Maria Muldaur
Muldaur in 1969
Muldaur in 1969
Background information
Birth nameMaria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato
Also known asMaria D'Amato
Born (1942-09-12) September 12, 1942
New York City, U.S.
GenresFolk, blues, country
Occupation(s)Singer
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1963–present
LabelsReprise
Websitemariamuldaur.com

Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942)[1] is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song "Midnight at the Oasis" and has recorded albums in the folk, blues, early jazz, gospel, country, and R&B traditions.[2]

She was the wife of musician Geoff Muldaur and is the mother of singer-songwriter Jenni Muldaur.

Biography

Muldaur was born in Greenwich Village, New York City, where she attended Hunter College High School.[3]

Muldaur cites as early musical influences classic country music by Kitty Wells, Hank Williams, Hank Snow, Hank Thompson, Ernest Tubb, and Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys; early rhythm and blues artists like Chuck Willis, Little Richard, Ruth Brown, Fats Domino, and Muddy Waters; Alan Freed "rock 'n' roll" shows; and doo-wop groups such as The Platters and The Five Satins.[4]

Muldaur began her career in the early 1960s as Maria D'Amato, performing with John Sebastian, David Grisman, and Stefan Grossman as a member of the Even Dozen Jug Band.[5] She then joined Jim Kweskin & the Jug Band as a featured vocalist and occasional fiddle player.[5] During this time, she was part of the Greenwich Village scene that included Bob Dylan, and some of her recollections of the period, particularly with respect to Dylan, appear in Martin Scorsese's 2005 documentary film No Direction Home.

She married fellow Jug Band member Geoff Muldaur, and after the Kweskin group broke up, the couple produced two albums. She began her solo career when their marriage ended in 1972 but retained her married name.[2]

Her first solo album, Maria Muldaur, released in 1973, contained her hit single "Midnight at the Oasis",[5] which reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. It also peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart.[6] Later that year, she released her second album, Waitress in a Donut Shop.[5] This included a re-recording of "I'm a Woman", the Leiber and Stoller number first associated with Peggy Lee and a standout feature from her Jug Band days. Her version of the song peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was her last Hot 100 hit in the U.S. to date. The title of this album is taken from a line in another song on the album, "Sweetheart", by Ken Burgan.

Muldaur (left) with her band on stage at the 1983 Cambridge Folk Festival, England
Muldaur at the Riverwalk Blues Festival in Fort Lauderdale, 1996

Around this time, Muldaur established a relationship with the Grateful Dead. Opening for some Grateful Dead shows in the summer of 1974, with John Kahn, bassist of the Jerry Garcia Band, eventually earned her a seat in that group as a backing vocalist in the late 1970s. Around the same time Muldaur met and eventually collaborated with bluegrass icon Peter Rowan. The two became close, and she was chosen to be the godmother of his daughter Amanda Rowan. She appeared on Super Jam (1989), the live recording of the German TV series Villa Fantastica, with Brian Auger on piano, Pete York on drums, Dick Morrissey on tenor saxophone, Roy Williams on trombone, Harvey Weston on bass and Zoot Money, also on vocals.

People ask me — why do you do these sexist songs? That's bullshit. That's a valid emotion that's a part of us all.[7]

Around 1980, Muldaur became a Christian and released a live album, Gospel Nights, and a studio album, There Is A Love.[5] In 1983 she returned to secular music with Sweet and Slow, a set informed by vintage jazz and blues.[8]

Muldaur continued to perform, tour, and record after her success in the mid 1970s, including a turn at the Teatro ZinZanni in 2001.[4][9]

Her 2005 release Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul was nominated for both a Blues Music Award (formerly the W.C. Handy Award) and a Grammy Award in the Traditional Blues category. In 2013, she was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female) category.[10]

In 2003, Muldaur performed at Carnegie Hall in the Tribute to Peggy Lee produced by Richard Barone.[11] In 2018 she performed in Barone's Central Park concert Music & Revolution along with John Sebastian and others from her Greenwich Village days.[12]

In 2019, she received the Trailblazer award at the Americana Music Honors & Awards.

In 2021, Muldaur recorded and released the album Let's Get Happy Together, a 40-minute, 12-track album in collaboration with Tuba Skinny.[13]

Discography

Even Dozen Jug Band

Jim Kweskin & the Jug Band

  • Jug Band Music (1965, credited as Maria D'Amato) (Vanguard, VDS-79163)
  • See Reverse Side for Title (1966, credited as Maria D'Amato) (Vanguard, VDS-79234)
  • Garden of Joy (1967) (Reprise, RS-6266)
  • The Best of Jim Kweskin & the Jug Band (1968, compilation, credited as Maria D'Amato) (Vanguard, VDS-79270)

Geoff & Maria Muldaur

  • Pottery Pie (1969) (Reprise, RS-6350)
  • Sweet Potatoes (1972) (Reprise, MS-2073)

