I AIN’T GONNA MARRY by Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band with Maria Muldaur

(From GARDEN OF JOY, Reprise 1967)

I’ve always adored Maria Muldaur - we did a podcast on her previously - and, as an adolescent I would study her braided image on the cover of “Garden of Joy” with relish. She is mostly remembered for her radio hit “Midnight at the Oasis”, but her time with JIm Kweskin and the Jug Band was an unrivaled carnival of sexy fun, and “I Ain’t Gonna Marry” is my favorite cut of all. This rendition swings with sass and bravado - Richard Greene plays the fiddle with sly insinuation, and when Fritz Richmond makes that punctuating “fart” sound at the end of the intro and middle section, I can’t help grinning from ear to ear.  

The original source of the tune was obscure, and Kweskin was coy about where he found it,  but thankfully, due to the far reach of the internet, I discovered that the original was written and recorded by “The Moanin’ Mama” Sara Martin 44 years earlier, in 1923, on the Okeh label, under the title “Blind Man Blues”.  With all due respect to Ms. Martin, in my opinion the original doesn’t hold a candle to Maria’s interpretation. 

Garden of Joy was a Reprise release, which provided a major platform for this group, who had made its bones on the smaller Vanguard label, and was positioned here to leap into the big time.  That was certainly true for Maria, who recorded several albums for them after she went solo. But, here, at the summit of the Jug Band’s power, she drops this major bombshell with unimpeded charismatic power.