(Photo by Michael Wilson)

1979/1980

• The photo that appears on the cover of Rich's 1993 album A Liturgy, A Legacy & A Ragamuffin Band was taken around this time by friend and photographer Michael Wilson. While there were many photos taken at this time, the "headless" image was chosen for the cover.
  Michael Wilson: "It was taken on the roof of my parent's house in Norwood, Ohio. I was still in school studying photography at Northern Kentucky University at the time and I don't remember if I asked Rich if I could photograph him or if he asked me. It was definitely a time in my life when I was looking for any opportunity I could find to make pictures of folks. I seem to remember Rich telling me that the jacket he wore was an English fireman's coat. My memory is very poor these days, but I think I remember him telling me he liked it because he had seen a picture of John Lennon wearing such a coat."
  
  Erin Weimer: "My husband Mark's brother Tom played guitar and sang with Rich and the group Zion, and we followed them around supporting the group for a few years. Rich was a genius personally and musically. I remember being amazed as I watched him sitting at the piano and talking casually to friends who gathered around and simultaneously playing the most beautiful music and not ever missing a beat of the conversation or the music. He was a philosopher and a great thinker about the eternal truth of God. He always caused me to look at scripture in a deeper way, and he wasn't into the celebrity of being well known -- very approachable. It was a privilage to have known his great talent and the person of Rich Mullins." (Palladium Item, Richmond, IN, September 30, 1997)
  
  

  1980

• Rich writes and begins performing "Promenade" around this time. Other songs written this year include "Ain't Nobody," "Hold Me Up," "Injustice," "Last Days," "Livin' in a Fallen World," "Long Way Home," "Maggie's Song," "Nothing In This World," Now," "Once At The Nights Parting," "Redeemer," "Sorrow," "Stolen Kisses," "The Pinch," "The Song was Broken," "The Way To Love You," and "You Can Live Without Him." Most of these would be performed by Rich & Zion over the next few years.
  
  
• On an unknown date, Zion performs a concert at Clark Lodge in Springfield, Ohio.
  
  
  
• The Rick Elias Band releases the 7" single "I Break Down" and "Man Alone" on Cheap Records.
  
  

  Winter 1980

  
  

  David Marsh and Rich in New York City 1980

• Rich Mullins contacted his friend, David Marsh and asked him to come to New York City for a visit. David was working in Boston, Massachusetts at the time. When he asked his boss for time off to visit Rich, his boss refused, so David quit his job and went to New York City.
  
  

  February 1980

• Rich Mullins and Zion tapes a performance for the local television show "The Church Today." Songs performed were "Praise to the Lord," "Darkness," "Resist the Devil," and "Lord Help Me Be."
  
  

  March 27, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at Madame Wong's in Los Angeles, CA.
  
  

  March 31, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at Madame Wong's in Los Angeles, CA.
  
  

  April 14, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at The Skelton Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  April 20, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Starwood Club in Hollywood, CA.
  
  

  May 7, 1980

  
  

  Rick Elias at Palomar College 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the May Fair at Palomar College.
  
  

  May 31, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band opens for Peter Case and the Plimsouls at the Barn at the University of California, Riverside.
  
  

  Summer 1980

• Zion records a demos of the following songs: "Bless you from zion", "Grateful", "Praise to the Lord," "Resist the devil!," "Thunder," "Take me to my home," and "Never Heard the Music."
  
  
  

  Zion

• Michael Blanton and Dan Harrell form Blanton/Harrell Entertainment in Nashville, signing Amy Grant as their first artist to manage.
  
  

  June 4, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at Belly Up in Solana Beach, California.
  
  

  June 11, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at Little Bavaria in Del Mar, CA. The Times Advocate in Escondido, CA calls Rick's band one of "San Diego's Better Rock Bands."
  
  

  June 12, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at Little Bavaria in Del Mar, CA.
  
  

  June 19, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Whiskey A Go Go in Los Angeles, CA.
  
  

  June 28, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  July 3, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs two shows at the Distillery Easy in Escondido, CA. with 20/20. Area newspapers describe Rick's band as "A promising act, a talented group that makes you want to dance."
  
  

  July 12, 1980

• Zion performs at the Jesus House in Cincinnati, OH.
  
  

  July 15-17, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Skelton Club in San Diego, CA as part of the North County New Wave Festival.
  
  

  August 1980

• Zion performs under the Water Tower in Oxford, Oh. (Source: Tom Laughlin, attendee)
  
  

  August 29, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at The Golden Hall Copper Room of the Community Concourse in Downtown Escondido, CA.
  
  

  September 1980

• Zion performs at a Church of the Bretheren youth retreat at Woodland Altars Church Camp in Adams County in southern Ohio, near Peebles, Ohio. Rich performed his song "Praise to the Lord" at this retreat.
  
  

  September 12, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at Halcyon in Point Loma, CA.
  
  

  September 13, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at The Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  September 16, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Distillery in Solana Beach, CA.
  
  
• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  September 27, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at Halcyon in Point Loma, CA.
  
  

  October 13, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at Halcyon in Point Loma, CA.
  
  

  October 25, 1980

• Rich Mullins performs at Jesus House in Cincinnati, Ohio. He sang the song "Hold Me Up."
  
  

  November 6-10, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at Halcyon in Point Loma, CA.
  
  

  December 1980

• Rich quits CBC after spending six years there and never graduating.
  Rich: "I had trouble picking out a major!"
  
  

  December 5, 1980

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  December 8, 1980

• John Lennon was shot and killed in New York City. Rich frequently mentions Lennon's death and the death of his great grandmother two years later on January 8, 1982 as the two primary inspirations for the song "Elijah."
  
  

  December 20, 1980

• Zion performs their annual Christmas Concert at the Jesus House in Cincinnati, OH.
  
  

  Early 80's

• Other songs that Zion was performing at this time include: "Seminary Girl/Seminary Guy," "Darkness," "Lord Help Me Be," "Baptism," "Bartamaeus," "But For Your Grace," "Changes," "Hold Me Up," "Homeward Ways," "Honest Reason Why," "Nearer To You Lord," "Overland," "Regions of Light," "Sparrow in the Frost," and "Crucifixion."
  
  

  1981

• Michael Blanton and Dan Harrell form Reunion Records in Nashville, TN.
  
  
• During the early 1980’s Rich Mullins made occasional appearances at "Aslan’s Lair" in Knoxville, Tennessee, a basement gathering spot for University of Tennessee students.
  
  
• Songs written this year include "Habakkuk and “Holy Pretenders."
  
  
• Zion's Jenny Filson writes "Death, which would be performed by Zion in the coming years.
  
  

  January 1, 1981

• The Times-Advocate in Escondido, CA names The Rick Elias Band as one of the best local bands for 1980.
  
  

  January 2-3, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the The Loading Zone in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  February 6, 1981

• Zion performs in at a Youth Lock In at Campbellsville College in Danville, KY.
  
  
• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  February 27, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  March 7, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  March 26, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA. opening for 20/20
  
  

  Early 1981

  
  
  
  
  
• Zion Publishes their first Newsletter entitled Pretty Feet Publications. The first issue includes an announcement that the group is currently working on an album.
  "Pretty Feet Vol 1 No 1"
  
  

  Early April 1981

• Zion performs in Grand Rapids, MI at a Youth Rally.
  
  
• Zion Performs at the University of Cincinnati.
  
  

  April 1981

  
  
  
  

  Zion in the studio

  Left Photo: Greg McNeilly, Jenny Filson, Tom Weimer, Tony Ross, Beth Lutz, Rich Mullins and Dave Workman
  Right Photo: (Back) Rich Mullins with Jenny Filson. (Front) Greg McNeilly and Dave Workman.

• Zion enters 5th Floor Studios in Cincinnati to record an album. The album was produced and recorded thanks to a $1000 gift of support from Rich's uncle. Greg McNeilly engineered.
  
  

  April 1981

• Zion performs at a Michigan State Wide Youth Rally at Kentwood, near Grand Rapids, Michigan. This may have been where Rich Met Andy Hanson, Pastor of Kentwood Christian Church.
  
  
• Zion performs at the University of Cincinnati.
  
  

  April 3, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  April 19, 1981

• Zion performs an Easter Service at Fellowship Christian Church in Cincinnati.
  
  

  April 25, 1981

• Zion performs at Ohio Wesleyan University in Deleware, OH.
  
  

  April 26, 1981

• Zion performs at Manchester College in North Manchester, Indiana.
  
  

  May 1, 1981

• Zion performs at a Senior Dinner Banquet in Wabash, IN.
  
  

  May 2, 1981

• Zion performs at a Senior Dinner Banquet in Markle, IN.
  
  

  May 4, 1981

• Rich Mullins and Justin Peters write "If All I Know Is Love."
  
  

  May 8-10, 1981

• Zion performs at a Round-Up Rally in Camp Bellsville, KY.
  
  

  May 15, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  May 17, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at Madame Wongs in Los Angeles, CA.
  
