Atlanta-based folksinger and songwriter Shawn Mullins was serving as a member of the U.S. Army Airborne Infantry Division when he released his first self-titled ca**ette on his own SM label in 1989; following the release of 1991's Everchanging World, he left the military after eight years to pursue music on a full-time basis. After three years spent fruitlessly searching for a record deal, he established a new label, SMG, in the interim releasing two more LPs, 1992's Better Days and 1994's Big Blue Sky. After 1995's Jeff's Last Dance, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, live companion discs recorded jointly with Matthew Kahler, Mullins returned a year later with the solo Eggshells. Soul's Core, his first album for major label Columbia, followed in 1998, scoring a Top Ten hit with the single "Lullaby." The album eventually went platinum, paving the way for an anthology of his early work with 1999's The First Ten Years. In fall 2000, Mullins released the official follow-up to Soul's Core, Beneath the Velvet Sun. The Essential Shawn Mullins collection arrived in 2003, followed by 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor for Vanguard Records in 2006. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide