Aubrey “Moon” Mullican
March 29, 1909 – January 1, 1967
In a perfect world, you wouldn’t need to tell you who Moon Mullican was. As a singer, songwriter a pianist associated with country music, what he was doing would be called rock ‘n roll some ten or so years later. By combining elements of hillbilly, jazz and blues, he created a sound and a fury that was a direct influence on Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Jim Reeves and Bill Haley. He is rumored to have been the uncredited co-writer of Hank Williams’ “Jambalaya.” Mullican passed away in the early morning hours of January 1, 1967 after suffering a heart attack the previous day.
What You Should Own
Moon Mullican was a great singer, musician and songwriter. Yes, he was doing all of what would later be called rock ‘n’ roll as early as 1938.
In my own country (Ireland – where some of Moon’s family came from), Moon – like oter early country and blues legends – is not known. This is why I released a tribute album to him – he would be 100 today if he was around.
Patrick-
Lost your email address. Thanks for the kind words. Nobody swung, sung, or played like Moon. He will always be the greatest. I was fortunate to share a piano once with Jerry Lee (I was young and dumber than I am know) and he said to me, “Yeah, play that Moon Mullican stuff!” I look forward to hearing your Moon Mullican Tribute.
Floyd Domino
Hi Floyd,
Thanks for your reply. My email is pwall@iol.ie . Moon and Jerry Lee are my two favorites and you can see Moon’s influence on Jerry Lee and all the other singer pianists. Moon is the greatest early country and blues singer and puts so much emotion in everything he does. My favorite at the moment is “Lay me down beside my darling” – great song.
Sincerely,
Patrick.