Shawn Mullins (born March 8, 1968) is an American singer-

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

who specializes in

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instr ...

adult alternative An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

, and Americana music. His 1998 single "

Lullaby A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowledg ...

", hit number one on the Adult Top 40 and 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 ...

Early life and military career

Mullins was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He cultivated an interest in music beginning in his days at Clarkston High School in

Clarkston, Georgia Clarkston is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 7,554 as of the 2010 census. The city is noted for its ethnic diversity, and is often referred to as "the most diverse square mile in America" and "the Ellis Islan ...

(where he made the acquaintance of friend and mentor

Amy Ray Amy Elizabeth Ray (born April 12, 1964) is an American alto singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls. She also pursues a solo career and has released six albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daemo ...

of the

Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part o ...

). Later, he honed his craft in his college days at

University of North Georgia The University of North Georgia (UNG) is a public senior military college with multiple campuses in Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia. The university was established on January 8, 2013 by a merger of North Georgia Coll ...

(then known as North Georgia College) as a solo acoustic musician and bandmaster of the military marching band (

Golden Eagle Band The Golden Eagle Band (GEB) is the official instrumental ensemble of the University of North Georgia's Corps of Cadets. It serves as one of the featured units at all Cadet Reviews and military ceremonies during the school year. The unit also regu ...

). He attended the University of North Georgia on an

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in al ...

scholarship with an intention of possibly pursuing a military career. Although he quickly abandoned this notion in favor of songwriting, the contract nonetheless obliged him after graduation to serve a short term as an inactive

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

in the

Individual Ready Reserve The Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) is a category of the Ready Reserve of the Reserve Component of the Armed Forces of the United States composed of former active duty or reserve military personnel. Its governing statute is codified at . For so ...

component of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

Reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US ...

. He served in an inactive status, reaching the rank of 1st lieutenant before fulfilling his service obligation and resigning honorably.

Career

Shawn Eric Mullins with Twice Removed and solo career

Soon, he added a drummer (Mickey Hendrix) and bassist (Carlton Brown) to form the

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, an ...

trio billed as "Shawn Eric Mullins with Twice Removed", a combo that would help carry him to campus-wide and regional renown. Eventually the "Twice Removed" trio parted ways under amicable terms, and Mullins began using a variety of collaborative lineups while building his reputation as a solo artist.

Commercial success

His critical breakthrough came when his song "

", from the album ''

Soul's Core ''Soul's Core'' is the fourth studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins, spawning the hit "Lullaby" (#1 on Adult Top 40, #9 on Modern Rock), as well as "Shimmer" (#27 on Adult Top 40). It was first released on July 7, 1998. ...

'', became a radio and video hit. In the video for "Lullaby", directed by Roger Pistole, actress Dominique Swain appeared. His song, "All in My Head", featured on the sitcom '' Scrubs'', was written in response to an e-mail sent by producers of the show searching for a theme song. Mullins wrote a demo version and sent it in within 24 hours. It wasn't selected as the theme song, but the demo version was used in a season one episode of the series. Another single, "Shimmer", was included on the soundtrack for ''

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...

'' and was a minor hit. "Shimmer" was also used in Australia as part of its promotional campaign during the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, and is still considered in Australia as the unofficial anthem of the games. To date he has yet to match the overwhelming commercial success of "Lullaby", which was also released as a live performance on the charity album '' Live in the X Lounge II'' in 1999. In early 2002, he formed the supergroup The Thorns with

Matthew Sweet Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990 ...

and Pete Droge.

Vanguard Records

In 2006, Mullins released his first album on new label

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...

, '' 9th Ward Pickin Parlor'', as well as a new single, entitled "Beautiful Wreck", from the album. The single enjoyed modest success by reaching number one on the Americana and AAA (Adult Album Alternative), and was featured in the Cities 97 Sampler Volume 18. On March 11, 2008, Mullins released his second album on Vanguard, entitled '' Honeydew''. On October 12, 2010, Mullins released his third album on Vanguard, '' Light You Up''.

Sugar Hill and Rounder Records

On October 23, 2015, Mullins released his new album, titled '' My Stupid Heart'', under Sugar Hill and Rounder Records.

Personal life

Mullins has been married and divorced three times. He has one son.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Better Days'' (1992) * ''Big Blue Sky'' (1994) * ''Eggshells'' (1996) * ''

'' (1998,

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

) US number 54, Platinum * '' Beneath the Velvet Sun'' (2000) * '' 9th Ward Pickin Parlor'' (2006) * '' Honeydew'' (2008) * '' Light You Up'' (2010) * '' My Stupid Heart'' (2015) * ''Soul's Core Revival'' (2018)

Other albums

* ''Shawn Mullins'' (1990) ndependent album* ''Ever Changing World'' (1991) ndependent album* ''Jeff's Last Dance, Volume 1'' (1995) ive album* ''Jeff's Last Dance, Volume 2'' (1995) ive album* ''The First Ten Years'' (1999) ompilation album* '' The Essential Shawn Mullins'' (2003) ompilation album* ''Live From Portland Bootleg'' (2004) ive album* ''Jeff's Last Dance, Volume 3'' (2005) ive album* ''Lullaby: Hits, Rarities, & Gems'' (2007) ompilation album* ''Live at the Variety Playhouse'' (2008) ive albumref>

Singles

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullins, Shawn 1968 births Living people Musicians from Atlanta American country singer-songwriters American folk singers American male singer-songwriters American rock guitarists American male guitarists United States Army officers Vanguard Records artists People from Clarkston, Georgia Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American guitarists Country musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) 21st-century American guitarists American folk guitarists 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers The Thorns members Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)