(Update: As of 2/11/23, this article includes links to hear the album tracks)
I’ve spent the past week helping create the final mix of the first official Rich Mullins album in 19 years— a live record called “Deep Valley”. As we enter the last couple days of the Kickstarter campaign that will make this album a reality, I thought it was a great time to share some of the incredible background info on the songs that will be included on this project— most of which were never released by Rich in his lifetime.
During the winter of 2009, someone mailed me a CD-R with the words "Rich Mullins, Deep Valley Christian Camp, Slippery Rock, PA, Summer ‘84" written in black sharpie across the front. This recording had circulated amongst a small group of friends and fans for decades— long before it finally found its way into my hands. But despite that, the recording went largely unheard by the masses— and I knew right away that this concert was something truly special. I'd heard other Rich Mullins concerts over the years, but until that moment, I’d never heard anything from this unique time in his career. In 1984, Rich was still two years away from releasing his self-titled debut record— yet he was already two years into his stint as a professional songwriter in Nashville.
Rich Mullins had already proven himself a great songwriter. Years before he arrived in Nashville, he had already written songs that would go on to become classics— songs like "Here in America", "Heaven in His Eyes", "Elijah" and "Sing Your Praise to the Lord". But before those Nashville years, there was a wilder, unbridled passion in Rich's music— and at times, while performing, it was almost as though he was operating from a completely different plane than his audience. If moving to Nashville did anything for Rich's songwriting, I think it taught him to practice restraint. He found a perfect balance and learned exactly how "less" could— at times— in fact, be "more". Collaborating with other songwriters, such as Pam Mark Hall, Justin Peters and Wayne Kirkpatrick— the latter two having co-written songs on "Deep Valley"— no doubt had an impact on Rich, and he would seek collaboration with other writers throughout the remainder of his life.
"Deep Valley" is unique because— as Rich's longtime friend Beth Snell Lutz puts it— it represents a "bridge" between the up-and-coming Richard Mullins of the 1970s/early 1980's, and the world-famous Rich Mullins of the late 1980's/1990's. There are still elements of that early unbridled passion throughout this record. And yet there is a growing maturity that is noticeable as well— in both his songs and his words. "Deep Valley" features a cross-section of songs, written between 1974 and 1984. Some of them have never been heard until now. Others went on to become classics— having been recorded by artists like Debby Boone and Amy Grant, and even by Rich himself.
The following is a track-by-track look at the songs of "Deep Valley".
Love of Another Kind
This may be the song I'm personally most excited to share on this record. A CCM classic— recorded by Amy Grant and the opening track from her 1985 "Unguarded" album. On “Deep Valley”, the song will be presented for the first time ever in its original form— as written by Rich and Wayne Kirkpatrick— before it was drastically re-written by Amy Grant and Gary Chapman. I may be a bit biased, but I think when people hear this version, they'll be left scratching their heads, wondering why anyone ever felt the need to change it!
At a 1990 concert in Cincinnati, Ohio, Rich shared the following about the song:
"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. So here's the way the song is supposed to go."
Where I Ought to Be
"Where I Ought to Be" is a song that Rich co-wrote with Justin Peters— one of his early Nashville collaborators. To many Mullins fans, Justin Peters may best be known for having co-written Rich’s classic "Be With You" from 1987's "Pictures in the Sky" album. That said, Peters is an accomplished songwriter and has written for artists such as Steven Curtis Chapman, Amy Grant and Russ Taff. "Where I Ought to Be" was written early in both of their careers, and went through at least one rewrite— as the song contained slightly different lyrics when Rich performed it at Deep Valley just a year earlier, during the summer of 1983. During that concert, he announced that the song would soon be released by a CCM artist named Stephanie Boosahda— presumably for her 1984 album "Fearless to Follow". However, it seems her version of the song ultimately never saw the light of day. Rich's 1984 "Deep Valley" performance of the song— in its finalized form— will be the first recording of “Where I Ought to Be” to ever be released to the public.
O Come All Ye Faithful
“O Come All Ye Faithful” is one of the more well-known songs that Rich never released himself. Written during the fall of 1976, the song was inspired by the book of Isaiah, which he had been memorizing the summer prior. "O Come All Ye Faithful" could be considered the centerpiece of "In Worship of the Coming King"— a concept album that wasn’t actually an album at all. “In Worship of the Coming King” was Rich's 8response to the rock craze of the day that saw so many artists releasing albums that told larger stories. And while it was never professionally recorded/released as an album itself, it could almost be considered the first complete "album" or—at the very least—“project” that Rich Mullins ever wrote, and he performed it once, backed by a full band, at Cincinnati Bible Seminary, on January 19, 1977.
