My Praise Cup Runneth Over!

This past weekend the youth group at my church was having a rummage sale. They are planning a youth retreat and trying to raise money to fund it. My family and I stopped by to see if there was anything interesting to buy. We found all kinds of good stuff at really great prices. I purchased several good Christian books. My son bought a Halls football helmet and he loves it! However, the best thing that I found in the sale was 2-coffee cups. I am a huge coffee drinker and always have my eye out for good cups. They have to be just the right size and thickness and be comfortable in my hand. It helps a lot if I like the looks of them too. So, anyways, like I said, I found 2 great coffee cups. The best part is that they have my favorite radio station's logo and add on the side of them!

Apparently the cups originally came from the Senior Conference that was held at Black Oak Heights Baptist Church this past year. Their logo is on one side and the Praise 96.3 and Senior Home Assistance is on the other. I am delighted to be sitting here right now posting this entry and sipping coffee out of my new favorite cup!

Praise 96.3 was started by legendary gospel music promoter and preacher, Rev. J. Bazzel Mull. Of course I grew up listening to the Mull's Singing Convention and attending their famous concerts here in Knoxville. You can read my tribute post to preacher Mull at this link. The death of preacher Mull was a very sad day for me. To find out more about Praise 96.3 WJBZ, just visit their website. If you want to hear the very best in Southern Gospel music, tune in to Mike in the Morning on FM 96.3 every weekday from 6:00 to 10:00. It will make your morning, especially at 9:00 when Mike plays the Golden Gospel Hour. You can guarantee I'll be sipping my morning coffee every day while tuned in.

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Here's to the preacher

Another great video posted by Ark Studios. The song, Here's To The Preacher, is written and sang by Tommy Spencer. It conveys the feelings of thousands of folks that loved preacher Mull. The video was shot at my parent's church, Union Baptist. My mother is singing in the choir on the 2nd row, 2nd from the right. She was proud to be part of this great tribute to preacher Mull.



Preacher Mull is one of the biggest influences in all of Southern Gospel music. As I sadly posted on the day of his death, Rev. Jacob Bazzel Mull was a true Christian business man and follower of Christ. His name will forever be synonymous with Southern Gospel music.

I also posted a tribute to him a year after his death. It details his life and also includes his obituary. It is hard to believe that it has already been nearly 2-years since he passed away. I still miss him.

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Tim Lovelace, a Golden Oldie?

Just a little bit of Knoxville related Southern Gospel trivia.

Yesterday in the Catoosa County News, there was an article about Southern Gospel singer, writer, and comedian, Tim Lovelace. Yeah, the same Tim from the musical/comic, husband and wife team of "Tim & Mary Alice Lovelace."

The article mentions that Tim wrote the Southern Gospel song, "Old Convention Song." Well, for those of you that listen to Mike Clark on Praise 96.3 WJBZ on weekday mornings, you will quickly recognize that this is the theme song to his "Golden Gospel Hour," which airs from 9:00 am to 10:00 am. I'm a quartet kind of guy, so this is my very favorite feature that airs.

From the article: "Among his favorite compositions is “My Favorite Place,” co-written with Rodney Griffin and recorded for Greater Vision while another is “Old Convention Song.”
He shared that it is used as a theme for the oldies show on J. Bazzel Mull’s Knoxville radio station.
“It is funny it is their theme,” he said. “I sat there listening to the Speer Family and the Blackwoods and I thought to myself. I know I am becoming an old writer when a song I’ve written is the theme for the oldies show.” "

This was a really neat article. I would love to see more of these types of posts in our local newspapers.

To read the entire article, click HERE.

For more information about Tim Lovelace, click HERE.

For more information about Praise 96.3 WJBZ, click HERE.

For J. Bazzel Mull's biography, click HERE.

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Jacob Bazzel Mull Biography

I've been thinking about Preacher Mull a lot lately. It is hard to believe that next week it will be a year since he passed away and I was blogging about it. He was such a big part of my life growing up. We always tuned in to the Mull's Singing Convention on WBIR-10 television every Sunday morning before church. We also attended numerous Mull concerts in Knoxville. I still watch the Mull's Singing Convention, however, it is now on WVLT-8 on Sunday mornings at 7:00. Mrs. Mull and Charlotte still carry on the tradition, but it just isn't the same without the preacher.

Some time earlier this year, the information and biography about Preacher Mull was taken off the Praise 96.3 website. I emailed the webmaster and asked what was up, but I have never gotten a response back. The only reference I can find on the site concerning the preacher is a small blurb about him underneath an ad for the Mull's Songbook series. So, I did some web cache work and pieced together a biography for him. You can read it below.

Biography of Preacher Mull:

Rev. Jacob Bazzel Mull was born October 4, 1914 in Burke County, North Carolina. He was born into a musical family and, as a child, played the banjo in "The Valdese Sacred Band," a gospel group made up of his mother, father, brothers, and sisters. His grandfather, Wallace B. Mull, was a circuit riding preacher in the 1800's.

Rev. Mull became legally blind at the age of eleven months when he fell into an open-pit fireplace. He only had a 3rd grade education yet became one of the most successful preachers, promoters, and businessmen in the Southern Gospel music industry.