  

  May 21, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at The Blue Lagune Saloon in Marina del Rey, CA.
  
  

  May 22, 1981

• Zion performs at the New Hope Coffee House in New Port, KY.
  
  

  May 23, 1981

• Zion performs at New Life Teen Center in Price Hill, Cincinnati.
  
  

  May 25, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at Madame Wongs in Los Angeles, CA.
  
  

  May 29, 1981

• Zion performs at "Krissie's Graduation" in Kingsport, TN.
  
  

  May 30, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  May 30-31, 1981

• Zion performs in Kingsport, TN.
  
  

  June 4, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at Little Bavariua in Del Mar, CA.
  
  

  June 5-6, 1981

• Zion performs at Western Hills Church of Christ in Cincinnati, OH.
  
  

  Summer 1981

• Rich Mullins and Zion perform at a youth rally at the Andover Church of Christ in Andover, Ohio. This was the beginning of Rich’s involvement with Deep Valley camps.
  
  

  June 12-14, 1981

• Zion performs at a Lake Retreat in Converse, IN.
  
  

  June 13, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Topanga Corral in Topanga, CA.
  
  

  June 18, 1981

• Zion performs at CURE - Inner City Camp.
  
  

  June 19-20, 1981

• Zion performs at the Sonshine Festival in Hamilton, OH.
  
  

  June 20, 1981

• Bob Dylan's Saved is released. This becomes one of Rich's favorite albums.
  
  
• The Rick Elias Band performs at the 8th Annual Chancellor's Ball at the University of California, Riverside.
  
  

  June 26-28, 1981

• Zion spends more time in the studio recording their Behold the Man album.
  
  

  July 3, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band opens for DB Cooper at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  July 18, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  July 23, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  July 26-August 1, 1981

• Rich Mullins and Zion Ministries teacher Pam Zea served as "missionaries" and performed concerts and ministered to high school age campers during "Junior Hi" week at Deep Valley Christian Camp in Slippery Rock, PA. "Moby" Dick Brown was the dean of the camp.
  
  

  July 27, 1981

  
  
  
  
• Zion releases its one and only album, Behold the Man.
  
  

  July 31, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  August 2-14, 1981

• Zion performs at Kentwood Church Camp in Kentwood, MI.
  
  

  August 6, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  August 13, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  August 15, 1981

• Zion "Retreat & Rehearsal" time.
  
  

  August 16, 1981

• Zion performs at NASCF Leadership Conference at Cincinnati Bible College.
  
  

  August 20, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  August 21, 1981

• Zion performs at Living Bread Coffee House in Lexington, KY.
  
  

  August 22, 1981

• Zion performs at The Hub Coffee House in Lexington, KY.
  
  

  August 27, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  August 28-30, 1981

• Zion performs at a retreat at Saltair Church of Christ in Bethel, OH.
  
  

  September 4, 1981

• Zion's Beth Lutz meets with Michael Blanton of Reunion Records and gives him a casstte copy of the Zion album.
  Beth Snell Lutz: "I had this tape with me and yet the whole time I talked to him I told him about Rich. This guys music is something I've never heard before - it's changed so many lives, it's very dark and yet it's very hopeful. And I realized I wasn't talking about the band. My heart was saying 'this music.' So finally we finished talking and I gave him a copy of it and I figured it would just be lost in the plethora of tapes that people gave him."
  Mike Blanton: "My honor and joy in the Rich Mullins story was that I signed him to his first publishing deal as well as his first artist deal.
  Around the time that we were starting Reunion Records, I was standing at a carnival-type amusement park and a girl came up to me and said, 'You need to listen to this guy named Rich Mullins.' I said, 'Fine, whatever,' so she gave me a tape. I went and listened to the tape and about fell over about the song, 'Praise to the Lord.' I played it for Amy and she went crazy over it, and Brown [Bannister], of course, went crazy over the song, too.
  The process of recording that song on Amy's album opened up the opportunity for me to talk to Rich and as I did, I just fell in love with him. I decided that no matter what happened, we needed to sign him to a publishing deal, which ultimately led to the recording contract. And to this day, I don't know that we've had a more gifted or important songwriter."
  Amy Grant: "We were looking for songs for a new record and it was 'Sing Your Praise to the Lord,' and we're sitting there... we're all pretty laid back, just trying to listen with an open mind. And the song started and it was so interesting... so different. And by the end, it reaches that crescendo, and we were all so taken by surprise - it was long before the era of any kind of worship music and it was so full of emotion. I think I was on the table. We were all just going 'Wow! Oh my gosh!'"
  
  Rich: "It was the first song I ever had published. Beth Lutz took a tape to a convention and gave it to someone who gave it to someone who gave it to someone and it ended up at Amy's manager's office."
  
  

  September 5-6, 1981

• Zion performs at Koinonia Coffee House in Nashville, TN. They did a performance at the coffeehouse in the evening and the following day, they performed at Belmont Church next door.
  
  

  September 9, 1981

• Having just received a copy of the Zion album a few days earlier, Michael Blanton calls to speak to Rich. Beth Lutz answers the phone. Beth tells Rich that Michael wants to speaks to him and Rich didn't initially want to talk to him. When he finally did, it was said that Amy Grant wanted to record "Sing Your Praise to the Lord," and Rich pushed back and said he wasn't interested. They wanted to bring Rich to Nashville to talk to them, and after a bit of convincing, he eventually did make the trip and was signed as a writer. Reunion wanted Rich to move to Nashville, but he didn't want to go without Zion.
  
  
  Michael Blanton: "She gave me a cassette on Rich. And on there was this ten-minute version of 'Sing Your Praise to the Lord,' and it just takes forever; it's this great build up, but it takes forever to get there. So I called Rich, and said, 'I'd like to talk to you about being a writer and an artist, and would you come down to meet with us here in Nashville. And by the way, I'm thinking about having 'Sing Your Praise' be a song for Amy.' And, [then] I said, 'But, we're prolly gonna shorten this intro that you've got, just to make it a little bit more acceptable. But we'll still keep it long. We'll still make it five minutes or so—five or six minutes - it's just not gonna be the ten or twelve minutes. What inspired you to write a song like that?' He said, 'Well, it’s just like sex. You’ve gotta have a really good foreplay before you get to the climax.' And I went, 'Oh boy, who is this guy?!?' So, literally, when you listen to that song and think about it from that angle, he was not trying to be weird about it, he was just saying, 'You know, this is the same thing; why can’t our love relationship with God be like, there’s some foreplay and then a wedding?'" (Michael Blanton Interview with Nathan Myrick, 4/5/2016)
  
  Rich: "They called me up, and they said that they wanted Amy Grant to record it. I said I thought that was great; I didn't have any idea who Amy Grant was. They said, 'Is this published or what?' And I said, 'I don't even know.' I recorded it but that's as much as I knew about it. They said they'd like to talk to me about a publishing contract, and I didn't like the idea of a contract. I said, 'I'm not interested in a publishing contract.' They said, 'Maybe you don't know who Amy Grant is' and went on to tell me how many albums she'd sold, and that really hacked me off because I thought, 'You know what? I don't care if she doesn't sell any or if she outsells Michael Jackson.' If she wants to do the song, that's fine, but I felt very insulted. I was a very overly-righteous kind of a guy at the time.
  Then they said, 'Let us fly you down here.' Well, I love to fly and I would fly anywhere in the world just for the fun of doing it. And I said, 'Sure.' That's how I first talked to them. That was a lot of fun, and I've been talking to them ever since."
  
  Michael Blanton: "My greatest memories of Rich are when I first met him and signed to a publishing and artist deal. I remember he was so passionate about the original vision of his song, 'Sing Your Praise to the Lord.'. It was seven minutes long, and he didn't understand why we wanted to shorten it. I quickly realized he was truly going to be a unique artist and writer. We had no idea at the time what his impact would be. His music will outlive us all because he was impassioned for the heart of God. "
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Zion Publishes their second Newsletter entitled Pretty Feet Publications..
  "Pretty Feet Publications Issue 2"
  
  

  September 11, 1981

• Zion performs at the Salt Shaker Coffee House in Norwood, OH.
  
  

  September 12, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band opens for the Rakes, which features former members of the Iron Butterfly and ex-Animal John Weider, at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  September 13, 1981

• Zion performs a concert in the park in Campbellsville, KY.
  
  

  September 17, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  September 24, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  September 26, 1981

• Zion performs at Purdue University's "Kick Off Concert."
  
  

  Fall 1981

• Amy Grant wraps up recording on her Age to Age album.
  
  
• Myrrh Records paid Rich Mullins $25,000 for the rights to his song "Sing Your Praise to the Lord."
  
  

  October 1, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA. The Times-Advocate in Escondido California includes the following blurb: "The rumors are getting hotter that the Rick Elias Band will be the next local group to sign with a major record label, and with good reason. The REB can play some hot rock licks. Check 'em out at the Spirit Club in SD tonight with Girl Talk."
  
  

  October 3, 1981

• Zion performs at the Sonshine Inn Coffee House in Indianapolis, IN.
  