Rich's performance of "In Worship of the Coming King" would not mark the end for "O Come All Ye Faithful", however. In 1983, Debby Boone released the song on her album "Surrender". A year later, the song was featured prominently in the ABC TV Movie "Sins of the Past", which starred Kim Cattrall, Kirstie Alley, and Boone herself who performed the song during the film's bizarre climax, during which Cattrall's character falls to her death from the rafters of an auditorium. This earned "Richard Mullins" his first ever film credit.
A demo recording of the song, recorded by Rich in 1982, was released in 2003 on the album "Here in America", though that record is long out-of-print and was never released to streaming platforms.
See What a Difference
One of Rich’s quirkier songs, "See What a Difference" tells the story of an average guy named Johnny and an ugly girl named Judy— both of whom find beauty in God's love. The song was included on Choice Lifestyle's 1988 album "Prisoners of Hope", which was released independently and produced by none other than Rich Mullins himself.
Doubly Good to You
The second of three songs on "Deep Valley" that were recorded by Amy Grant, "Doubly Good to You" was included on her 1984 album "Straight Ahead". In an interview with Nashville DJ Brian Mason, Rich shared the following about the song:
"I just remember saying that I thought, 'Man, I'm going to write something really schmaltzy. This is going to be the Helen Steiner Rice of Christian music. And I'm just gonna write the schmaltziest drippiest song that I can possibly come up with. And that was "Doubly Good to You". And it didn't turn out as schmaltzy as I thought it was going to at the beginning. But the funny thing is everybody always reacts.... I remember playing it for Brown Bannister just cause we were sharing songs one afternoon that we thought no one would ever cut. And I said, 'Man, this is a song that no one will ever do." And I played "Doubly Good to You" and he cried."
A Few Good Men
"A Few Good Men" is one of only four songs on "Deep Valley" that Rich actually released on one of his studio albums. A slightly rocky version of the song was included on his 1986 self-titled debut. This version from two years earlier, however, is much more stripped back— performed solo on an acoustic guitar. Despite this, "A Few Good Men" was actually written on an electric guitar sometime in the early 80’s. Rich shared the following about the song’s origins at a 1983 concert in Pennsylvania:
"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. It's called "A Few Good Men" and I wrote it in loving memory of Beth Snell— who, by the way, is getting married. She evidently found someone that she thought was a good man."
Courting Song
"Courting Song" is one of Rich's early "story songs" and was written to honor his father's heritage in the eastern mountains of Kentucky. It was written sometime around 1974 or 1975 on guitar and later often done on the lap dulcimer, once again honoring his mountain roots. Beth Snell Lutz recalls:
"In '76 he took me to a small coffee house near Richmond to see a friend and at the last minute they had him come up and play… me without my tape recorder. It wasn't a ‘Christian’ place, so he did ‘Courting Song,’ ‘Tis Spring’ & ‘Ben Shaw,’ added ‘Homeward Ways’ and ‘Harlan County Waltz’ and called it his ‘heritage set,’ if I remember correctly. He nearly always talked about ‘Courting Song’ as being about love from a simpler time."
This song has never been officially released anywhere until now.
Promenade
One of Rich's "early" songs that eventually found its way onto one of his studio albums, "Promenade" was released on 1995's "Brother's Keeper," with full backing from A Ragamuffin Band. "Promenade" was a staple at his early concerts and fondly remembered by many who attended camp at Deep Valley. As Rich said during an America Online live chat in 1995, "Promenade [is] just a parable. About a guy who comes in contact with Christianity/life/music/goodness and is ah...converted." A year earlier, at the Cornerstone Festival, he joked about "Promenade" saying "this song probably stinks, because it took me about ten years to get [Reunion Records] to let me record it."
Ain't No Book Sold
This is possibly the earliest song written that appears on "Deep Valley." "Ain't No Book Sold" goes back to at least 1974 when it was performed at a church in Heath, Ohio. This ode to the Bible is a fun & infectious Gospel singalong that will no doubt have listeners clapping and singing along loudly in their cars— so just be careful and keep your eyes on the road!
Praise the Lord
"Praise the Lord" is the most obscure song on "Deep Valley." Very little is known about when or where this track was actually written, though it sounds somewhat inspired by Michael W. Smith's early worship songs, like "Great is the Lord" and "How Majestic is Your Name"— the latter of which Rich was known to cover during his early concerts. Yet regardless of what inspired it, "Praise the Lord" is a beautiful song and the performance on "Deep Valley" makes an exciting addition to Rich's catalog of work.
O Lord Your Love
"O Lord Your Love" is a lovely song written by Rich sometime in the early 1980's. He recorded a demo of it in 1982, however, he never wound up releasing the song himself. That said, it was recorded by two other CCM artists: First, in 1985 by Angie Lewis on her album "Heartdance"— this version was recorded as Rich originally wrote it. Then, after Rich's passing, the song was offered to Caedmon's Call who released a re-written version on their 2001 album In the Company of Angels.
