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Old salt spreads his love of harmonica
By RON MATUS TAMPA -- Wherever Early J. McMullen goes, music follows. And wherever he has been, it lingers. Here's why. Every few weeks, South Tampa's contribution to the Harmonica Hall of Fame buys seven to 10 harmonicas, at $4 a pop, at Don Banks Music on Henderson Boulevard. Then he hits the road, searching for places to play -- a restaurant, a real estate office or just about anywhere -- and for people in need of a random act of kindness. Male, female; young, old; rich, poor. Doesn't matter. McMullen figures he has given away 700 harmonicas. Free lessons come with each. Why does he do it? He can't say. Another harmonica player once told him, "Our soul is coming out when we play." Maybe that has something to do with it. "Early J. from Tampa Bay" is McMullen's stage name. He was born in Tampa. He has lived on both sides of the bay. His great-grandfather was a Pinellas County pioneer who came down from South Georgia in a covered wagon. In north Pinellas, there's a road named after his family. For 28 years, McMullen's father captained a ferryboat between Pinellas and Manatee counties. McMullen followed in his footsteps and spent 20 years on the water. "From the time I was a little kid, my dad would set me up on the ledge next to the compass. I could see everything," McMullen said. "I felt more at home there than everywhere." The state ended ferry service in 1954, when the bridge opened. McMullen never got over it. "Do I miss it? Damn right," he said in a low Cracker drawl. If the ferry was still there, "I'd be sleeping on it a good part of the time." McMullen soaked the bay into his bones. Now it's in his harmonica. He learned to play when he was in grammar school, from a tomboy named Eva Hudnell. (If Eva's still out there, Early says thank you.) But it was on the ferry, in between chores, that McMullen got good. He found out how good in the early 1980s, after a Gong Show contest at MacDill Air Force Base. Someone who watched McMullen's performance -- he won the contest, of course -- got in touch with the Harmonica Hall of Fame. McMullen was invited down to South Florida to perform in front of a hall representative. And that's all it took. He was in. Since then, McMullen has played before hundreds of volunteers at the White House, and before 5,000 people at a Fourth of July celebration at the Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee. He also has serenaded abused children in Sumter County and patients in a dentist's office in Clearwater. Once, when he was hospitalized with pneumonia, he played She'll Be Coming A'Round the Mountain for an even sicker, elderly patient across the hall. But after a few verses, she was clapping her hands and smiling, he said. Along the way, he has made a lot of friends. Four or five years ago, McMullen hit the road. He drove in a big circle from Tampa to Bushnell to Leesburg to Lake Wales, then back to Tampa. Then did it again and again and again. He called it his "gypsy tour." Along the way, he chatted, performed and handed out harmonicas. "Like a traveling preacher," he said. Except, "I ain't no preacher. I don't know much about soul talk." McMullen does know about trials and tribulations. His wife died six years ago. He and his only son are often at odds. He suffered from bloody nightmares for years from his time on a Navy destroyer in the Pacific during World War II. After he lost his job on the ferry, McMullen never really stuck to another line of work. He was a school bus driver, a security guard, even a toll booth operator. Along the way, he developed and then conquered a drinking problem. He says he has been sober for more than 20 years. On his road circuit, McMullen said he wouldn't take more than seven harmonicas at a time -- enough to give away one each day. He said he had to be picky. Now, McMullen, 81, can't drive much anymore. He moved to Davis Islands a few weeks ago so he could be within walking distance of shops and restaurants. Before that, he lived in the Regency Cove mobile home park on Gandy Boulevard. Now the islands' bustling business district is his circuit. He makes his rounds with a walking cane and a wicker basket. He keeps his harmonica in there, along with a teddy bear. At Yeoman's Road Pub, regulars greet McMullen with hellos and hugs. Then he plays The Saber Dance, a long song that he ends by pumping his arm in unison with the final drawn-out notes. "That took about all the breath I got," he said. "Sometimes I wonder if I can still do it." To dispel any doubt, he repeats the deed a few minutes later at the Davis Islands Pharmacy. Employee Sondra Burton skips down the aisle when she sees him. "Hey, Early, I learned Three Blind Mice," she tells him. "Well, all right," McMullen says. He saunters to the back of the store to see how his other students are coming along. They're only getting a few notes down, they tell him. Well, he says, you only need a few notes to make a good song. He reaches for his harmonica. "Let's see what we can do." -- Ron Matus can be reached at 226-3405 or matus@sptimes.com.
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