  

  October 4, 1981

• Zion performs at Bellbrook United Methodist Church in Bellbrook, OH at 6p.m.
  
  

  October 8, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  October 9-11, 1981

• Zion performs at Fleming Gardens Retreat in Indianapolis, IN.
  
  

  October 15, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  October 15-18, 1981

• Zion performs at a retreat in Ellenton, FL.
  
  

  October 22, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  October 24, 1981

• Zion's Third Birthday Party Extravaganza for Richard at the Jesus House.
  
  

  November 27-28, 1981

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA. According to local newspapers, the night was part of a special live recording session featuring San Diego's top new wave bands. Other artists on the bill included The Penetrators, DFX2, The Puppies and Four Eyes.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Zion Publishes their second Newsletter entitled Pretty Feet Publications..
  "Pretty Feet Publications Issue 3"
  
  

  December 1, 1981

• Rich Mullins records a demo of "Praise to the Lord."
  
  

  December 5-6, 1981

• Zion performs at the Koinonia Coffee House in Nashville, TN.
  
  

  December 11, 1981

• Zion performs at Camp Kirkwood in Wilmington, OH.
  
  

  December 12, 1981

• Zion performs at the Ark in Akron, OH.
  
  

  December 19, 1981

• Zion performs their annual Christmas Concert at the Jesus House in Cincinnati, OH.
  
  

  December 28-31, 1981

• Zion performs at Round Lake Christian Assembly in Fort Wayne, IN.
  
  

  December 29, 1981

• The Los Angeles Times publishes an article about Lou's Records at the Cardiff Shopping Center keeping the "North County New Wave Music Scene... alive and Well." The article mentions the selection of local artists near the front of the store including the 7" single from the Rick Elias Band "I Break Down."
  
  

  1982

• During a Zion performance at a coffee house in New Richmond, OH, Rich Mullins meets Steve Page who becomes a friend.
  Steve Page: "This very intense, burnt out kind of a guy, was staring at me every time that I looked at him. I mentioned him to Kenny and joked that the guy staring at me looked like he was on acid. It seems now that it was only moments later when I turned and this person was in my face asking me 'whater you doin.' I just grinned at him and said something about coming there to listen to some music and ask if he had ever heard the band that was about to play. He said yes and that they were okay. He left and I didn't see him again until he was on stage. As it turned out my new acquaintance was Rich, he was there with his group Zion. That evening is one that I'll always remember. It was the most wonderful music that I'd ever heard. I remember sitting in my chair swaying to the music, totally captured. I'd seen almost every significant rock band that had done a concert in Cincy, in the Seventies. But none grabbed my attention like this. They did Praise to the Lord, Resist the devil and many more. Their lyrics seemed as if they were coming at me through Zion from the mouth of God. Rich approached me after that concert and Kenny and I ended up going somewhere to eat or something with him. He spoke to me about his relationship with God, the struggles and whatnot. Kenny and I went to every concert that Zion did for several months after that. Between concerts I spent as much time as possible with Rich. It was through those conversations that I learned about a Jesus that I didn't know existed. A loving, forgiving, caring God that didn't expect us to fit into any mold. A God who was not legalistic, who could care less about Church doctrine and expectations."
  Steve Page: "We were later roommates at the Cincinnati Bible college. It was during this time frame that he and Zion were getting ready to cut their album. I left college and joined the Army, Rich went on in his work for the Lord. And I guess that you know the rest of the story."
  
  
• Songs written this year include "Borrowed Time," "Hard Not to Believe," "O Lord Your Love," "Priceless Pearl," "The Finish Line," "Whitewater," "You Still Need Jesus,"
  
  
• Songs performed by Zion around this time include: "'Tis Spring," "Praise the Lord," "She Who Is In Babylon," and "Sparrow in the Frost." "Flee Temptation" is written and rehearsed but never performed by the band.
  
  
• Rich Mullins and W. Daniel Landes write "But For Your Flesh: Communion."
  
  

  Early 1982

• Sam Howard begins working with Zion to help with retreats.
  
  

  January 8-10, 1982

• Zion performs at a retreat at Cincinnati Bible College in Cincinnati, OH.
  Set List: Seminary Girl, Seminary Guy/Habakkuk/Hope to Carry On/Elijah/Borrowed Time/Praise to the Lord/How Majestic Is Your Name/Praise You Lord, Hallelujah/What Is This Love?/Injustice/
  
  

  January 10, 1982

• Rich's great-grandmother Nellie B. Lewis dies. Inspired by the death of his great grandmother, and the death of John Lennon in December of 1980, Rich Mullins writes "Elijah" around this time. Note: As in the second quote below, Rich would sometimes mistakenly state that these two events happened only months apart.
  
  Rich: "My favorite song that I've ever written is 'Elijah.' It was like another breakthrough. I wrote it around the time when John Lennon was shot. He was a big hero of mine, and my great-grandma died about the same time. I began thinking about the influence both of those people had on my life, and they were dead. These two people would never know the impact they had on me; John Lennon I'm sure wouldn't care to know, but my great-grandma, I never got to tell her. But then I realized I don't have to tell her. She didn't do what she did to have some kind of an impact on me, she did what she did because that's who she was.And I'm going to be dead someday too. That's the first song where I forced myself to dig under a lot of the cliches of the Christian faith. I wrote a song that said, 'You know, someday I'm going to die, and I wanna die good.' Prior to that I would have tended to write, 'Someday I'm going to die and I will be resurrected,' which I also believe."
  Rich: "I got up and this guy came to my room and he said, 'Hey, did you hear that John Lennon was shot last night?,' and I said 'Oh ho-ho-ho-ho, very funny!,' ya know and I just went on, started getting dressed and - I don’t listen to the radio or anything like that - so I really had no way of knowing until I was on my way down the hall, and all of a sudden somebody said that John Lennon had really been shot. And I was very angry about that because, I thought, people shouldn't shoot anybody and it's nobody's business to just go around and kill people. It doesn't make any sense. It's disgusting. But I was very sad that that had happened because, I think, when I was growing up, you know, the whole Beatles thing was going on and I think it had a big influence on me. But then later that year - or early the next year - that was in December, and then in January my Great Grandma Nellie died. She probably had more to do with me than anybody else. I always loved her and she was a very God - fearing and God loving person. So, we knew she was on her way out - you can tell, ya know. She was like ninety-eight and she had just kind of worn herself out which is, I think, a terrific thing to do. So, when she was getting ready to die I thought I would write a song for her funeral. And so, I wrote a song for her but it ended up I wrote it a lot for me too, because as I began to write it, I began to realize, hey we're all gonna die someday. And I hope that when it's all over, someone will look at me the way that I looked at John Lennon and the way that I looked at my Grandmother and I hope that I will have affected somebody somehow. And so, the words of this song just kind of came out one day. I was in an apartment on Warsaw Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio and it just kind of happened." (1983)
  
  

  January 16, 1982

• Zion performs at the Sonshine Inn Christian Coffee House in Indianapolis, IN.
  
  

  January 22-24, 1982

• Zion performs at Andover Church of Christ in Andover, OH.
  
  

  January 25-31, 1982

• Zion performs at Kentwood Church of Christ in Kentwood, MI.
  
  

  February 5-7, 1982

• Zion performs at Hillsboro Church of Christ in Hillsboro, OH.
  
  

  February 20, 1982

• Zion performs at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL.
  
  

  February 26-28, 1982

• Zion performs at Kentwood Church of Christ in Kentwood, MI.
  
  

  March 5-7, 1982

• Zion performs at Bellbrook Methodist Church in Bellbrook, OH.
  
  

  March 20-21, 1982

• Zion performs at the House of Hope in Louisville, KY.
  
  

  March 27, 1982

• Zion performs at The Connection in Greenfield, IN.
  
  

  April 1982

• Zion performs at Western Hills Church of Christ in Cincinnati, Ohio
  
  
• Rich writes the Instrumental "Midwinter Flurries" for a friends wedding.
  
  

  April 7, 1982

• Rich Mullins records a demo of "O Come All Ye Faithful."
  
  

  May 1, 1982

  
  
  
• Amy Grant's Age to Age album is released on Myrrh Records. The album includes Amy's cover of Rich's "Sing Your Praise To The Lord."
  The album became a phenomenal success for Amy Grant, landing at the #1 spot on the Billboard Top Contemporary Christian chart. In 1984, the album was the first gospel album by a solo artist to receive gold certification and would later be certified platinum in the United States and gold in Canada. Rich's song, retitled "Sing Your Praise to the Lord," went to #1 on the AC Charts in 1982.
  
  
• David Strasser (aka Beaker) graduates from High School and would soon begin attending Cincinnati Bible College.
  
  
  

  Zion in concert

  June 1982

• Zion decides, after much prayer, fasting and tears, that Rich was being called to Nashville without the rest of them. It was decided that they would finish out the year as Zion.
  
