christian singer/songwriter Rich Mullins , who wrote all of the songs on the album....
(1981)
- Rich Mullins
-Side one:# "A Few Good Men" – 3:45# "A Place To Stand" – 4:10# "Live Right" – 4:43#*Features guest vocals by Amy Grant# "New Heart" – 3:10...
(1986)
- Pictures in the Sky
Pictures In The Sky is the second solo album by songwriter Rich Mullins and was released in 1987 on Reunion Records.The single "Screen Door" became a long-time concert favorite among Rich Mullins fans...
(1987)
- Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth
Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth is the third album by American singer/songwriter Rich Mullins, released in 1988. The album received 31st place in the book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music ....
(1988)
- Never Picture Perfect
Never Picture Perfect is the fourth solo album by songwriter Rich Mullins and was released in 1989 on Reunion Records.-Side one:# "I Will Sing" – 1:27#*Appeared on compilation Songs 2 1999# "Hope To Carry On" – 2:33...
(1989)
- The World as Best as I Remember It, Volume One (1991)
- The World as Best as I Remember It, Volume Two (1992)
- A Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin Band
A Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin Band is the seventh album by American singer/songwriter Rich Mullins, released in 1993. The album was very well received, and received the third place in the book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music ."A Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin Band"...
(1993)
- Brother's Keeper
Brother's Keeper is the eighth album by American singer/songwriter Rich Mullins, released in 1995.-Track listing:# "Brothers Keeper" – 3:16#*Appeared on compilation Songs 2 1999...
(1995)
- Canticle of the Plains (1997)
- The Jesus Record
The Jesus Record is the ninth and final album by American singer/songwriter Rich Mullins, released posthumous on July 21, 1998, ten months after his death....
(1998, posthumous)
Awards
Further reading
- Manning, Brennan
Brennan Manning is an author, friar, priest, contemplative and speaker.Born and raised in Depression-era New York City, Manning finished high school, enlisted in the US Marine Corps, and fought in the Korean War. When Manning returned to the United States, he enrolled at Saint Francis University...
. The Ragamuffin GospelThe Ragamuffin Gospel is a popular book about Jesus' gospel by the Franciscan priest Brennan Manning. First published in 1990, its title was the inspiration for Christian musical artist Rich Mullins' group a Ragamuffin Band. Songwriter and musician Michael W...
: Embracing the Unconditional Love of God (Multnomah, July, 1990) (ISBN 0-88070-631-7)
- Smith, James Bryan. Rich Mullins: His Life and Legacy: An Arrow Pointing To Heaven (Broadman and Holman, September, 2000) (ISBN 0-8054-2135-1)
- Mullins, Rich, and Pearson, Ben. The World As I Remember It: Through the Eyes of a Ragamuffin (Multnomah, March, 2004) (ISBN 1-59052-368-7)
External links