Shawn Mullins working through life
The voice on the other end of the phone is disarmingly familiar. So familiar, in fact, that rather than hearing what the talker is actually saying, the brain tricks you into hearing: “She grew up with The children of the stars In the Hollywood hills and the boulevard
Her parents threw big parties
Everyone was there They hung out with folks like
Dennis Hopper, Bob Seeger, Sonny and Cher”
The above are the opening lines for “Lullaby,” and they are delivered in the same slow, almost breathy Southern drawl by the same Shawn Mullins who is now on the phone talking, and it’s a little disconcerting.
For anyone who was ever near a radio back in 1998, “Lullaby” was a Top 10 hit for Mullins that was seemingly being played 24/7. It took him from playing small venues to opening for people like Backstreet Boys, En Vogue and Destiny’s Child.
“I’ve never gotten tired of playing it,” he says. “I’m thankful to have even one song that was a hit like that and it projected my whole career. Some songs are like gifts that just come to you and that was one of them.”
While he is talking about a very happy time, there is a sadness and a very human something in his voice also — and it soon becomes clear why after the talk turns to his last album, 2015’s “My Stupid Heart.” The title, and several of the songs on the record, dealt with the breakup of his third marriage. But, it goes much deeper and more painful than that.
“I don’t know how to say it other than telling you the truth,” he says. “Marnie and I reconciled after that record came out, and she committed suicide a month ago. I’m the one who found her.
“I’ve been recording a lot and staying busy. It’s been devastating.”
Mullins said he immediately started listening to a lot of blues from guys like Lightnin’ Hopkins and spirituals from Sister Rosetta Tharpe to help him cope.
“For the first couple of weeks, I couldn’t listen to anything she and I had listened to.”
The music also has influenced the stuff he has been writing and recording.
In addition to his usual rhythm section of Tom Ryan and Gerry Hansen, he’s been working with Randall Bramblett on the B3 organ and Rad Lorkovic on piano. They call themselves Soul Carnival, and Mullins said normally he likes to wield a pretty heavy hand in producing his own music, but this project has been different.
“I told them, ‘I’m leaning on y’all. Play what you feel.’ It’s all been cut live. No fixing and no computer sounds. It’s all very old school and it feels great. It feels right.”
Mullins said part of what he loves about “Lullaby,” a song about the empty, yet seemingly glamorous LA lifestyle, is that it connects with people in a healing way.
“Everything’s gonna be all right/Rockabye, rockaby”
That sense of helping others cope has given him an energized sense of purpose with his music. Mullins said he will be playing some of the new songs, as well as material from “My Stupid Heart,” which might seem too painful.
“No, it’s therapeutic. I’m thinking of the songs in a different way. It’s part of the healing. There is a mission now. You’ve got to do whatever you can to put out positive vibes. It’s helping to keep me busy and focused. It’s hard anytime I’m alone.”