  

  Mid 1982

• On his infrequent trips to Nashville to fulfill his writing obligations with Reunion, Rich would occasionally show up unannounced and pitch a tent in the backyard of the home of John & Pam Mark Hall. Rich and Pam would write songs together. Bernie Sheahan also lived in the house.
  Bernie:"That year, Mullins would pop in unannounced and pitch his tent in the backyard for a month at a time. We'd talk by the fire till all hours about God, movie, music, books (he read aloud from G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy, his lifetime favorite; if you haven't read it, do). During that time, he ate Pam's great cooking and collaborated with her on some of my favorite songs, ever. I'll never forget the day the two of them emerged from a writing session downstairs, saying, 'You gotta hear this song...' It was the tender, majestic 'Sparrow Watcher' (which Pam later recorded with Amy Grant and Kathy Troccoli), and for the first of many times over the course of our 15-year friendship, I heard Rich say, head tucked and brown eyes wide and hopeful, "Do you like it? Do you really like it?"
  (Source: CCM Magazine "As Best As I Can Remember Him, Volume One")
  Bubba Smith (Word Records): "I met Rich in 1982 and Pam Mark Hall's house in Nashville. After arriving at the party, I noticed a tent in the back yard and thought it was for the kids until someone told me that a guy named Rich Mullins was living in it. I was a song-plugger at Word Music so I had heard that Rich's song, 'Sing Your Praise to the Lord,' had just been recorded by Amy Grant. Why was a guy who'd just had the cut of his life living in a tent? Anyway, I was looking for a roommate so I casually mentioned this to some friends at the party. Before I knew it, this unkempt, unshaven, unshowered tent dweller ran up to me and said, 'Can I be your roomie?' I think he moved in the next day. For the next nine months Rich Mullins was my roomie. Contrary to popular belief, Rich was normal. He observed good hygiene, he made his bed, and he paid his share of the bills on time... in cash! We talked about girls, music, chili, God; you know, things roommate talk about."
  Bubba Smith (Word Records): "The cool thing about him as his roommate, at the end of the month, he would come in and pay his bills and he wouldn't use a check, he'd pay in cash, which I thought was great. So it's interesting to look back what little possessions he had and the fact that he paid in cash, it seems like he was just kinda passing through. He didn't hold onto very many material possessions." (Source: Homeless Man documentary 1998)
  
  

  1982

• Rich meets his future producer Reed Arvin around this time. Reed was on tour as part of Amy Grant's backup band.
  Reed Arvin: "I did meet Rich on the road. I don't recall the city, but I recall seeing him for the first time. He was wearing a dark overcoat and looked pretty disheveled, but in an intentional way. I shook his hand but had no idea the role we would eventually play in each other's lives. I don't think I saw him again for a year or so. Eventually, Mike Blanton, Amy's manager, asked me quite spontaneously, 'Do you think you could produce a record for Rich Mullins?'
  
  

  July 2, 1982

• Rich records a demo of "Elijah," a song which would later become a fan favorite. A demo of "Oh Lord, Your Love" is also recorded at this time.
  
  

  July 22, 1982

• Rich Mullins records a demo of "O Come All Ye Faithful." Other demos recorded around this time include "Nearer to You Lord," "The Lord's Prayer," "You Still Need Jesus," "Hard Not to Believe" and Zion's "Resist the Devil!"
  
  

  July 25-31, 1982

  
  

  Richard performing at Deep Valley Christian Camp

• Rich Mullins performs at Deep Valley Christian Camp in Slippery Rock, PA.
  
  

  August 1982

• David Strasser (aka Beaker) begins attending Cincinnati Bible College.
  Beaker: "At the end of my tenth grade year, I asked God to break my heart, and He really gave me the desire to minister to kids, which at that time were my peers. I went to Cincinnati Bible College (where Mullins had also attended years before), and moved to Indiana to be a youth pastor, at a church located about 20 minutes from where Rich grew up."
  
  

  August 1-7 1982

• Rich Mullins and fellow Zion Ministries teacher Pam Zea (now Ping) and Mark Lutz, served as missionaries for a second week - Sr. Hi week, along with Eastern Christian College and they ministered to high school age campers and performed concerts at Deep Valley Christian Camp in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.
  
  

  August 29, 1982

• Rich Mullins performs at First Presbyterian Church in Allentown, PA. Local newspapers mention that Rich was nominated for "Rookie of the Year" in Gospel Music, and is the writer of "Sing Your Praise to the Lord."
  
  

  September 15, 1982

• Rich Mullins and Billy Simon write "Jesus on my Side."
  
  

  September 18, 1982

  
  
• Zion performs at Whitewater Christian Church in Indiana.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Zion Publishes their final Newsletter entitled Pretty Feet Publications..
  "Pretty Feet Publications Issue 4"
  
  

  October 1-3, 1982

• Zion performs in Kingston TN at the Self-Worth Retreat.
  
  

  October 4, 1982

• Zion performs at the Bellbrook United Methodist Church in Dayton, OH.
  
  

  October 11, 1982

• Rich Mullins records a demo of "Doubly Good To You" later recorded by Amy Grant.
  
  

  October 13, 1982

• Zion is interviewed on WHKK-FM.
  
  

  October 17, 1982

• Zion performs at Groesbeck U. Methodist
  
  

  October 20, 1982

• Zion performs for J.B.'s Kids.
  
  

  October 23, 1982

• Zion performs their fourth and Final Annual Birthday Extravaganza for Richard at the Highview Christian Church in Cincinnati, OH.
  
  

  October 29-30, 1982

• Zion performs At the His Way Crusade at Great Lakes Bible College.
  
  

  October 31, 1982

• Zion performs at the Kentwood Church of Christ in Kentwood, MI.
  
  

  November 6, 1982

• Zion performs at the Andover Church of Christ in Andover, OH.
  
  

  November 12, 1982

• Zion performs at the Cornerstone C.H. in Indianapolis, IN.
  
  

  November 13, 1982

• Zion performs at the the J.C. Connection C.H. in Indianapolis, IN.
  
  

  November 14, 1982

• Zion performs at A Youth Ralley in Montezuma, OH.
  
  

  November 19-21, 1982

• Zion performs at Eastern Illinois University for a retreat.
  
  

  December 1, 1982

• The Western Hills Press in Cincinatti, OH interviews Rich. The article mentions Rich's upcoming move to Nashville.
  "Mullins' Music Gets Noticed"
  
  

  December 4, 1982

• Zion performs at The Koinonia Christian Bookstore in Nashville, TN.
  
  

  December 6, 1982

• The Rick Elias Band performs at The Blue Lagune Saloon in Marina del Rey, CA.
  
  

  December 8, 1982

• Zion performs at Cincinnati Bible College.
  
  

  December 10-12, 1982

• Zion performs at a retreat in Bellafontaine, OH.
  
  

  December 16, 1982

• Rich Mullins writes "The Work You Began."
  
  

  December 18, 1982

• Zion performs their annual Christmas Concert at the Jesus House at 8:30p.m.
  
  

  December 27-29, 1982

• Zion performs at The White Lake Church of Christ in Highland, MI.
  
  

  December 29-31, 1982

• Zion performs at Wheeler's Lake James Winter Retreat.
  
  

  December 31, 1982

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  Early 1980s

• Rich Mullins writes "A Few Good Men."
  Rich: "And so I wrote this song, sort of as a joke also because Beth Snell - y'all remember Beth. One time we were sitting through this real boring sermon. That's one thing I hate about doing music, because they always want you to do special music and they always have real awful preachers to preach after you get done. And you have to sit through it and stay awake and everything because you have to be a good example. And his sermon was so bad - I mean it was like the pits. And the only thing he said that got any response, was he said, 'It's hard to find a good man' and all the girls in Zion stood up and went 'Amen!' - you know, like that. I never could understand cause they rode in the van all the way up and back with us and they still thought it was hard to find good men. So, I wrote this song." (Source: 1983 Concert Dialogue)
  
  

  Early 1980s

• Rich Mullins writes "Hello Old Friends," which would not be officially recorded until 1992's The World As Best As I Remember It, Vol. 2.
  
  

  1982-1983

• At some point in 1982 or 1983, Rich was also the roommate of Ric Blair, a musician from Cincinnati, Ohio. Ric was involved in the Christian music industry for several years and he played guitar on Rich's debut album in 1985. He was very interested in Celtic music and may have introduced Rich to the music of Dougie MacLean, who wrote the song "Ready for the Storm." Ric Blair later formed his own Celtic band.
  
  

  1983

  Songs written this year include "All You Need," "Marching On" (Later recorded by Benny Hester), "Falling of So Many Tears," "Hallelujah,"
  
  
• Rich Mullins and Justin Peters write "Aliens," "Let Us Be Holy," "Stand Fast," "Submit Yourselves," "Whoever Would Love Life," and "We Are His People".
  
  
• Between 1983-1988 Rich Mullins volunteered as the choir director at the Rock Lake Christian Assembly Camps in Vestaburg, Michigan.
  
