b. 8 March 1968, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. A literate, considered songwriter in the traditions of Tom Petty, Atlanta, Georgia resident Mullins made his commercial breakthrough in 1998 with ‘Lullaby’, the lead single from that year’s Soul’s Core collection. The high visibility of ‘Lullaby’ on modern rock stations subsequently pushed the album into the Billboard Top 100 chart, providing something of a jolt to the taciturn Mullins in the process (the song eventually reached both the US and UK Top 10). Previously he had released a cluster of albums on his own SM Records (later SMG), playing an average of 200 shows a year to a dedicated but tiny following. He had released his first self-titled album on cassette in 1989 while still a serving member of the US Army Reserve. Mullins merely shrugged off the new-found notoriety ‘Lullaby’ brought him: ‘There are certain rules at modern rock [formats], and I broke a few with this song. There’s not a big, heavy guitar presence. I’m singing in key for the most part, and I guess it’s a little soft.’
One of Mullins’ most notable mannerisms on his records since 1995 has been the inclusion of spoken word passages (particularly on the live discs, Jeff’s Last Dance, Vols. I and II). Although partially inspired by Gil Scott-Heron and Kris Kristofferson, Mullins found these prosaic moments were a good way to win the attention of fickle audiences, and thereafter incorporated them into his studio recordings. The singer-songwriter’s first major-label collection, 2000’s Beneath The Velvet Sun, buried a lot of his rough hewn charm beneath a glossy MOR production. He returned to his more natural style after parting company with Sony, releasing a string of accomplished albums on the Vanguard Records label. In 2003, Mullins joined forces with fellow songwriters Pete Droge and Matthew Sweet to form the Thorns.
