Actually a pseudonym for Don Robey, owner of Houston's Duke Records, cradle of blues classix. Robey bought the rights to many songs written by his artists and used the "Malone" name, so it's often difficult to know who wrote what. "I Pity the Fool" may have been written by Bobby "Blue" Bland and/or some band members, but you'd have to ask a Blandologist - decades later, this "Malone" guy is a beneficiary of the royalties from all the cover versions. Who knew it would be a classic?