Moon Mullican, honky tonk pioneer, appreciation thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by BradOlson, Feb 17, 2013.

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  1. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven Thread Starter

    Since there has been hardly any chat in regards to the late, great Moon Mullican, I thought that I should start this thread on this 30s-50s country boogie pioneer and a great influence to Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and others. Although his first charted single is "Swing Baby Swing" which peaked at #5, his true breakthrough hit was 1947's "New Pretty Blonde (Jole Blon)" which peaked at #2 on the country charts, and the consistent hits continued until his final top 10 hit, Cherokee Boogie came out in 1951 peaking at #7. In 1961, he had his final charted single ever, the #15 hit Ragged But Right. He is also credited as an R&B and rockabilly pioneer as well. There are many greatest hits CDs out there, some sounding better than others and some have more songs than others. The first disc I bought was "22 Greatest Hits" on Deluxe from 1986 which is a fairly comprehensive overview of his prime material, although Jole Blon's Sister and Goodnight Irene should've been included on this comp, and I can't afford to get the imported comps, so I bought the more recent "Super Hits" for those 2 tracks, which does have only 10 tracks, but it does have every major hit on it so for those on a tight budget only wanting a little bit to start with, Super Hits may be the way to go, for more, go for one of the more thorough compilations (many of them being imported). This morning on my Gospel show, I played the 1948 hit "Sweeter Than The Flowers," a spiritual ballad, that peaked at #3 on the country charts.
     
  2. Mister Charlie

    Mister Charlie "Music Is The Doctor Of My Soul " - Doobie Bros.

    Location:
    Aromas, CA USA
    Seven Nights To Rock (2 versions, one with the chorus double tracked and one without).
     
  3. J.A.W.

    J.A.W. Music Addict

    I have these great Moon Mullican CDs with his King recordings:

    Showboy Special - The Early King Sides - WestSide (UK) WESA 800 http://www.allmusic.com/album/showboy-special-the-early-king-sides-mw0000067384

    [​IMG]

    Moon's Tunes - WestSide (UK) WESA 911 http://www.allmusic.com/album/moons-tunes-mw0000660492

    [​IMG]

    Moonshine Jamboree - Ace (UK) CDCHD 458 http://www.allmusic.com/album/moonshine-jamboree-mw0000109631

    [​IMG]

    Seven Nights to Rock - Ace (UK) CDCHD 997 http://www.allmusic.com/album/seven-nights-to-rock-mw0000745837

    [​IMG]
     
  4. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven Thread Starter

    BTW, all of the imports listed are out of print except for Moonshine Jamboree.
     
  5. J.A.W.

    J.A.W. Music Addict

    That does not mean they're not available somewhere anymore.
     
  6. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven Thread Starter

    Right. They are available somewhere but you do have to look for them if you wish to do so. Most are worth big bucks on Amazon, eBay, etc.
     
  7. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven Thread Starter

    For Ragged But Right on CD get Super Hits or 22 Greatest Hits.
     
  8. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven Thread Starter

    More people ought to discover his great talent which I have discovered for myself a long time ago
     
    Kkfan and goldwax like this.
  9. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven Thread Starter

    Johnny Horton, BR5-49, and others did excellent covers of this classic which was Moon's final top 10 hit:


    Here's the song I played on my Gospel show this morning from Moon: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg7tcwO0zj8
     
  10. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven Thread Starter

    I agree with McLover that Sweeter Than The Flowers is definitely a classic from the 78rpm era
     
  11. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    One of the original Rock and Roll influences. Without no Moon Mullican, there would be no Jerry Lee Lewis. Crank them loud.
     
  12. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven Thread Starter

    Exactly right and this is essential music (that word is an understatement in this case).
     
  13. Mister Charlie

    Mister Charlie "Music Is The Doctor Of My Soul " - Doobie Bros.

    Location:
    Aromas, CA USA
    I also like his versions of Jambalaya, Let Me Rock You baby, Piano Breakdown, Shoot The Moon and Wabash Cannonball...plus him doing You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry!
     
  14. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven Thread Starter

    Those are great as well.
     
  15. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven Thread Starter

    I have compared the masterings of the 22 Greatest Hits with Super Hits and the nod for sound quality between these 2 domestic best of Moon Mullican comps goes to Super Hits.
     
  16. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven Thread Starter

    Here's a great way to sample some of Moon's best work: http://archive.org/details/MoonMullican-01-38

    The copy of Shoot The Moon in this archive sounds a lot better than the copy on "22 Greatest Hits" (which is also the copy used on the "Very Best of Moon Mullican" iTunes, Amazon, etc. download)
     
  17. Kkfan

    Kkfan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Music City, USA
    Any impressions about the Bear Family CD, Moon's Rock?
     
  18. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will...

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    I just recently discovered him via this LP;

    [​IMG]

    I love the tune "Grandpa Stole My Baby".
     
    Kkfan likes this.
  19. Patrick Wall

    Patrick Wall New Member

    Moon Mullican is a great artist and so much ahead of his time. All the issues CDs of him are excellent and some more rarer songs like "Love that might have ben", "It must be love" and "Remember" are available at:

    http://www.nimbitmusic.com/moonmullican
     
  20. mikeja75

    mikeja75 Forum Resident

    Location:
    U.S.
    Being a Springsteen fan, I've had it in the back of my mind to track down the original version of "Seven Nights...".

    What's the easiest and cheapest way to find "Seven Nights To Rock" on CD? The cd by the title is running north of $300 -- way too rich for my blood by about $285!
     
  21. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Can you spin vinyl, if so, a 45 RPM might be easier to locate. Many a King country classic stayed in print well into the late 1960's and beyond,
     
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