Mary Flower

Chances are high that record stores shelve Mary Flower under folk, given her founding role in Denver’s premier women’s folk collective, the jazz-tinged Mother Folkers, and her ready embodiment of the archetypal “Earth mother” folkie. Over the past ten years she has turned decisively toward the blues and shown no inclination to reverse course.

Born in Delphi, IN, she arrived in Denver in her twenties at the start of the 1970s and quickly embedded herself in the local folk scene. Steady performances earned her a regional reputation and led her to establish Mother Folkers. Although blues had long appealed to her, a two-week workshop in West Virginia with Jim Schwall and Steve James proved decisive. Flower later recalled being “consumed” by the experience and chose to dedicate herself fully to the idiom.

Rebuilding her career met early obstacles; as a white blueswoman she did not match prevailing expectations shaped by Janis Joplin, which favored a Big Mama Thornton sound, whereas Scrapper Blackwell served as her primary model. From the early 1990s onward, however, audiences have steadily embraced her work. She has appeared at Buddy Guy’s Chicago venue, at festivals that have welcomed her warmly, and on tours spanning both regional and national markets.

During her folk period she shared stages with Geoff Muldaur, David Bromberg, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot. Her blues approach draws strongest inspiration from Blind Lemon Jefferson, alongside Scrapper Blackwell, Henry Glover, and Robert Johnson. She performs with unforced, unfeigned passion, her husky timbre suited to the repertoire she favors; although capable of a more polished vocal delivery, she opts for an honest one. Original compositions reveal a sharp, incisive wit. Flower’s career spans roughly the same length as Bonnie Raitt’s, yet without major-label contracts, arena or film appearances, or a Grammy, and she merits comparable recognition.