Born this day, King of the Hillbilly Piano Players Aubrey Wilson “Moon” Mullican (1909-1967). Fittingly, in some years, his birthday falls on World Piano Day.
Mullican is one of those musical figures known more for the scope of his influence than for his own chart success. Basically he was an early white adopter of the boogie-woogie piano style pioneered by black musicians. Mullican’s own influence extended to both country music and early rock and roll. His most obvious disciple was Jerry Lee Lewis. Hank Williams also admired him (and may have co-written “Jambalaya” with him). Mullican also influenced Elvis, Bill Haley, Hank Snow, and many others.
Born into an East Texas farm family, Mullican initially played organ in church. He was drawn into what eventually became his style by a local black sharecropper. As a result, Mullican ended up drawing from the records of Jimmie Rodgers on the one hand, and Bessie Smith and Blind Lemon Jefferson on the other. As with the bluegrass fiddle player, his nickname almost certainly originated with the comic strip Moon Mullins. Mullican’s professional career began in the mid 1930s. He played with such bands as the Texas Wanderers and backed stars like Red Foley and Ernest Tubb. With Black Boy Shine (Harold Holiday) he briefly formed the duo Moonshine in the ’30s. His own band The Showboys was formed in 1945.
As often happens, Moon Mullican was eventually eclipsed (ha!) by the very genre of music he helped spawn (yes, I know that it is a mixed metaphor. But the combined fish/moon imagery appeals to my innate surrealism). Mullican dabbled in rock and roll, but couldn’t break out of his own style, which had been developed decades before. He remained a regional success, but never became the kind of national figure that Jerry Lee and Elvis did. He did have one top 20 national hit: “I’ll Sail My Ship Alone”, which went to #17 in 1950. The title of that song was etched on his tombstone when he passed away of a heart ailment at the age of 57.
For more on show biz history, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, And please stay tuned for my upcoming Electric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.
(Travalanche) 
You must be logged in to post a comment.