Sept. 12: Maria Muldaur of "Midnight at the Oasis" fame is 67 today.

Born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato in Greenwich Village, New York, is a folk-blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s.

Muldaur began her career as "Maria D'Amato," performing with John Sebastian (who went on to form The Lovin' Spoonful), David Grisman, and Stefan Grossman as a member of the Even Dozen Jug Band. She then joined Jim Kweskin & His Jug Band as a featured vocalist and occasional violinist.

Maria married fellow Jug Band member Geoff Muldaur, and after the Kweskin outfit broke up the two of them produced two albums. She began her solo career when their marriage ended in 1972, but retained her married name.


Her first solo album Maria Muldaur, released in 1973, contained her hit single "Midnight at the Oasis," which reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. Later that year, she released her second album Waitress In A Donut Shop. This included a re-recording of "I'm a Woman," the Leiber and Stoller number first associated with Peggy Lee.

Press links below to view You Tube video performances:
-- "Midnight at the Oasis"
-- "Don't You Feel My Leg"

--  With Jug Band in 1966

Around the same 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, would eventually earn her a seat in that group in the late 1970s, as a backing vocalist.


Muldaur continues to record folk-oriented albums.