SHAWN MULLINS

Born: Atlanta, Georgia, 8 March 1968

Genre: Rock

Best-selling album since 1990: Soul's Core (1998)

Hit songs since 1990: "Lullaby," "What Is Life"

Singer/songwriter Shawn Mullins enjoyed a brief moment in the commercial spotlight as his quirky folk-pop song "Lullaby" became a radio sensation.

Mullins was born in Atlanta in 1968; his mother was a schoolteacher and his father worked in the railroad industry. Mullins took to music at an early age, learning to drum when he was four years old. He subsequently became adept at playing piano, cello, bass, and guitar and formed his first band at the age of twelve. When he was a freshman in high school, Mullins became acquainted with Amy Ray, then a local performer and later a member of the popular folk duo the Indigo Girls. Ray appeared at a career day sponsored by Mullins's high school and encouraged the young Mullins to pursue a career in music.

Before committing to music full time, Mullins served for two years in the U.S. Army Airborne Infantry. While in the military, Mullins released his first album on his own SMG label. After leaving the military, Mullins recorded a host of albums for SMG and became a regular on the Atlanta club circuit. He gradually gained a following with his intimate performances, highlighted by his folksy guitar playing and his half-sung/half-spoken vocal style. In 1997 Mullins received the award for Best Acoustic Artist at the Atlanta Music Awards.

Columbia Records signed Mullins to a contract and, in 1998, released Soul's Core, Mullins's most recent independent effort. At the time, singer/songwriters were enjoying unprecedented success on mainstream radio, due in large part to the popularity of the Lilith Fair tour, which highlighted female singer/songwriters. Mullins's quirky single "Lullaby" offered radio programmers a male counterpart to artists such as Jewel and Sheryl Crow and quickly became a surprise Top 10 hit. "Lullaby" bounces along to a jaunty acoustic guitar, while Mullins—in a departure from traditional pop radio fare—alternates between speaking and singing the lyrics. The song posits Mullins as a struggling heartland artist in Los Angeles: "I told her I ain't so sure about this place / It's hard to play a gig in this town and keep a straight face / Seems like everyone here's got a plan / It's kind of like Nashville with a tan." For the choruses, Mullins breaks into a lilting falsetto and offers a hopeful counterpoint to the otherwise dark lyrics: "Everything's gonna be alright / Rock-a-bye." On the strength of its hit single, Soul's Core ultimately sold 1 million copies.

Mullins followed up Soul's Core with a high-profile appearance on the soundtrack to the Adam Sandler film Big Daddy (1999), offering up a faithful cover of George Harrison's "What Is Life." As interest in Mullins peaked, Columbia released an anthology of his earlier works titled The First Ten Years (1999). Mullins released his first true major label album in 2000, but Behind the Velvet Sun failed to garner major interest, largely because the work lacked a hit single along the lines of "Lullaby." Critics also bemoaned the album's slick, pop arrangements, charging that Mullins had forsaken his roots and unique crossover style.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Better Days (SMG, 1992); Big Blue Sky (Rainy Day, 1994); Eggshells (SMG, 1996); Soul's Core (Sony, 1998); Beneath the Velvet Sun (Columbia, 2000). Soundtrack: Big Daddy (Sony, 1999).

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