  
• Jimmy Abegg begins working with the band Vector around this time. Abegg would later join Rich as part of the Ragamuffin Band.
  
  
• Rich's younger brother Lloyd gradutes from Northeastern Highschool and attends Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.
  
  

  January 1983

  
  
• Rich moves to Tennessee. At first, he lives with artist Billy Sprague and Jim Weber and spends time rooming with others. The move coincides with Rich signing a recording contract with Michael Blanton of Blaton & Harrell.
  Rich: "I made a list of all the positives and all the negatives. I did as much thinking as I could. And then I prayed, 'There are three things I really have to give up to do this and I need to know they would be replaced. When these three things line up, I will consider it a good move.' So I got down there [to Nashville] and like 'snap-snap-snap' people were saying we want you to be a part of this, and we want you to be a part of this, and we feel like this is an important thing for you as a writer. Within a couple of hours, all three of the reasons were covered. Once again, a very odd coincidence because I had prayed very specifically and God gave me an indication of where He wanted me to go."
  Beth Snell Lutz: "Amy Grant's release of 'Sing Your Praise' had cemented his move to Nashville, but the town held only brand new relationships and its share of darkness for him. 1983 found him driving and hitch hiking between Cincinnati, Tennessee and Michigan, looking to discover what might become a new normal as he played for every church, camp and CIY event possible."
  
  

  January 22, 1983

• Billboard Magazine announces that Blanton and Harrell Productions expands to further support artists in the areas of tours, songwriting and album projects. It is mentioned that artists like Amy Grant, Gary Chapman, Pam Mark Hall, Jim Weber, Billy Sprague, Rich Mullins, Dan & Bonnie Keen, Nan and Wayne Gurley, Ralph and Karen Hinley and Kathy Trocolli all write under Tree International's Meadowgreen dibision in a co-publishing deal with Blanton and Harrell.
  
  

  Early 1983

• Rich wrote "Damascus Road" following the breakup of an engagement and long term relationship.
  Rich: "This was my attempt at saying 'the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away - blessed be the name of the Lord.' In fact, I drove away from her appartment and stopped at a rest area and said, 'you know what? Now I know why we're commanded to praise You because I need to. Because right now, I feel like someone just jerked all of my insides out and threw them on the groud. I need to praise you, so help me to do that. I was a good bit younger then and it wasn't particularly good, so Beaker helped me to kind of tidy up some lines and we wrote a new bridge for it. " (1995)
  Rich: "I wrote it the night I was engaged and my fiancee broke off the engagement, and I went away and then I went, 'Oh, man, I'm gonna feel really depressed, but before I get really depressed, you're supposed to thank God in all things, so I'm gonna try to think of something thankful to say.' And that's when I wrote that song."
  Rich: "I wrote that right after my ex-fiance called off our engagement, and I just sort of did it as an act of obedience. Because I was going, you know you're supposed to.. The hebrew people were required to say, "The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord" when a tragedy happened. So I thought, well, you know I need to do something along those lines. So I decided to just thank God. It was sort of a writing exercise. But by the time I was over, what I realized was once again so often we think how our life is gonna go and what the Lord owes us and how it's supposed to be. And sometimes God has better things in mind or something different in mind for us than what we have in mind for ourselves." (Creation 1996)
  Rich: "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." (Source: Rich Mullins interview with Rich Tarrant, "20: The Countdown Magazine Remembers Rich Mullins")
  
  

  February 4, 1983

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  February 16, 1983

• Rich Mullins performs at the First Christian Church in Boca Raton, FL.
  
  

  March 5, 1983

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  March 11, 1983

• Rich Mullins writes "Holy Are You, Lord."
  
  

  March 18, 1983

• A copyright is registered for "Damascus Road."
  
  

  March 21, 1983

• Rich Mullins records a demo of "If All I Know Is Love," which would later be recorded by Cynthia Clawson.
  
  

  April 1983

• Rich's "Sing Your Praise to the Lord" (as recorded by Amy Grant) is nominated for A Dove Award for Song of the Year.
  
  

  April 12, 1983

  
  
• Rich Mullins attends an ASCAP banquet in honor of his recent Dove Nomination.
  
  

  April 13, 1983

• The GMA Dove Awards are held.
  Jon Rivers (KLTY Dallas): "... I was at a post-Dove Award banquet. It was the usual fancy banquet with all sorts of food and everybody was all dressed up. All of the servers were in white dress coats and white caps, and chefs were running to and fro to make sure everything was all right. I was walking down the dessert line and as I got up to this one dessert, I noticed that standing behind the counter serving was Rich Mullins, who had relieved one of the workers, and donned the cap and jacket. And he stood there the rest of the night serving people dessert, although I'm not sure that half the people knew who he was. That made a big statement to me that nothing mattered to him except the Gospel."
  
  

  May 7, 1983

• Rich Mullins performs at Andover Church of Christ in Andover, OH.
  
  

  May 12, 1983

• Rich Mullins, Pam Mark Hall and Brown Bannister write "Reach Out And Love Again," which Hall would later record.
  
  

  May 31, 1983

• Rich Mullins and Justin Peters write the unreleased song "Give It All You Got." Somewhere around this time the songwriting team also writes "Where I Ought To Be" and "Always Here With Me," which would later be recorded by Tony Melendez
  
  

  Late Spring 1983

• Rich Mullins performs at Earlham College in Richmond, IN.
  Set List: O Come All Ye Faithful/Marching On/Doubly Good/Few Good Men/None Are Stronger/23rd Psalm (Always Here with Me)/Praise to the Lord
  
  

  Summer 1983

• Future Ragamuffin Drummer Aaron Smith begins playing with Romeo Void.
  
  

  July 1, 1983

• Rich Mullins and Justin Peters write "He Loves You."
  
  

  July 16, 1983

• Rich Mullins performs at Carpenters Corners Church of Christ in Stoneboro, PA at 7:00p.m. At this concert, he performed the song "Doubly Good to You," which he stated he had written for his wedding, but his engagement had been broken off. He joked that his fiancée had "run off with a German Shepherd."
  Set List (Partial): The Lamb Is Worthy/I Will Call Upon the Lord/How Majestic Is Your Name
  
  
  

  July 17-23, 1983

• Rich Mullins performs at Deep Valley Christian Camp in Slippery Rock, PA. Songs performed include "The Finish Line."
  Set List (Partial): Regions of Light/None Are Stronger/All I Know of Love/Devil's Back/You Still Need Jesus/How Majestic Is Your Name
  
  
  

  Summer/Fall 1983

• Rich Mullins made the decision to leave Nashville for a period of time to recover from his broken engagement.
  Rich: "Well, my girlfr-I had been engaged, and we broke up, and I just hated being in Nashville with people I didn't know, because everyone felt sorry for you, you know it was like, 'Oh, we’re so sorry,' and I was like, 'Oh please, don't give me that,' I really don’t need that; what I really need is to be around people who know me a little bit better. And I had spent my summers-in fact, my drummer in my band, (David Strasser, aka. "Beaker") I had been his camp counselor since he was in the seventh grade, and so I knew a lot of people up at the church and plus at the time I was just writing and not doing a whole lot else and you become really self absorbed when you do that. I think too much introspection is the devil's playground. The happiest I had ever been in my whole life was when I was working with other people and that sort of thing. And if there is any joy in the Christian life, it is the joy that we have from being able to hopefully bring other people into a greater understanding of things." (Source: Michigan Radio Interview, 1988)
  
  

  October 1983

  
  
• During his sabbatical from the music scene, Rich served as interim music minister for Kentwood Christian Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan for about six months.
  Rich: "I'm a volunteer worker at a church here (Kentwood Christian) I like an awful lot. Their staff was cut from four to two and I'm helping in several ways. I really wanted to get out of Nashville, I felt I was getting self-obsessed there."
  Rich: "It was the best six months I ever had. The people were great." (Grand Rapids Press, June 24, 1990)
  
  

  October 17, 1983

• Debbi Boone's Surrender is released on Lamb & Lion Records and includes a cover of Rich's "O Come All Ye Faithful" (written in the late 70's and originally titled "In Worship of the Coming King").
  
  

  October 18, 1983

• Rich Mullins and Pam Mark Hall write "These Days."
  
  

  November 1, 1983

• While in Michigan, Rich records a demo for Reunion Records with Ric Blair. The demo tape includes "Praise To The Lord", "A Few Good Men", "Damascus Road", "Elijah", "Marching On", "It's About Time", "None Are Stronger", "Prisoner", "Save Me", and "These Days".
  
  

  November 4, 1983

  
  

  Rich performing at Brown County High School

  
  
• Rich Mullins performs at Brown County High School in Nashville Indiana. That night, Rich held an all-night retreat for the Church Youth group at the Brown County Camp.
  Rich told local newspapers: "I just want to stress that life is good, so be grateful."
  
  
  

  Rich performing at Brown County High School

  
  

  November 25, 1983

  
  
• The Sacramento Bee publishes an article about Exit Records that mentions the band Vector (with Jimmy Abegg) and their album Mannequin Virtue as the labels "latest production" .
  
