| Blind Joe Death | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1959 | |||
| Recorded | 1959, St. Michael's and All Angels Church, Adelphi, Maryland | |||
| Genre | American Primitivism | |||
| Length | 43:21 (1959 version) | |||
| Label | Takoma | |||
| Producer | John Fahey | |||
| John Fahey chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 Cover of the 1967 stereo release of the LP (design by Tom Weller) | ||||
Blind Joe Death is the first album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey. There are three different versions of the album, and the original self-released edition of fewer than 100 copies is extremely rare.
The recording of steel-string acoustic guitar solos was "incredibly avant-garde" in 1959. It was released on Takoma Records, Fahey's own label. It was not marketed and made no impression on the American record-buying public.[1]
Its popularity, significance in guitar music, and critical reception have grown over the years. The music historian Richie Unterberger characterized Blind Joe Death as "a very interesting record from a historical perspective...as few if any other guitarists were attempting to interpret blues and folk idioms in such an idiosyncratic fashion in the late '50s and early '60s."[2] Richard Cook of the NewStatesman wrote, "Only 100 copies were pressed. Incredibly, it was still enough of a milestone to secure him an almost worldwide reputation."[3]
On April 6, 2011, the album was deemed by the Library of Congress to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" and added to the United States National Recording Registry for the year 2010.[4][5]
- ^ Miller, Dale (1992). "Reinventing the Steel". Acoustic Guitar (January/February): 46. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
AMwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cook, Richard (January 2000). "No words can express > Review". New Statesman: 137.
- ^ "About This Program | National Recording Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress". Loc.gov.
- ^ "Complete National Recording Registry Listing". National Recording Preservation Board. Library of Congress. Retrieved 4 October 2022.