Johnny Mullins (October 23, 1923 in

Barry County, Missouri Barry County is a county located in the southwest portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 34,534. Its county seat is Cassville. The county was organized in 1835 and named after William Taylor Barry, a ...

– September 16, 2009 in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

) was an American country music songwriter. His earliest success was with a song called "Company's Comin'", which was recorded by

Porter Wagoner Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, ''The Po ...

in 1954. He is most noted for " Blue Kentucky Girl", originally recorded by

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Ma ...

and later by Emmylou Harris, in whose version it was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Country Song in 1980. His song " Success" was also recorded by Loretta Lynn and later by Elvis Costello, and also by Sinéad O'Connor under the title, "Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home". Mullins is interviewed and plays short samples from some of his songs in the PBS video, ''Johnny Mullins: Ozarks Songwriter''. While writing songs in his spare time, he kept his day job as a school janitor in Springfield, Missouri, which he held from 1957 until his retirement in 1982. Mullins was inducted into "Missouri Writers Hall of Fame" in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullins, Johnny 1923 births 2009 deaths Songwriters from Missouri American country songwriters American country musicians People from Barry County, Missouri Musicians from Springfield, Missouri