This year’s induction ceremony is 7 p.m. April 26 at Keepin’ It Country Farm in Waynesville. Performances will follow from the Richard Lynch Band and award-winning bluegrass band, Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers.
Paul Mullins was a renowned radio personality and fiddler since the late 1950s. He began his broadcasting career as a full-time, on-air personality, working at stations in eastern Kentucky. As a result of the great Appalachian migration from the coalfields, the Mullins family moved to the Cincinnati-Dayton area, where Paul would eventually join the staff of the WPFB station in Middletown.
His nickname, Moon, derived from a vintage comic strip, caught on after a few months on-air in Ohio. Paul introduced country and bluegrass music to tens of thousands of listeners in the region while balancing a bluegrass career of his own as a fiddler. He founded the band, the Traditional Grass, in 1983, and performed regionally and nationally through 1995. Paul also promoted hundreds of concert appearances for country and bluegrass artists like Bill Monroe and Loretta Lynn.
Paul retired from broadcasting in 2005. He died in 2008.
His son, Joe Mullins, continues this legacy of connecting people to their heritage through music as a touring musician, entrepreneur, and radio broadcaster. In 1995, he purchased WBZI Radio in Xenia, and later purchased two other regional stations, all of which operate as Real Roots Radio under Town and Country Broadcasting, Inc. His radio network has programmed country, bluegrass and gospel music for nearly three decades and has featured legendary country radio personalities.
“Bucks” Braun, “Chubby” Howard and Paul “Moon” Mullins all had a radio home for years thanks to Joe’s efforts in creating a regional radio network. Additionally, he hosts a syndicated radio show, Front Porch Fellowship, which airs weekly across the U.S. and Canada. It is produced by his son, Daniel Mullins.
In 2006, Joe founded Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers, which has produced 10 albums to-date. The group has made regular appearances on the Grand Ole Opry stage, winning multiple International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards, including Entertainers of the Year in 2019.
Mullins partnered with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and produced “Industrial Strength Bluegrass - Southwestern Ohio’s Musical Legacy”: a 16-track all-star recording featuring songs about the Appalachian migration to southwestern Ohio during the steel industry boom. The album won IBMA’s Album of the Year, and resulted in rebranding his biannual music festival to the Industrial Strength Bluegrass Festival. The event was awarded IBMA’s Event of the Year in 2022 and 2024.
The Mullins family has left an indelible mark on the state’s musical landscape, and this 2025 honor from the Ohio Country Music Hall of Fame punctuates their multi-generational legacy.
“The Ohio Country Music Hall of Fame remains true to its commitment of honoring Ohioans who have excelled in maintaining the genre of traditional country music with the induction of Paul Mullins (posthumously) and Joe Mullins,” said OCMHoF director Jackie Thomas in a press release. “Both men have made it their mission to promote and preserve Ohio’s rich musical legacy. Their commitment to this aligns perfectly with our mission to ‘preserve the past in order to ensure the future’ for generations to come.”
Paul Mullins logged 47 years as a professional in the service of bluegrass music. He was also posthumously inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2022 for his lifetime of contributions.
“I couldn’t get my head around [the Ohio Country Music Hall of Fame] inducting me before he’s inducted,” Joe said, of his father. “I’ve built on dad’s foundation. I grew up in his shadow when he was the guy in the 60s and 70s. I heard him on the radio every day. I saw him on stage week after week, doing what he did to promote country and bluegrass music in Ohio and everywhere else that he went. If we go in simultaneously, we’ll have a wonderful celebration of his legacy and what I’ve been fortunate to accomplish in the last 40 years.”
Daniel Mullins, Joe’s son, while not a musician, singer or songwriter, is passionate and knowledgeable about everything he’s produced for roots music. His programming at Real Roots Radio has celebrated Black and female country music artists. He’s also written for several national publications and liner notes for significant bluegrass albums.
Joe said that Daniel is a key part of the team that’s on-air at Real Roots Radio, continuing the Mullins family legacy and impact on Ohio bluegrass and country music.
Brandon Berry writes about the Dayton and Southwest Ohio music and art scene. Have a story idea for him? Email branberry100@gmail.com.
HOW TO GO
What: Ohio Country Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony, featuring Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers and the Richard Lynch Band
When: 7 p.m. April 26
Where: Keepin’ It Country Farm, 5329 Township Line Rd., Waynesville
Cost: $30
Tickets: lovetattoofoundation.org/store
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