Six-time Grammy nominee Maria Muldaur has released a new lyric video for “Funny Feathers,” previewing her upcoming album One Hour Mama: The Blues of Victoria Spivey, out July 11 via Nola Blue Records. The track, like the album itself, pays spirited homage to the woman who helped shape Muldaur’s lifelong relationship with the blues—and it features Ms. Muldaur backed by acclaimed New Orleans street band Tuba Skinny.
Often referred to as “The First Lady of Roots Music” for her wide-ranging explorations across blues, folk, jazz, jug band, and country, Muldaur turns her attention this time to the bold brilliance of her mentor Victoria Spivey, one of the classic blues queens of the 1920s and ’30s. “Funny Feathers,” in all its sassy glory, captures the timeless wit and swagger that made Spivey both a musical force and a cultural icon.
The full album features duets with Taj Mahal and Elvin Bishop, and lively sessions with New Orleans favorites Tuba Skinny. But this isn’t just a star-studded tribute—it’s a full-circle moment. Spivey gave Muldaur her first recording opportunity in the 1960s on her own Spivey Records label. She was the first to record Bob Dylan, penned risqué blues hits like “Black Snake Blues,” and later acted on stage and screen, self-published a blues newsletter, and ran her label with entrepreneurial fire long before it was common for women—let alone Black women—to do so.
“When I was a young aspiring singer in the early 1960s, Victoria Spivey took me under her wing and mentored me,” Muldaur remembers in the album’s liner notes. “Although, of course, I appreciated it at the time, over the years I’ve come to realize just how important her encouragement and support were to me and so many other musicians!
“To my surprise, a music writer recently dubbed her ‘The Madonna of the Blues,’ but thinking about it, I know exactly what he meant! Victoria was ambitious, tenacious, sassy, spunky, boldly & unabashedly expressing her sexuality, versatile and multitalented, singing and writing not just blues, but pop and novelty songs of the day, dancing, playing piano and other instruments, acting in movies and stage shows… and entrepreneurial… publishing her own blues newsletter and starting her own record label, Spivey Records, to give recording opportunities to both old blues veterans and young hopefuls just starting out. I was so pleased to find and collaborate with so many fine young musicians who are embracing and carrying forward the rich legacy of this ‘vintage music.’ This album is a loving tribute to Victoria Spivey for all she brought to the blues and for the great influence she was on my musical journey. ENJOY!”
Says Nola Blue Records president Sallie Bengtson: “This project is both professionally and personally very significant to me. Similar to the ways in which Victoria’s support and encouragement of Maria were so important, I feel much the same about an industry icon like Maria placing her confidence in Nola Blue for her ‘bucket list’ project. She and I were first introduced at the conclusion of our label’s tenth anniversary celebration year, and it felt like divine affirmation of our efforts to that point and encouragement to stay the course!”