  

  December 1983

• Geffen Records, who is considering signing the Rick Elias Band to a contract, teams him up with songwriting partner Scott Rogness.
  
  

  Late 1983/Early 1984

• Rich Mullins signs a recording contract with Reunion Records.
  
  
• Rich Mullins and Wayne Kirkpatrick write "Silent Prayer."
  
  
• Rich Mullins writes "Michigan" around this time when he was traveling back and forth between Tennessee, Ohio and Michigan as a way to honor the persons at Kentwood Christian Church who had welcomed him so warmly the winter after the breakup with his fiancée.
  
  

  Late 1983

• Rich Mullins and Reed Arvin write "New Heart".
  Rich: "I always liked the story of the dry bones.. about how this guy is standing there looking at this valley of dead people and they've all wasted away and they're just bones. And, then all of a sudden they all start growing muscles and tissue and skin and they get up and dance around. And I always thought that was a real neat story. And then at the end of that story, the Lord is speaking to Israel and He says, 'you're like a bunch of dead bones. You're pretty wasted out there. So, I would like to give you a new heart and a new spirit.' I liked that verse and I like Oriental sounding music so I wrote this song." (Michigan Singles Retreat September 1984)
  
  

  1984

  
  

  Rich in Bellsburg

  
  
• Rich eventually settles in Bellsburg, TN. when he notices a small farm house sitting off of the highway he regularly travels. One day he goes up to the front door to ask if he can buy the place. While he eventually leaves Tennessee and lives in other locations, he keeps his Bellsburg house for his trips back to Nashville. The house was purchased partially with money earned from selling the rights to "Sing Your Praise to the Lord," as well as royalties from other songs recorded by various artists.
  
  
  
• The house, which was an old parsonage, was right down the road from an old abandoned church. The church quickly became a favorite spot of Rich's where he would spend time playing the piano or writing songs. This location would also later be used in photo sessions with Ben Pearson.
  
  
• Rich begins performing the following songs around this time: "Nothing But A Miracle," "See What A Difference," and "Your Burden Is Light."
  
  

  1984

• Songs written this year include "Nearer to You Lord."
  
  
• Rick Elias moves to Los Angeles from San Diego.
  
  
• Rusty Goodman releases Family Band which includes the Rich Mullins and Justin Peters penned "He Loves You."
  
  
• Truth releases Second to None which includes the Rich Mullins and Billy Simon penned "Jesus on my Side."
  
  
  
  
• Amy Grant's In Concert! Age to Age Tour video is released on Word record. The concert includes a cover of Rich's "Sing Your Praise to the Lord" and also features Reed Arvin on keyboards.
  
  

  January 10, 1984

• Rich records a demo of "Marching On."
  
  

  January 14, 1984

• Rich Mullins performs at Bailey Church of Christ in Grand Rapids, MI at 7:00 p.m.
  
  

  February 1984

• Rich Mullins visited his friend Pamela Richards for a week in Pittsburgh, PA. During the visit, Rich received a phone call from Randy Cox, Manager at Meadowgreen Music Company informing him that his song "O Come All Ye Faithful" will air in an upcoming ABC TV movie starring Debby Boone.
  
  

  February 14, 1984

• Rich Mullins performed at North Hills Christian Church in Pittsburgh, PA.
  
  

  February 17, 1984

• Rich's brother Lloyd Mullins marries Kathy Waterman in Centerville, IN.
  
  

  February 24, 1984

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  Early 1984

• Rich Mullins meets and begins to write songs with Wayne Kirkpatrick. Songs that come out of this time included "Love Of Another Kind," performed quite often by Rich during this time and later by Amy Grant.
  Wayne Kirkpatrick: "I met Rich when we were set up to write with each other.. We met one Friday at one of the writers rooms at Tree publishing company on music row where we got acquainted and then started tossing song ideas around. He played the beginnings of a music idea that he had been messing around with and I started singing over it and spit out the line "Love of Another Kind" as the hook. He liked that so we ran with it and completed the song that day. Once we were done, he started talking about having to drive up to Michigan to do the music for a church camp retreat and he was dreading having to take the trip alone. So he said, 'hey, why don't you come with me?' I said I couldn't do that because I had a temp job I was supposed to do on Monday and I needed the money to pay my rent. (I was living hand to mouth at that time). He asked me how much I needed to pay rent. I told him my share of rent was $150. He said, 'I'll pay you that! Come do the music with me.' I was hesitant. We had just met a few hours earlier. So, I declined, at first. I left the building and met my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) who had come to pick me up. I told her about Rich's request and she said, 'you should go.' 'Really?,' I said. After thinking on it for a minute, I decided to go back into the building. I knocked on the door and Rich opened it. 'Ok, I'll go with you,' I said. He said 'great!' The next day I took a road trip with this person I didn't really know at all, on the long drive from nashville to Grand Rapids. By the end of that trip, we had become great friends...a friendship that lasted until the end of his life. He was a very special and unique person and I think back on our time together with great fondness. He really was one of a kind." (2022)
  
  Rich: "One day at the publishing company where I was writing, they locked Wayne Kirkpatrick - who is probably the best writer in Nashville - me and him got locked in a room together. They thought they were going to torture us but what it ended up was they finally opened the door because we knew that there was this air vent that went between the room where we were writing and the room where the secretaries were typing - and we knew if we made enough noise that they would not keep us in there for long. And I don't know if you've ever been locked in a room with a writer, but writers and most musicians are real egotists and it's kind of a miserable thing to be around them - especially when you're an egotist and a writer yourself. Most rooms just aren't big enough for that many egos. So, in a desperate attempt to escape I just started [loudly playing the rhythm] on one hand and then Wayne started [loudly playing the melody] and we ended up writing a song that made a lot of money for us. When Amy Grant recorded this song, she wanted to make it more religious than it was originally written, but it was originally written just for fun. A lot of people have a hang-up that it has to have some spiritual significance, but I never did learn her version cause I never thought it was as good as mine."
  
  

  March 8, 1984

• Some newspapers report that Rich Mullins performs at the Dobyns-Bennett dome in Kingsport, TN. as part of Light Fest '84. on this date. Mike Warnke also performs.
  
  

  March 9, 1984

  
  
• Rich Mullins performs at the Dobyns-Bennett dome in Kingsport, TN. as part of Light Fest '84. Brown Bannister also performs.
  
  

  March 15, 1984

• Amy Grant records a cover of Rich's "Doubly Good To You."
  Rich: "They went into the studio to do her next album and I of course wasn't around and they couldn't remember how the song went. She had it all on this little tape.... Brown Bannister was producing at the time and they got the music off it and everything and it was all great, but they couldn't understand the lyrics because I sang even worse then than I do now. They finally got a hold of me and they said, 'please we gotta have the lyrics tomorrow,' so I had to fed-ex. So I was in a real hurry and I wrote them down as fast as I could. Well my writing was so bad they still couldn't make out the words. So she recorded it wrong. She sang 'if you see the moon rising gently on your fields,' well what a stupid line because obviously the song is about time going in a circle so you have to start with morning if you're going to end up with night. That's why Amy is making a mere several million dollars a year and I'm here with you. (Laughter)" (Family Broadcasting Corporation Seminar, 1994)
  
  

  March 25, 1984

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Halcyon in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  March 28, 1984

• The Rick Elias Band performs at the Distillery in Solana Beach, CA.
  
  

  April 2, 1984

• The Made for Television Movie, Sins of the Past airs on ABC. The movie, starring Debby Boone, included Debbie's performance of "O Come All Ye Faithful" (written in the late 70's).
  
  

  April 6, 1984

  
  
  
• Amy Grant's Straight Ahead is released on Word record. The album includes a cover of Rich's "Doubly Good To You."
  
  
  
• The Los Angeles Times publishes an article about Rick Elias entitled "Elias is Back After A Bit of Bad Luck." The article details how Geffen records had paid for the band to record some demos, but failed to sign them. The article states that Elias then "descended into the night world of heroin addiction." The article details how Rick Elias is now starting over with a new band and performing at area clubs. The new band features Marc Intravaia, Scott Rogness, Rick Elias, Jay Schellen and John Khula.
  Rick: "With the old band, it was me, me, me, and I didn't listen to anybody. People said we were too derrivative, and everyone compared me to Springsteen, but I wouldn't listen or change anything. And that's the main reason we failed. Now it's not even the Rick Elias Band anymore - we're starting all over again with a new name. New Language, and a new sound focused not just on me, but on collaborative stuff I'm doing with Scott. It was Geffen who put Scott and me together in the first place last December, and now I'm more open to their input. They're just waiting to hear what we're going to give them."
  Rick: "Before, our songs were just raw emotion; everything we did was an anthem. I don't want to preach anymore, thoughm, so now our songs are more objective. If I do have something to say myself, I put it in third person. And musically, I envision us bridging techno-pop and punk, sort of like the old band brought together rock and punk. THe songs are more melodic, more accessible and more technically proficient, yet at the same time."
  
