by Maria Muldaur is best known worldwide for her ’74 mega-hit “Midnight at the Oasis,” which received several Grammy nominations, and enshrined her forever in the hearts of Baby Boomers everywhere; but despite her considerable pop music success, her 40+ year career could best be described as a long and adventurous odyssey through the various forms of American Roots music. During the folk revival of the early ’60s, she began exploring and singing early Blues, Bluegrass and Appalachian, beginning her recording career in 1963 with the Even Dozen Jug Band and shortly thereafter, joining the very popular Jim Kweskin Jug Band throughout the ’60s.
Since “Midnight at the Oasis,” Maria has toured extensively worldwide, and has recorded 39 solo albums covering all kinds of American Roots music, including Gospel, R&B, Jazz and Big before settling comfortably into her favorite idiom, the Blues. Often joining forces with some of the top names in the business, Maria has recorded and produced on-average an album per year, several of which have been nominated for Grammy and other awards.
Muldaur also established a relationship with the Grateful Dead opening for some Dead shows in the summer of 1974 with John Kahn, bassist of the Jerry Garcia Band, which would eventually earn her a seat in that group as a backing vocalist in the late 1970s.
Her critically acclaimed 2001 release, ‘Richland Woman Blues’, was nominated for a Grammy and by the Blues Foundation as Best Traditional Blues Album of the Year, as was the follow up to that album, ‘Sweet Lovin’ Ol’ Soul’. Her timely 2008 album, ‘Yes We Can!’, featured songs from some of the most socially conscious songwriters of the past half century: Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Allen Toussaint, Garth Brooks and others, and featured her Womens Voices for Peace Choir, which included Bonnie Raitt, Joan, Baez, Jane Fonda, Odetta, Phoebe Snow, Holly Near and others.
For her 2009 release, Maria revisited her original Jug Band roots, teaming up with John Sebastian, David Grisman and Dan Hicks. ‘Maria Muldaur & Her Garden of Joy’ was nominated for Best Traditional Blues Album of the Year by the Blues Foundation, and garnered Maria her 6th Grammy nomination.
In 2011, detouring from her ongoing exploration of vintage blues – she released ‘Steady Love’, returning to her much-beloved New Orleans to record a contemporary electric blues album that reflects the kind of music she loves to perform live – what she calls Bluesiana Music – her own brand of New Orleans-flavored blues, R& B and swamp funk. Maria continues to enjoy creative collaborations with some of the finest artists in her field.
