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Maria Muldaur shares much more than initials with blues queen Memphis Minnie. And too, with Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Alberta Hunter and Sippie Wallace. Early blues women broke racial, financial and sexual barriers by stepping on the vaunted stages of vaudeville and minstrel shows in the early years of the 20th century. Whether white-gloved to the elbow or intricately finger-picking a National Steel guitar, these blues pioneers participated in the earliest form of public entertainment to cross racial and class boundaries. They provided the first exposure audiences had to the diverse cultures of people living right down their street, whether it was the neighborhoods of African-Americans, or the enclaves of Jews, Italians and Russians. Women found their highest paying jobs on the vaudeville stage, often making one hundred times more than what they'd make in the sweatshop job market. The facts herein make perfect sense to Muldaur, ne' Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato ------who was born in Greenwich Village, NYC, a diverse mélange of cultures in America if there ever was one.
Classic! LIVE
(DIG 110)
Never before released! Heralded American songstress Maria Muldaur 's very first live album ever of her classic material. Recorded in 1973 and 1975 at the height of her "Midnight" fame, these San Francisco concerts from the Boarding House and the Great American Music Hall feature David Nichtern, John Girton and Amos Garrett (guitars), Ellen Kearney (guitar/ vocals), Michael Finnegan (keyboards/vocals), Michael Moore (bass) and New Orleans' legendary Earl Palmer on drums. Muldaur singlehandedly predetermined the genre that is now called Americana, as she sang lowdown blues, pure bluegrass country , ballads and New Orleans honky-tonk. A new classic.
Maria's career is as alive as ever with exciting new projects. DIG Music takes a look back to her early solo emergence with the first live collection of Maria's best known songs.
Song Samples:
Richland Woman Blues
Work Song
Searchin'
DIG Music Tour Dates
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