He began preaching in 1939 when he was twenty-five years old. He said he learned scripture by having it read to him day and night. God gave him a memory for scripture. It was hard for him to remember a telephone number, but he could remember scripture.

In 1942, Rev. Mull moved to Knoxville to start his first radio program on WROL AM then to WNOX AM in Knoxville. He produced his first gospel concert in 1943. He promoted thousands of gospel concerts over a fifty-year span. He became well known all over the nation when ,between the years 1957 and 1982, he sold Chuck Wagon Gang records on several fifty thousand watt radio stations.

Rev. Mull met Elizabeth Brown (Lady Mull) at a church in Lenoir City during a revival. After an extended courtship, they were married September 10, 1944. Mrs. Mull became his eyes and she continuously read the Bible to him, adding to his Biblical knowledge. Rev. Mull organized several churches in North Carolina and Tennessee. He had one daughter, Charlotte, and one grandson, Doug.

Rev. Mull was the owner of four gospel music stations. The flagship station was Praise 96.3 WJBZ in Knoxville, where Rev. Mull and his wife hosted the Mull's Singing Convention from 4:00 to 6:00 pm Monday thru Friday and he taught Bible Prophecy each Sunday at 9:00 am and 9:00 pm.

Rev. Mull was a 2003 Inductee into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame and a recipient of the 2006 Living Legend Award at the Grand Ole Gospel Reunion. Rev. Mull passed away September 5, 2006 after suffering from a stroke while living in Shannondale Nursing Home. He was 91. He was preceded in death by his parents, Beulow and Artie Mull; brothers, Dwight, WB and Romulus, who died in service of his county; sister, Modell Ball. Survived by his devoted and loving wife, Elizabeth Brown Mull; daughter, Charlotte Mull Hutchinson; devoted grandson, Douglas J.M. Hutchison and beloved wife, Julia Hutchison, all of Knoxville; sister, Jenny Maye Eller; brothers, Robert Lee Mull of Gastonia, N.C., and Keith Mull of Mobile, Ala.

(Much of the biography above, was adapted from cached pages of the history of Praise 96.3 WJBZ radio station. Also from various sources on the web and from personal recollection. I posted the information here as a tribute to preacher Mull.)

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J. Bazzel Mull's Obituary from the Farragut Press (scroll down page, 3rd one listed)

J. Bazzel Mull's Wiki entry

Preacher Mull Dead at 91 from WBIR

Reverend Mull Supports the Panama Canal Treaty Video from WBIR

Remembering Mull's Singing Convention from Chattanoogan.com

Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame entry

Preacher Mull story from the Metro Pulse

Preacher Mull's Obituary On-Line Guest Book

Speech from Congressman John J. Duncan Jr. concerning preacher Mull

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Mike Clark said...
Byron, Thank you for the tribute to a great man.I was priveleged to get to know Preacher Mull and Mrs. Mull when I came to work at Praise 96.3 nine years ago. I was a little nervous when I actually met the man, but he was gracious as could be, making me feel welcome.As long as gospel music is played on the radio, or sung in concerts, Preacher Mull's legacy will live on. Ain't that right? Mike Clark (Mike in the Morning)
8/31/07 10:21 AM

Byron Chesney said...
That's right Mike, thanks for the comment. Keep up the good work over at jbz.
8/31/07 3:53 PM

Missyb64 said...
I think all Sundays should start with R.T. Faulkner reading the local news on the AM station in Jeff. City and Rev. Mull & Lady Mull playing gospel on Channel 10... that and fried chicken is what makes it Sunday in Jefferson County! Thanks for noting the life of a wonderful man... would that we could just hear that gravelly voice saying "have we got some sangin' Miz Mull?" one more time. Hope you enjoy my ramblings too, yours are great!
9/23/07 6:57 PM

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Reverend Mull Passes Away

Reverend Mull Passes Away

I heard the sad news this morning. Reverend J. Bazzel Mull, age 91, had passed away at 4:30 am. My mind went back to my early childhood days when our family would sit around the old black and white television and watch Mr. and Mrs. Mull introduce our favorite Southern Gospel groups. The loving banter between the Mulls was always funny to watch. He would joke around and she would pinch his leg under the table letting him know it was time to move on with the program. I would often try to imitate preacher Mull. I would look over at my sisters and in a raspy voice would say, "Aint that right lady Mull?" They would snicker. There wasn't a Sunday that went by that we didn't tune in to the Mulls Singing Convention on t.v.

The Mulls were a fixture in this part of East, TN. The Mull name was known far and wide throughout the South East. My first singing concert was a Mull's Singing Convention. We would go to the Civic Coliseum and see the Mighty Kingsmen Quartet, the Inspirations, McKameys, and other big name groups. As times went on, the concert attendance got smaller and the events were held at smaller venues such as the Tennessee Theater and the governors Palace in Pigeon Forge. Mull's radio station, Praise 96.3, WJBZ was a Godsend to us, as we could listen to Southern Gospel music 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Rev. Jacob Bazzel Mull was a true Christian business man and follower of Christ. His name will forever be synonymous with Southern Gospel music. I will truly miss him.

Read his biography here.

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