Aubrey Wilson "Moon" Mullican

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Aubrey Wilson Moon Mullican — and friend, this one's worth slowing down for. He came into this world in 1909 in the small town of Corrigan. Aubrey Wilson Mullican.

His father was a farmer, and out in those fields, the African-American farm workers and sharecroppers were making music — and young Aubrey was listening. That music worked its way into him deep, and it never left. Now here's where the story picks up speed.

By the time Mullican was just sixteen years old, he was already playing piano in bars and brothels in the Houston area. Sixteen. While other boys were still figuring out what they wanted to be, this one was already out there doing it — all night long, every night.

And that habit of performing through the dark hours and sleeping through the daylight earned him a nickname that would follow him the rest of his life: Moon. He had something else that set him apart too. A style all his own — the two-finger right-handed piano style.

Folks noticed it, remembered it, and eventually it became his trademark. And when Moon Mullican sang, he shouted. He believed it was more important to be heard than to be precise.

You can argue with the philosophy, but you cannot argue with the results. Somebody once asked him why he chose the piano. He said, and I am not making this up, 'the beer kept sliding off my fiddle.' That right there tells you most of what you need to know about the man.

By the 1940s his reputation had grown into something considerable. He played with various bands, recorded numerous albums, and among all of them his biggest hits rose to the top — 'Goodnight Irene,' 'Mona Lisa,' and 'I'll Sail My Ship Alone.' He was one of the first solo singer-pianists to play at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. He performed throughout the United States, through Europe, and over in Vietnam, sharing stages with the likes of Hank Williams, Ernie Ford, and Red Foley.

When it was all added up, Moon Mullican had accompanied other singers and musicians on more than two hundred recordings, on top of his own music. Two hundred. That is not a career, that is a force of nature.

Along the way he grew into a title that fit him like a good pair of boots: the King of the Hillbilly Piano Players. He died at the age of fifty-eight. At his funeral, his friend Jimmie Davis — former Governor of Louisiana — delivered his eulogy.

And on his gravestone, the epitaph they chose was the title of his own song: 'I'll Sail My Ship Alone.' In 1974, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted Moon Mullican. A boy from Corrigan who started playing piano at sixteen in the Houston night, who shouted because he wanted to be heard — turns out, the world heard him just fine.

What the marker says

Born in the small town of Corrigan in 1909, Aubry Wilson Mullican became famous as a country and western singer and songwriter. His father was a farmer and the African-American farm workers and sharecroppers influenced his music greatly. Mullican began his career when he was only 16, playing the piano in bars and brothels in the Houston area. His habit of performing all night long and sleeping during the day earned him the nickname, "Moon." He also had a unique style of playing the piano, known as the "two-finger right-handed" piano style which later became his trademark. Mullican shouted his words, believing it was more important to be heard than to be precise. He was a fun-loving man who when asked why he chose the piano said, "the beer kept sliding off my fiddle!" By the 1940s his reputation grew. He played with various bands and recorded numerous albums which included his biggest hits, "Goodnight Irene," "Mona Lisa" and "I'll sail my ship alone." He was one of the first solo singer-pianists to play at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Mullican performed throughout the U.S., Europe and Vietnam sharing the stage with the likes of Hank Williams, Ernie Ford and Red Foley. Overall, Mullican accompanied other singers and musicians on more than 200 recordings as well as recording his own music. Before dying at the age of 58, he grew to be known as the "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players." At his funeral, friend and former Louisiana Governor Jimmie Davis delivered his eulogy. His epitaph reads, "I'll sail my ship alone." The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted Moon Mullican in 1974.