It's inclusion on "Deep Valley" marks the first time a Rich Mullins recording of the song will officially be released.
Sing Your Praise to the Lord
“Sing Your Praise to the Lord” is no doubt one of Rich Mullins' most iconic songs! It was first recorded with his group Zion for their 1981 album "Behold the Man". As the legend goes, Beth gave a tape of the song to Mike Blanton in Nashville. Amy Grant heard it in his office and, after dancing on the table in excitement, decided to put it on her landmark album "Age to Age". The song became a huge hit. Amy infamously cut the song's dramatic Psalms-inspired bridge portion from her version— a fact that profusely annoyed Rich and he complained about it relentlessly throughout the years, even commenting on it during his final concert in September of 1997. Rich eventually re-recorded the song and released it as one of the three new tracks on his 1996 hits compilation "Songs". Rich's version restored the song's bridge—righting a terrible wrong.
Beth Snell Lutz recalls the song’s origin:
"It was 1978 and he was taking a music theory class at CBS and they had him learning about ‘the masters.’ They began putting him through his paces to play their works, he realized how hard it was to play with such precision and he kinda fell in love with the music and how much it stretched and pushed him. He got stuck working the Bach Fugue over and over and over until his fingers would trail off and do other things than was written on the page. Needless to say, he took liberties. One day he asked me to come over as he'd written something he wanted harmonies on. He was so proud of it, and there was a lot of ‘Do you like it?’ in the air. I wasn't sure I cared much for it until I heard the bridge. Then I was all in."
Rich himself discussed his "collaboration" with Bach at a concert at Jesus House in Cincinnati in 1979:
“J.S.Bach is one of the people who, uh... he and I have been old chums from way back. We used to double date and stuff. He got married and went to Germany and left behind this fragment of… he was gonna write the ‘C Minor Fugue’ and he thought it was pretty boring, so he asked me if I would finish it for him. And, I did so... with lyrics. So, this is from Bach and I."
Elijah
"Elijah" is definitely a fan favorite. Written early in 1982 and demoed later that year—then again in 1984— the song has the distinction of having also been recorded & released twice on Rich’s studio records—for both the very first and last albums in his lifetime (1986’s “Rich Mullins & 1996’s “Songs”). When asked why he felt the need to record the song a second time, he said, "Because nobody listened the first time."
The song was deeply personal to Rich and one of his favorites. It was inspired by two deaths that greatly impacted him in the early 1980's. During a 1983 concert, he shared the following:
"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."
While the song has been included on two previous albums, "Deep Valley" will be the first to include an acoustic piano arrangement— the way it was written and the way that Rich always performed it in concert. This— as well as the extended introduction he gives before playing it— is one of the highlights of the album and I'm excited people will now have the chance to make this a part of their record collections.
Full track listing for “Deep Valley”:
1. Love of Another Kind
2. Where I Ought to Be
3. O Come All Ye Faithful
4. See What a Difference
5. Doubly Good to You
6. Intro: Statue of a Dead Soldier
7. A Few Good Men
8. Courting Song
9. Promenade
10. Ain't No Books Sold
11. Praise the Lord
12. Intro: When Jesus is Your Lord
13. O Lord Your Love
14. Sing Your Praise to the Lord
15. Intro: Hand-me-down Clothes
16. Elijah
17. Regions of Light [Bonus Track]
18. None Are Stronger [Bonus Track]
19. For All I Know of Love [Bonus Track]
20. Devil's Back [Bonus Track]
21. You Still Need Jesus [Bonus Track]
Tracks 1-16 Recorded at Deep Valley Christian Camp – July 1984
Bonus Tracks 17-21 recorded at Deep Valley Christian Camp – July 1983
*This track listing is for the CD/Digital edition. Vinyl edition will likely differ.
Listen to the Bonus Tracks from Deep Valley 1983:
“Deep Valley” is being released by Old Bear Records as part of the Kickstarter campaign for their album “Bellsburg”, which will feature a number of Rich Mullins songs performed by artists like Amy Grant, Mitch McVicker, Ashley Cleveland, Carolyn Arends and many more! The stretch goal to make “Deep Valley” has already been met— and exceeded— so both albums will be released later this year! If you haven’t done so already, we encourage you to check out the Kickstarter campaign and support both projects (Deep Valley is an “add-on”). You can pre-order “Bellsburg” and “Deep Valley” in CD/Digital and/or Vinyl formats:
While we’re making two totally different albums, both are being created to honor Rich’s life, faith, and of course his incredible musical legacy. Old Bear is doing everything they can to bring “Deep Valley” to the world and “Bellsburg” co-producer Evan Sieling is working closely with us to help us create the record. We’re excited that you’ll be able to hear both projects soon.
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