  

  April 11, 1984

• The Palladium-Item in Richmond, Indiana interviews Rich.
  "His Creations Are Making A Real Hit"
  
  

  September 3, 1979

• ick Elias performs at The Distillery in Solana Beach, CA.
  
  

  April 21, 1984

• New Language (Rick Elias) performs at the Halcyon in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  April 1984

• Rich Mullins completes his volunteer job at Kentwood Christian Church in Grand Rapids, MI and returns to his home in Bellsburg, TN.
  
  

  May 1984

• Rich Mullins travels to Europe.
  
  

  May 31, 1984

• Rich's brother Lloyd Mullins graduated from Northeastern High School and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.
  
  

  June 27, 1984

• Rich's "Love Of Another Kind" is registered with the publishing company.
  
  

  June 28, 1984

• Rich Mullins and Pam Mark Hall write "Sparrow Watcher."
  
  

  Summer 1984

• Rich Mullins performs at a church in Wabash, Indiana.
  Angie Knight: "When I was twelve years old (1984), Rich came to sing a concert at our church in Wabash, Indiana. I was blessed in that he stayed at our house, so I was able to meet him, eat dinner with him, and he even played for us on our old clunky piano (though I didn't realize it was actually old and clunky until many a year later). I remember so many of the things that Rich shared, and his big encouragement to me was to practice classical music and work on my piano technique, as that was how he developed his ability to play so many styles. I took this to heart, and when my friends were playing from pop song books, I played Mozart. A concert pianist I will never be, but he helped me develop a talent in ways I otherwise wouldn't have. Today, I have written several songs, mostly because of the desire he instilled in me. Rich came back the next year and stayed with us again, and to a starry-eyed thirteen-year-old, he was the best there would ever be. I continued with that perspective for the next thirteen years, and I still believe it today. It's so much more than just musical, though... he was REAL."
  
  

  July 1-14, 1984

• Rich Mullins performs at Deep Valley Christian Camp in Slippery Rock, PA.
  
  

  July 10, 1984

  
  

  Richard performing at Deep Valley Christian Camp

• Rich Mullins performs at Deep Valley Christian Camp in Slippery Rock, PA.
  Set List: Love of Another Kind/Where I Ought to Be/O Come All Ye Faithful/See What a Difference/Doubly Good to You/A Few Good Men/Courting Song/Promenade/Ain't No Books Sold/Praise the Lord/O Lord Your Love/Sing Your Praise to the Lord/Elijah
  
  
  
  
• This performance would later be released on Deep Valley by Old Bear Records in 2022.
  
  

  July 30, 1984

• New Language (Rick Elias) performs at Club Lingerie in Los Angeles, CA. Also on the bill was Clams and Brighton (which also featured future Ragamuffin Mark Robertson).
  
  

  August 1, 1984

• New Language (Rick Elias) performs at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, California.
  
  

  August 2, 1984

• New Language (Rick Elias) performs at the Rodeo in La Jolla, CA.
  
  

  August 4, 1984

• New Language (Rick Elias) performs at the Spirit Club in San Diego, CA.
  
  

  September 1, 1984

• Rich's brother Lloyd Mullins graduates from the US Air Force Aircrew life support Course at Chanute Air Force Base, Ill.
  
  

  September 4, 1984

• New Language (Rick Elias) performs at Club Lengerie in Los Angeles, CA with Stroxx and Richard Marx opening.
  
  

  September 1984

• Rich Mullins performs at least two days at a singles retreat in Kent County, Michigan.
  Set List: O Come All Ye Faithful/New Heart/Always Here With Me/Hallelujah/Hello Old Friends/How Majestic Is Your Name (Michael W Smith cover)/See What A Difference/Can't Go To Sleep/A Few Good Men/Love of Another Kind/Rest Assured/Where I Ought To Be/Rings of Eternity/I Surrender All/My Jesus, I Love Thee/Elijah
  
  

  September 14, 1984

• New Language (Rick Elias) performs at the Rodeo in La Jolla, CA.
  
  

  October 1, 1984

• Romeo Void releases Insticts which includes future Ragamuffin Aaron Smith on Drums.
  
  

  October 13, 1984

• Rich Mullins and Zion perform at the Jesus House in Cincinnati, OH at 8p.m. This would be the final time that Rich performed at the Jesus House or with Zion. Rich performed "Now," among other songs
  
  

  October 15, 1984

• Rich Mullins performs at the Winchester Fieldhouse stage at Youth Explosion 84 in Winchester, IN. Debby Boone and Actor Wendell Burton also perform.
  
  

  November 6, 1984

• Pam Mark Hall's album, Supply and Demand, featured quite a bit of help from Rich, including a song he cowrote with Mike Hudson, Pam Mark Hall and Keith Thomas "The Agony and the Glory", one with Brown Bannister and Pam Mark Hall "Reach Out and Love Again" and another with Pam called "Sparrow Watcher".
  
  

  November 16, 1984

• New Language (Rick Elias) performs at the Rodeo in La Jolla, CA.
  
  

  December 9, 1984

• Rich Mullins performs at the First Presbyterian Church in Allenton, PA. at 7:30p.m.
  
  

  1985

• Rich Mullins and Niles Borop write "No Making Believe" and "Both Feet on the Ground."
  
  
• Rich Mullins, Cathy Snyder Weber and Wayne Kirkpatrick write "Love that Knows No Bounds." The song would later be recorded for his second album, Pictures in the Sky in 1987.
  
  
• Rich Mullins met David Nicholas McCracken at Reunion Records when David was doing an internship there. Despite the difference in their ages, they hit it off and became close friends for the rest of Rich's life.
  
  
• Larry Bryant's The Artist is released on Word Records. The album included vocals by Rich Mullins as part of the "Shopping List" choir.
  
  
• Amy Grant performs Rich's "Love of Another Kind" on NBC's "Martin Luther King Tribute special."
  
  
  
• Vector (featuring Jimmy Abegg) releases Please Stand By
  
  

  (Unknown Date) 1985

• Rich Mullins performs at a church in Wabash, Indiana.
  
  

  January 1985

• The Jesus House in Cincinnati closes its doors.
  
  

  February 1, 1985

• Jimmy Abegg performs with the band Vector at Roseville Theater in Roseville, CA.
  
  

  Spring, 1985

• Rich Mullins performed at the First Assembly of God Church (now River City Church) in Lafayette, IN. He made an appearance at the Carpenter's Son bookstore in Lafayette, IN.
  Cliff Muller, Former Owner of Carpenter's Son Bookstore: "In the spring of 1985 my music rep called and asked if I would like to do an in-store with an artist. I had never done that before. I set up a card table and did the best I could to get the word out. Rich was doing a concert at a local church. Well, this was before anyone really knew who he was. Amy Grant had played at Purdue that year so 'Sing Your Praise to the Lord' was the only connection we had to Rich. He came in, was very unassuming, and just sat down at the table. Only one person showed up in the 1 1/2 hours he was there so we had a great time chatting. He told me that he had decided to get out and try singing his own songs for a change. He wasn’t the singer others were but he knew how he wanted them done. Rich never once made me feel like I had let him down by not having any fans there. He asked me how I came to open the store and I told him the whole calling from God I had out of nowhere with no previous experience. We talked about me being Catholic and how he didn't see many of those in the Christian bookstore world. He even shopped and insisted on paying for a copy of Henri Nouwen's book With Open Hands. He had never seen it in a Christian bookstore before and was quite excited to get it. He visited my much larger stores 12 years later and did impromptu concerts for everyone there. My wife and I were fans from day one. I mentioned the time when he had stopped in to my tiny store 12 years earlier and he actually remembered buying the book! I still miss him."
  
  

  April 26-28, 1985

• Rich Mullins performs at the at the Ichthus Festival '85 at Wilmore Campground near Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky.
  
  

  May 23, 1985

• The Times-Advocate in Escondido, CA mentions that New Language (with Rick Elias) recorded a demo for Kenny Rogers Productions.
  
  

  May 24, 1985

• Rich's brother David Mullins graduates from Northeastern High School in Fountain City, Indiana. David gave the Benediction for the graduation.
  
  

  June 6, 1985

  
  
• Amy Grant releases her Unguarded album, which includes a cover of Rich's "Love of Another Kind." The lyrics for Amy's version were slightly changed compared to Rich and Wayne Kirkpatrick's original version ("Love of Another Kind (Original)" and "Love Of Another Kind (Amy Grant Version)).
  
  

  Summer 1985

• Rich Mullins performs at the Christ in Youth Summer conference.
  
  

  August 5, 1985

• Benny Hester releases his Benny from Here album which includes a cover of Rich's "Marching On."
  
  
• Rusty Goodman releases "He Loves You," written by Rich Mullins and Justin Peters, on Canaan Records.
  
  

  August 13, 1985

• The Tennesseean in Nashville, TN mentions that Producer Reed Arvin recently purchased a Synclavier Synthesizer.
  
