“The rich folks in the valley could hear the pretty music
Daddy promised some day we’d get a radio.
Maybe sell some chickens, the ones that ain’t a-layin,
then we’d stay awake and listen to the show…”
(“Music on the Wind” by Johnny Mullins)
While singing these words, I see the inside of a cabin with hardwood floors, meager yet well-used furnishings, old quilts on feather beds, thin cotton curtains blowing in the breeze, and a mother wiping her soapy hands on a dishtowel before starting a batch of biscuits. I can even smell the biscuits.
This song, and countless others, were written by my father, Johnny Mullins. Johnny was an Ozarkian. He was a simple man with an 8th grade education whose adult working career was spent as an elementary school janitor. He was also a man of insight and visions, of melody and lyrics. Johnny became an humble Ozarks icon in the 1950’s through 90’s, rising to recognition as a songwriter after penning Porter Wagoner’s first hit, “Company’s Comin,” which was performed regularly on The Ozarks Jubilee TV show broadcast from the Jewell Theatre in downtown Springfield, Missouri from 1955-1960.
“Oh mama, I’m excited. I’m almost out of breath!
What I saw liked to made me run myself to death.
I was on the mountain side, and I looked down below
And glory be, I thought I’d better come and let you know
That we’ve got company comin!”
(“Company’s Comin” by Johnny Mullins)
I’d like to not only tell you about the songs, but also about the man behind the music: my father, the songwriting janitor; and the legacy mission that I’ve embarked upon as his daughter.
See “Continued Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4” for the rest of the story (as Paul Harvey used to say back in Dad’s day)
