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Johnny Mullins was the quintessential Springfield, MO songwriter. If you do a deep dive on his musical journey, it will impress and inspire you.
Mullins was born October 23, 1923, near Layton Hollow in southwest Missouri (Barry County near Exeter). He passed away on September 16, 2009, in Springfield. His earliest success was with a song called "Company's Comin'" which was recorded by Porter Wagoner in 1954. Mullins is most recognized for writing the song "Blue Kentucky Girl." Blue Kentucky Girl was first recorded by Lorretta Lynn in the early 60s, and later by Emmylou Harris -- whose version was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1980. His song "Success" was recorded by Loretta Lynn, and later by Elvis Costello. Sinéad O'Connor recorded the song under the title, "Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home."
While writing songs in his spare time, Mullins kept his day job as a school janitor in Springfield, MO. A job which he held from 1957 until his retirement in 1982. Mullins was inducted into the Missouri Writers Hall of Fame in 2001.
When Johnny passed away in 2009, he left behind a treasure trove of unreleased writings and songs that his daughter, Melinda, discovered a few years later. She now brings public attention to this large body of wonderful, heartfelt, material through live performances by sharing his music, along with stories and memories.
In addition to performing his songs that are well known, Melinda is focused on getting her father's full body of work out of old shoe boxes and bringing that work to life. In 2013 she embarked on a legacy mission of sharing stories and songs from The Johnny Mullins Collection, and in 2017 released a studio album of her father's music. The recordings include the song that earned Johnny a Grammy nomination, “Blue Kentucky Girl,’ along with many other treasures from "the shoebox collection."
Following are excerpts from a recent conversation with Melinda Mullins.
DM: What are your earliest memories of your dad playing music?
MM: Dad just always had a guitar and was working on songs. As far back as I can remember. When the words came to him for a song, everything just sort of stopped and he would write them down. He was always creating lyrics. Lots of times if you don’t stop and create your art when it comes to you, it may be gone. He always had a pen and he used very random items to write things on. It could be a gum wrapper or a napkin. Whatever was available. He was driven by words and thoughts, so he was writing all the time.
DM: How would you describe your dad, both musically and as a husband and father?
MM: Dad was very humble and thoughtful. He was also hilarious. A profound sense of humor. As a husband and a father, he did a really good job. He was honest and genuine. He had opportunities to get deep into the music business. Dad was averse to that. He wanted to remain real. He used to say, “you’ve got to keep your head out of the clouds, because down here is where all the pencils are.”
DM: Is there an event or form of recognition that you think meant the most to your dad?
MM: I think definitely it was when he got a letter congratulating him on his Grammy nomination in 1980 for Blue Kentucky Girl. That song has had the most amazing momentum, beginning when Loretta Lynn did the original recording. It has been recorded and performed all over the world. Still to this day. It’s a song you just feel, and it connects with so many people. Everyone really loved the idea of this man, Johnny Mullins, a janitor in the Ozarks going to Hollywood for a Grammy nomination. It was a story that people connected with, and it was a big deal. The school where he worked even raised enough money so that mom and I could go to California with him.
DM: Was there a time when Johnny thought about giving up his day job to writing songs full time?
MM: Oh, yes. He could have gone to Nashville, in fact, he was asked by the Wilburn Brothers, among others, to go there and write songs. But dad was very content with his life in Springfield and was immensely proud of his work as a janitor. His career job was at Wilder Elementary and that was his domain.
DM: Tell me about the shoe boxes?
MM: Well, there are many shoe boxes filled with dad’s writings. Dad wrote lots of lyrics, and songs, and it seems many of his notes ended up in various shoe boxes. Dad also recorded his songs all the time. So, we have quite a bit of material on cassette tapes as well.
DM: How is your mom, Peggy, doing?
MM: She is doing great. Mom is 85 now, and very active. She is amazing. Mom is on the board of directors at the Southside Senior Center, she goes to two different churches, and up until last November she was delivering meals to people every day. She is very social. She still goes out occasionally to listen to music or play cards.
DM: You put together an incredible set of songs for the Johnny Mullins Collection Volume 1. Is a Volume 2 in the works?
MM: Yes. With all the pandemic issues in the past couple of years, things have been on hold. But I have plans to release more of dad’s songs. Hopefully soon.
For further study of the Johnny Mullins legacy, we suggest you check out the links below.
The Johnny Mullins Collection Website - www.johnnymullins.com
The Johnny Mullins Collection Facebook Page - www.facebook.com/JohnnyMullinsCollection
Ozarks Alive Q&A - https://www.ozarksalive.com/stories/preserving-the-ozarks-melinda-mullins
The Johnny Mullins Collection Parts 1-4 Video Documentary
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHxYnXsxpR0
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSpC2oHTgFo
Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bTGSOCnvMk
Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyfDclan6cI
Original Recording of Porter Wagoner singing Company’s Comin’ released in 1954
youtube.com/watch?v=8S7LpS_E7Gs
Original Recording of Blue Kentucky Girl by Loretta Lynn released on January 1, 1965
youtube.com/watch?v=HWNP-kNEcts
The Acoustic Shoppe is proud to carry on the tradition of producing and promoting live and recorded music featuring local and national musicians from our Springfield, MO sound stages. Be sure to watch our television show Ozark Music Shoppe and follow us on our social media channels.
For more information, give us a call at 417-720-1223, shoot us an email at info@theacousticshoppe.com, or stop by our showroom at 1913 E Seminole St. in Springfield, Missouri.
