Died On This Date (January 1, 1967) Moon Mullican / Country Music Great
themusicsover 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
Bryan Harvey was the lead singer and guitarist for ’80s two-man indie rock pioneers, House of Freaks. Johnny Hott played percussion. Playing an energetic and remarkably full sound of folk and blues, House of Freaks were instantly embraced by college music fans around the country. There unique sound was the blue print from which the White Stripes and Black Keys drew heavily from. Besides with House of Freaks, Harvey could be heard as part of Gutterball, an indie supergroup of sorts that also featured Steve Wynn of Dream Syndicate. Although the House of Freaks broke up in 1995, both Harvey and Hott continued to stay active making music ever since. Harvey was also a beloved man throughout his community. On January 1, 2006, Bryan Harvey, his wife and two young daughters were brutally murdered in the basement of their home, victims of an apparent botched robbery. One perpetrator was later convicted to death while the other was sentenced to life in prison.
Although he’s not a household name, Townes Van Zandt has earned a place alongside Willie Nelson, 
Lhasa de Sela was an acclaimed Mexican American folk singer songwriter who although born in New York and raised in Mexico, spent most of her adult life split between Canada and France. That multi-National background mixed beautifully throughout her music. De Sela released her first album, La Llorona, in 1997, and though sung completely in Spanish, it incorporated elements of South American, Mexican, Eastern European gypsy and alternative rock. Embraced by fans and critics alike, the album won her a Best Global Artist Juno award in 1998. That album was followed by The Living Road in 2003 and Lhasa in 2009. Her albums have sold in excess of 1 million copies combined. In 2005, the BBC World Music Awards named her the Best Artist of the Americas. Lhasa de Sela died of breast cancer on January 1, 2010.