Maria Muldaur had a big hit in 1974 with Midnight at the Oasis. The eponymous debut it came from featured blues, country, folk, and pop stylings. She made several others with similarly varied styles, but none of them met with the success of the debut, and nothing charted after 1978. Well, unless you count the US Blues chart, where she's placed 10 records in the top 15 since 1996. One of them, Heart of Mine: Maria Muldaur Sings Love Songs of Bob Dylan was #1 in 2006. Since her debut she's made some 37 mostly blues records.
Victoria Spivey was a blues singer, songwriter, and actor. She made a series of singles in the 20s and 30s, and sang in musical theatre throughout the 40s. She returned to blues in the sixties, both as a recording artist and also as a record company owner.
On One Hour Mama, Muldaur puts on her best sultry voice to cover a dozen of Spivey's excellent compositions. Musical backing is provided by wonderful New Orleans styled jazz bands, and the arrangements capture the rhythmic swing the style is famous for. There's plenty of great playing.Taj Mahal and Elvin Bishop make cameo appearances.
If you've kept up with Maria Muldaur, you know she never stopped making great records. If you haven't been keeping up, now would be an excellent time to play catch up.
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