"Set Yourself Free"   Vocals by: Billy Gene Mullins, Ron Short and Scott Mullins   Lyrics & Music by Ron Short   From the forthcoming CD "Wings to Fly" by Roadside Theater       Please allow time for the song to load and buffer. To hear the song again press the "refresh" button on your browser.       Billy Gene Mullins, his son Scott, and Billy's cousin, Ron Short, are all Dickenson County, Virginia natives and very familiar with coal mining. Billy retired from the coal mines, and Ron's father worked in the mines.

You can hardly separate living in Dickenson County from coal mining. The two have gone hand in hand for nearly a century. For over 150 years, the Mullins family has provided a strong musical voice in the mountains by passing along a tradition of family harmony singing begun by Great Great Grandpa William Mullins, who taught shape note singing in the 1800's.

It is only natural that the family would write and sing of the hardships of working in the coal mines, something they know about first hand. Billy Gene passed from this life last year, but his family carries on the musical traditions he instilled in them.

For more information about The Mullins Family Singers, check out their website at: http://www.geocities.com/mullinsfamilysingers/index.html

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This song used with permission. "Set Yourself Free" Copyright © by Roadside Theater.

 

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This page updated August 08, 2005.