Once singer/songwriter Shawn Mullins decided to give up on signing with a major record company, he won a deal.
"When I first started singing and playing for my living, I focused my goals on getting that record deal," Mullins said during a phone interview from his hotel room in Kansas City, Mo. "And about 1993 or '94, I gave up because things weren't panning out. That's when it all happened, thanks to a local radio station in Atlanta."
The program director at 99X in Georgia heard Mullins' trademark tune "Lullaby" and got ahold of him.
"She told me she thought I had a No. 1 song," Mullins remembered. "And she said she was going to put it in heavy rotation."
Soon after, there were many labels courting the musician, who cited early '60s rhythm & blues acts as some of his main musical influences. Mullins eventually signed with Columbia.
"I saw how excited they were about the music," Mullins said. "And they were into every song that I wrote. I immediately saw how musician-friendly they were."
He will play the Zephyr Club, 301 S. West Temple, on Thursday, Dec. 14. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at all Smith'sTix outlets and at the door.
Mullins' big-label debut "Soul's Core" took off on the strength of "Lullaby" and eventually went platinum. The success surprised the songwriter.
"I did see something coming when the radio picked up 'Lullaby,' " Mullins said. "But I wasn't prepared for how big things actually got."
Still, Mullins toured in support of the album with the likes of everyone from the Indigo Girls to PM Dawn. .
When Mullins went back to the studio to write his official follow-up to "Soul's Core," Columbia released a compilation of songs from his early years called "First 10 Years." That album contained a narrative ditty called "Salt Lake City," which took a swipe at the culture.
"Actually it was written as a free write," Mullins explained. "My family converted to the Mormon faith when I was 6. Like playing musical chairs, my father would play musical religions, and some of the people he hung out with kind of scared me. And that's where that song came from. I'm afraid I might have offended some of the people who live in Salt Lake City, but that's just what I was feeling at the time."
Mullins' new album, "Beneath a Velvet Sun," is a departure from the stripped-down sound of "Soul's Core," with a broader sound and gospel choruses.
"I did that on purpose," he said. "I wanted to show another dimension of myself as an artist. It's bigger. And yes, I did feel a lot of pressure writing. I didn't feel it from the record company, but I felt it from myself. I wanted to top myself.
"But I will never forget who I am," he said. "That's why there are still some songs that are built like 'Lullaby.' The new album just shows a bigger picture of who I am."
E-MAIL: scott@desnews.com