  

  August 1985

• Rich Mullins performs at Rock Lake Christian Assembly high school camp near Vestaburg, MI.
  
  

  August 10, 1985

• Rich Mullins performed a concert at River Terrace Church, East Lansing Michigan.
  
  
• Rich Mullins performs for Single Point Ministries in Lansing, Michigan at 7:00p.m. Single Point Ministries is part of Ward Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Livonia, Michigan.
  
  

  August 25, 1985

• The Sacramento Bee in Sacramento California runs an article about the band Vector (with Jimmy Abegg) and the release of their second LP Please Stand By.
  
  

  Late 1985

• Around the time that Rich was turning 30 and just beginning his solo recording career, he was emerging from a self-described "Time of Darkness."
  Rich: "I've been in and out of all kinds of things -- like self depreciation, self-interest, ego trips, alcohol, and other addictions. I've failed many times to avoid those kinds of temptations. But that's not what the Devil was really interested in. What he was trying to do is make me feel apart from God. You know, I was brought up in a very rationalistic kind of family -- the idea of the Devil was a little outside of our thing. It's taken me a long time to recognize that there are spiritual forces who would like to harm us. Now I know that what Satan would like most to take from us is our true knowledge of who we are -- which is children of God." (Source: Praise Him! Christian Music Stars Share Their Favorite Verses from the Scriptures, 1998, St Martin's Press.)
  Rich: "From my junior year of high school until age 30, I felt tormented all the time. I didn't like myself, and I didn't like anybody who was around me. Part of the reason it was so dark was it was dull. I would think maybe I should experiment with this or that, and I would. Invariably, it was a letdown. I'd hear testimonies about deliverance from drugs and I thought, 'What wonderful things drugs must be if a person is willing to destroy their life in order to have them.' Then I remember being very disappointed with my own little experiments. Whatever it was that people seemed to get out of it, I didn't get it. I never had to be delivered from a life of drugs or whatever because I didn't want in it. There was nothing there for me. I never tried to be an atheist. That never made much sense to me. I knew I wouldn't make a good atheist. But I do remember thinking I just wouldn't have anything to do with God. Yet, even then, I felt driven back to God. I wanted intimacy with Him."
  Rich: "I was in Michigan, on my way to somewhere where I knew I ought not to be going. I started praying, 'Oh God, why don't you just make my car crash so I won't get there because I can't stop myself.' I remember thinking that He said, 'Yeah, you're right. You can't.' I said, 'Why can't I? What I'm doing makes me sick.' And it was as if God responded, 'Yes, what you do makes me sick too, but what you are makes me sicker. You do what you do, because you are what you are. You can't do otherwise.' (Remembering "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). That recollection was intermingled with James 5:16. "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.) I thought, I'm just going to stop and confess to the first preacher I see. The first church I go by, I'm going in there and I'm going to tell everything. And I remember thinking, 'No, that's not what it means. Confession has to be something other than just saying words. It must be something more than just owning up to what you've done, even though that's a big part of it. I need to tell this to people whose opinion is most important to me.'"
  
  Instead, Rich drove back to Cincinnati to meet with three of his good friends to confess his struggles.
  Rich: "It was one of the most liberating things I have ever done. It's not like I haven't been tempted since that time. It's not that I don't still deal with the same sorts of things. I still have to make right choices. I still have to flee temptation. But the power of that sin was broken."
  Rich: "My struggles with addictions and the darkness I was feeling lessened. There was a renewed feeling of intimacy with God." (Source: Praise Him! Christian Music Stars Share Their Favorite Verses from the Scriptures, 1998, St Martin's Press.)
  
  

  September 21, 1985

• Rich Mullins was the best man at the wedding of his friend, Gary Rowe and Constance Adams, in Cincinnati, OH. Rich also wrote the song "Become One" for Gary's wedding.
  
  

  Unknown Date, 1985

• Rich Mullins performed a concert at Earlham College, Richmond, IN.
  
  

  October 1985

  
  

  (Photo of Rich recording his first album, courtesy of JB)

• Rich records his first solo album at Amy Grant's farm studio. The songs "A Place to Stand," and "Live Right" are written around this time.
  
  Reed Arvin: "Most people are surprised to learn that Rich wasn't particularly involved during recording, simply because he wasn't interested. He would disappear for long stretches. I would beg him to stay around more, because I was quite worried that he would come back after we'd spent a good deal of time going in a direction and pronounce that he didn't like it. But he very rarely expressed opinions about things musically. I very rarely had musical discussions with Rich. On the other hand, I had many, many discussions with him about politics, religion, and philosophy. And the music business. But to actually sit and talk about what to 'do' with a particular song, no." (ChristianityToday Interview 10/25/13)
  Reed Arvin: "The first record we made at Gary and Amy's (Grant's) house, and they effectively let us move in. Gary was building a home studio and we were the lucky guinea pigs to try it out. Amy made soup, and Rich and I made a record. We had absolutely no idea what we were doing, and listening to the final product is now a little painful. We cut all the lead vocals in three days, because we didn't know any better."
  
  
• At one point while working on his album, Rich emerges from Amy's house and meets Randy Stonehill who is appraching the house. Randy is in town to prepare for the recording of his own The Wild Frontier album.
  Randy Stonehill: "I remember coming up to the house and just as I was getting up to the porch, I saw Rich coming out. We stood on the driveway and talked for a little while. He was a sweet and entheusiastic guy and he said, 'Listen, if you're going to be in town for a while I don't live too far down the road. Why don't you come on over and maybe we can kick around some song ideas.' The sad fact is that I was really busy with the preproduction work on my record, and just really enjoying getting to hang on the farm with Amy and stuff, and I never did get around to that and that's a regret I have. I look over my shoulder and see how gifted and annointed this guy was and he had just kind of opened the door and said come and spend some time. To this day, I kind of kick myself and go, 'Man, I really missed a moment there."
  
  

  October 21, 1985

  
  

  (Turning 30: Rich with Kathy Sprinkle)

• Rich Mullins celebrated his 30th birthday by throwing himself a birthday party at his new home in Bellsburg, TN.
  Vinny Strosnider: "His dad had butchered a pig and with a buddy of his, dug a big hole in the yard and roasted it a whole day. Before it was ready to eat Rich said there was a catfish ranch down the road, so a group of us walked with him there and had catfish sandwiches." (Source: Correspondence with Therese Klopfenstein)
  
  

  Unknown Date, 1985

• Rich writes out a list of his favorite pop songs for his record label... and adds an extra 10.
  "We Are Not Helpless" (Stephen Stills), "Shock the Monkey" (Peter Gabriel), "The Long and Winding Road" (the Beatles), "Refugee" (U2), "Cathy's Song (Look for America)" (Simon and Garfunkel), "More/Not More" (Bruce Cockburn), "Just Walk Away Renee" (Left Bank), "Go Your Own Way" (Fleetwood Mac), "Jungleland" (Bruce Springsteen), and "We've Got Tonight" (Bob Seeger). The Bonus list included "Solsbury Hill" (Peter Gabriel), "World Turning" (Fleetwood Mac), "You Could Have Been With Me" (Sheena Easton), "Thankful On My Knees" (Larry Bryant), "Against All Odds" (Phil Collins), "San Jacinto" (Peter Gabriel), "Facist Architecture" (Bruce Cockburn), "Comfortably Numb" (Pink Floyd), "Walking In Your Footsteps" (THe Police) and "Hearlight" (Kenny Loggins)
  
  

  December 7, 1985

• Rich Mullins is among a group of songwriters which are honored by Tree Publishing in Nashville during a brunch. Sonny Lemaire is honored as the compsoer of three number one songs ("Crazy for Your Love," "She's A Miracle," and "Hang On To Your Heart.") Harlan Howard and Chick Rains were honored as the composers of Reba McEntire's number one single "Somebody Should Leave." Sonny Throckmorton was honored for writing George Strait's "The Cowboy Rides Away." Michael Garvin and Chris Waters were honored for Rinnie McDowell's "In A New York Minute." Wayne Kemp and Mack Vickery were honored for George Strait's "The Fireman." Bucky Jones and Michael Garvin were honored for Ronnie McDowell's "Love Talks." Max D. Barnes was honored for George Jones' "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes." Billy Sprague, Jan Weber and Nan Gurley were honored as the Songwriters of the Year for Medowgreen Music, Tree's Contemporary Christian subsidiary. Other songwriters honored during the event included Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Justin Peters, Phill McHugh, Billy Simon, Wayne Kirkpatrick, John Watson, Pam Meyer, Barry Pretorius, Carol Calvert, Gary Muller, Steven V. Taylor, L. Wayne Hilliard, James Ward, Mark Gershmehl, David Parks and Pam Mark Hall. Songwriters of Holiday songs were also honored with "Christmas Tree Awards." The list of Holiday honorees included John Jarvis, Ron Hellard, Alan Rhody, Gary Chapman, Don Cook, Keith Whitley, Roger Miller and Curly Putman.
  
  

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