[1][2][3][4] Muldaur had been a staple on the folk circuit in the 1960s, originally with the Jim Kweskin & the Jug Band.

In 1979, her daughter sustained serious injuries in a car crash, which led to a religious awakening: Coinciding with the termination of her agreement with Warner, her daughter Jenni had been in a severe car crash in the fall of 1979, sustaining critical head injuries that required surgery.

As Muldaur waited at the hospital during her daughter’s surgery, the lyrics to her friend Bob Dylan’s recently released gospel album, Slow Train Coming, played in her mind.

"[5]Shortly afterwards, during performances in Southern California, she was invited to a Black Gospel church and had a spiritual experience, "That her conversion experience occurred by way of the Black church sets Muldaur apart from the droves of entertainers who were embracing Christianity"[5] at the time.

Burnett recruited fellow Alpha Band members Steven Soles and David Mansfield to help with backing, and Maria brought in old friends The Burns Sisters and the Chambers Brothers to help with vocals.