John Declan Mulligan (April 4, 1938 – November 2, 2021) was an Irish-born American rock musician, singer and songwriter, best known as a guitarist of rock band

The Beau Brummels The Beau Brummels was an American rock band. Formed in San Francisco in 1964, the band's original lineup included Sal Valentino (lead vocals), Ron Elliott (lead guitar), Ron Meagher (bass guitar), Declan Mulligan (rhythm guitar, bass, harmo ...

in the 1960s.

Life and career

Mulligan was born in

Fethard, County Tipperary Fethard (; ) (archival records) is a small town in County Tipperary, Ireland. Dating to the Norman invasion of Ireland, the town's walls were first laid-out in the 13th century, with some sections of these defensive fortifications surviving ...

. He emigrated to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, before moving to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in 1962. In early 1964, he met Ron Elliott,

Sal Valentino Sal Valentino (born Salvatore Spampinato; September 8, 1942) is an American rock musician, singer and songwriter, best known as lead singer of The Beau Brummels, subsequently becoming a songwriter as well. The band released a pair of top 20 U.S. ...

, and John Petersen during an informal rehearsal at the Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco. After joining the Beau Brummels, who shortly thereafter also added

Ron Meagher Ron Meagher (born October 2, 1941) is an American musician, best known as the bassist of American rock band The Beau Brummels. When guitarist-songwriter Ron Elliott was putting the band together in 1964, he asked a friend, Kay Dane, if she knew a ...

, Mulligan recorded perhaps his most memorable contribution with the band, the harmonica opening of the

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

" Laugh, Laugh," which reached the top 20 of the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in February 1965. He appeared with the band in the 1965

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...

/comedy movie ''

Village of the Giants ''Village of the Giants'' is a 1965 American teensploitation comedy science fiction film produced, directed and written by Bert I. Gordon. Based loosely on H. G. Wells's 1904 book ''The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth'', it contains ...

'', which was featured in a 1994 episode of ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

''. He sings "Woman" in the film, a song written by Elliott, which ultimately appeared as an instrumental on the band's second album, with Mulligan's vocal being replaced by a lead guitar track. Mulligan also appears with the group in their one other movie appearance, "

Wild Wild Winter ''Wild Wild Winter'' is a 1966 Universal Pictures beach party comedy film directed by standup comedian Lennie Weinrib and starring Gary Clarke and Chris Noel. It was produced by Bart Patton and is notable for featuring Jay and the Americans a ...

", in which he delivers the band's only line of dialog. By the middle of 1965, Mulligan was no longer a member of the band. In 1966, he sued the band for $1.25 million in damages, claiming he was wrongfully dismissed from the group. He later played in a local band "The Black Velvet Band", which in the early 1970s also included Meagher. He reunited with the Beau Brummels for a 1975 reunion album. After the original group broke up after its 1975 tour, Mulligan formed his own band, Mulligan Stew, which eventually fostered a revival of The Beau Brummels. At different times, the reformed band also included Ron Elliott,

and

. In 1981, Mulligan and Elliott, along with new members, vocalist-bassist John Hjort (aka Jackson Hart), drummer Peter Tucker, and keyboardist James Moyles, released an independent single, "Back To Life" b/w "Native Son", a session produced by

Vince Welnick Vincent Leo Welnick (February 21, 1951 – June 2, 2006) was an American keyboardist-singer-songwriter best known for playing with the band The Tubes during the 1970s and 1980s and with the Grateful Dead in the 1990s. He was inducted into ...

The Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their eponymous 1975 debut album included the single "White Punks on Dope," while their 1983 single "She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the early day ...

and

The Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

. Welnick also added keyboards and harmony vocals to the session. The recording failed to garner any substantial attention. Mulligan died in November 2021, at the age of 83. Obituary: Declan Mulligan 1938 - 2021, ''Legacy.com''
Retrieved 7 November 2021

Discography

;With The Beau Brummels * ''

Introducing the Beau Brummels ''Introducing The Beau Brummels'' is the debut album by American pop rock band the Beau Brummels. It was produced by Sly Stone. Unlike with most other debut albums of the era, ten of the twelve songs on the album are originals. The album peaked at ...

'' (1965) * '' The Beau Brummels, Vol. 2'' (1965) * ''

'' (1975)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mulligan, Declan 1938 births 2021 deaths Irish rock musicians The Beau Brummels members Musicians from County Tipperary