Behind the Hymn: Beneath the Old Olive Tree

Neath the Old Olive Trees is a hymn I discovered only a few years ago, from a dear friend.

The song was written by Baylus Benjamin {or B.B.} McKinney.

The song was published in 1929 and renewed in 1957 by the Broadman Press.

McKinney was born July 22, 1886 in Louisiana.

He was an alumnus of Louisiana College in Pineville, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and the Siegel-Myers School of Music and the Bush Conservatory of Music, both in Chicago, Illinois.

B.B. McKinney Chapel, on the ground of the Falls Creek Baptist Encampment in Davis, Oklahoma, is named in his honor.

He was posthumously inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1982.

He wrote the words and music to 150 hymns and gospel songs including The Nail Scarred Hand, Breathe on Me, Wherever He Leads I’ll Go, Satisfied with Jesus and Let Other’s See Jesus In You.