Solo

Solo discography
YearAlbum titleLabelCatalog numberUS[14]US Blues[15]AUS[16]Notes
1973Maria MuldaurRepriseMS-2148#3#30
1974Waitress in a Donut ShopRepriseMS-2194#23#66
1976Sweet HarmonyRepriseMS-2235#53
1978Southern WindsWarner Bros.BSK-3162#143#91
1979Open Your EyesWarner Bros.BSK-3305#97
1980Gospel NightsTakomaTAK-7084Recorded at McCabe's with The Chambers Brothers
1982There Is a LoveMyrrhMSB-6685
1983Sweet and SlowSpindrift/Making WavesSPIN-109With Dr. John, Kenny Barron, and other guest artists.[17] (CD reissue: Stony Plain, SPCD-1183)
1985Live in LondonStony Plain Records/Making WavesSP-1099/SPIN-116Recorded on 7 September 1984 at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club.
1986TransblucencyUptownUP-27.25Recorded 1984–85 with "jazz" septet.
1990On the Sunny SideMusic for Little People/Warner Bros.42503
1992Louisiana Love CallBlack TopBT-1081Reissued by Shout! Factory with same part number.
1993JazzabelleStony PlainSPCD-1188
1994Meet Me at MidniteBlack TopBT-1107Reissued by Shout! Factory with same part number.
1996Fanning the FlamesTelarcCD-83394#14With Johnny Adams, Huey Lewis, Bonnie Raitt, Mavis Staples, and other guest artists.
1998Southland of the HeartTelarcCD-83423
1998Swingin' in the Rain (Classic Swing Tunes for Kids of All Ages)Music for Little People/RhinoR2-75311
1999Meet Me Where They Play the BluesTelarcCD-83460With Charles Brown, Danny Caron, David K. Mathews, and other guest artists.
2000Maria Muldaur's Music for LoversTelarcCD-83512Compilation.
2001Richland Woman BluesStony PlainSPCD-1270#9With Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Alvin Youngblood Hart, John Sebastian, Roy Rogers, and other guest artists.
2002Animal Crackers in My Soup (& Other Songs Made Popular by Shirley Temple)Music for Little People/RhinoR2-78179With Carrie Lyn.
2003A Woman Alone with the Blues (...Remembering Peggy Lee)TelarcCD-83568#9
2003Classic Live!Burnside/DIG MusicUPC: 80440 30110 27Live radio broadcasts from 1973 and 1975.
2004I'm a Woman: 30 Years of Maria MuldaurShout! FactorySF-30219Compilation.
2004Sisters & BrothersTelarcCD-83588With Eric Bibb, and Rory Block.
2004Love Wants to DanceTelarcCD-83609
2005Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul (Old Highway 61 Revisited)Stony PlainSPCD-1304#6With Taj Mahal, Tracy Nelson, Pinetop Perkins, Del Rey, Steve James, and other guest artists).
2006Heart of Mine: Maria Muldaur Sings Love Songs of Bob DylanTelarcCD-83643#1
2006Songs for the Young at HeartMusic for Little People/Earth Beat!/RhinoR2-74541Compilation.
2007Naughty, Bawdy & BlueStony PlainSPCD-1319#4With James Dapogny's Chicago Jazz Band and Bonnie Raitt.
2008Live in ConcertGlobal Recording ArtistsUPC: 64641 31264 27
2008Yes We Can!TelarcCD-83672#14With Joan Baez, Bonnie Raitt, Phoebe Snow, Jane Fonda, Holly Near, Odetta, Anne Lamott, Marianne Williamson, Amma, Jean Shinoda Bolen, and the Women's Voices for Peace Choir.
2009Maria Muldaur & Her Garden of Joy: Good Time Music for Hard TimesStony PlainSPCD-1332#11
2010Maria Muldaur's Barnyard Dance: Jug Band Music For KidsMusic for Little People/RhinoR2-524467
2010Christmas at the Oasis (Live at the Rrazz Room)Global Recording ArtistsUPC: 64641 31287 28
2011Steady LoveStony PlainSPCD-1346
2012...First Came Memphis Minnie... A Loving TributeStony PlainSPCD-1358With Rory Block, Ruthie Foster, Bonnie Raitt, Phoebe Snow, Koko Taylor, and other guest artists.
2018Don't You Feel My Leg: The Naughty Bawdy Blues of Blue Lu BarkerThe Last Music Company#10[18]
2021 Let's Get Happy TogetherStony PlainSPCD1429#4With Tuba Skinny

Jerry Garcia Band

Paul Butterfield's Better Days

  • Better Days (1973, Bearsville) – on tracks 5, 7, and 8
  • It All Comes Back (1973, Bearsville) – credited as "vocals", but no specific tracks given

Other contributions

References

  1. ↑ Sullivan, Steve (2017). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings: Volume 3. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 662. ISBN 9781442254497.
  2. 1 2 Huey, Steve. "Maria Muldaur— Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  3. ↑ Johnston, Laurie (21 March 1977). "Competition Intense Among Intellectually Gifted 6th Graders for Openings at Hunter College High School". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  4. 1 2 Digital Interviews (October 2000). "Maria Muldaur interview". Archived from the original on 2011-09-28.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 884. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  6. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 382. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  7. ↑ Heslam, David (1992). The NME Rock 'n' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-600-57602-0. CN 5585. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  8. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Maria Muldaur: Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  9. ↑ Stafford, Matthew (14 March 2001). "Cirque du Supper— Teatro ZinZanni". SF Weekly. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "Blues Music Awards Nominees - 2013 - 34th Blues Music Awards". Blues.org. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  11. ↑ "PeggyLee.com - There'll Be Another Spring: A Tribute to Miss Peggy Lee". Peggylee.com. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Richard Barone to Host SummerStage Tribute: 'Music + Revolution: Greenwich Village in the 1960s'". Billboard.com\accessdate=September 7, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Maria Muldaur with Tuba Skinny Proclaim 'Let's Get Happy Together' on New Album". American Blues Scene. 2021-03-19. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  14. ↑ "Maria Muldaur Billboard 200 Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  15. ↑ "Maria Muldaur Billboard Blues Albums Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  16. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 211. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  17. ↑ "Sweet and Slow — Maria Muldaur — Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  18. ↑ "Maria Muldaur's official web site". Mariamuldaur.com. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
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