MOUNT VERNON — We have sad news to pass on today, Rev. Merle Fullerton has died. Rev. Fullerton has been a member of the Withers Broadcasting family for more than 50 years, bringing his radio show “Old Time Gospel with Merle Fullerton” to our WMIX airwaves every Sunday morning.
Described as a living legend in Mt. Vernon and in the Southern gospel circles, Fullerton was born in DuQuoin on May 28, 1937, and was a 1956 Woodlawn High School graduate.
Merle was ordained in 1959 at Woodlawn Baptist Church and a few months later married Beverly Fullerton the woman he said God gave him.
He started speaking at area churches at a young age and continued filling seats for 66 years at church and gospel concerts.
Fullerton started his WMIX radio ministry on Nov. 12, 1972, with a program “Gospel Quartet Time” that transitioned to “Ole Time Gospel Singing” as it’s known today. He followed up on Sundays with “The Baptist Voice” and Christian music before closing with a five-minute sermon.
He received the Singing News Golden Mic Award in September 2017, “The Golden Mic Award honors excellence in Christian broadcasting,” according to a Singing News magazine statement.
In 1980, during one of Fullerton’s concerts, Eldridge Fox and The Kingsmen recorded their double album “Live…Naturally” at the former Mount Vernon Township High School Auditorium.
The album included the song “Excuses,” which was released as a radio single and went on to stay on the Singing News Top 40 chart for 23 months — 10 months at the number one spot.
A clip of that concert was played at a Fullerton tribute earlier this year at Logan Street Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon.
Nearly 500 people attended the almost three-hour event honoring the man with “A Tribute to the Life and Ministry of Merle Fullerton.”
In a rare opportunity, the church and the community recognized Merle while he was still living and thanked him for the role he played in the ministry, in gospel music, and in the community.
Arrangements for Rev. Merle Fullerton are pending with Hughey Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon.