''Today!'' is the

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, but third body of work recorded by

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

musician

Mississippi John Hurt John Smith Hurt (March 8, 1893 – November 2, 1966), known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Biography Early years John Hurt was born in Teoc,Cohen, Lawrence (1996). Liner notes to ''Av ...

.Wirz, Stefan
Illustrated Mississippi John Hurt discography
Wirz.de. Retrieved 2 June 2011. It was released in 1966 by

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the so ...

. This album contains some of the first commercial material recorded after his " rediscovery" in 1963, and is the first he recorded for Vanguard. The album spans several genres and styles of music, ranging from traditional blues and folk songs, to

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, to African-American

spirituals Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with African Americans, which merged varied African cultural influences with the exp ...

.Freelander, David
Today! – Mississippi John Hurt
Allmusic. Retrieved 2 June 2011. Along with Hurt's two previous releases, ''Today!'' helped to reveal his work to a wider

audience.Eder, Bruce
Mississippi John Hurt
Allmusic. Retrieved 2 June 2011. In 2009, the album was one of the twenty-five selections that were added to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation ...

.National Recording Registry Adds 25 – The Library Today (Library of Congress)
Loc.gov. Retrieved 2 June 2011.

Background and recording

Hurt had made commercial recordings for the now-defunct

Okeh Records OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

in 1928; these did not sell well, and he drifted back into obscurity in southern

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. In 1952, Harry Smith's ''

Anthology of American Folk Music ''Anthology of American Folk Music'' is a three-volume compilation album released in August 1952 by Folkways Records. The album was compiled by experimental filmmaker Harry Smith from his own personal collection of 78 rpm records. It consists ...

'', which contained two tracks by Hurt, was released. As well as this, a man had discovered a copy of Hurt's "Avalon Blues", which gave the name of Hurt's home town, Avalon, Mississippi. In 1963, Tom Hoskins and Richard Spotswood, two folk enthusiasts, located him in Avalon using the song. Hoskins convinced him to move to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where there would be plenty of opportunities to perform to an increasing folk audience.Dahl, Bill. Liner notes to ''D. C. Blues: The Library of Congress Recordings, Vol. 1''. Fuel 2000 Records. 1998. There, he made his first post-war recordings, which were released on the Gryphon label as ''Folk Songs and Blues''. Hurt was invited to perform at the

Newport Folk Festival The Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. The festival was founded by music promoter and Jazz Festival founder Geor ...

in 1963, where he was greeted as a "living legend". Following this performance, he began to tour around various universities, and recorded a second album in 1964. Through touring, Hurt's audience continued to grow, which prompted a recording contract with Vanguard Records and the release of his third album, ''Today!'', in 1966. A similar recording and performance schedule was adopted by the fellow bluesman

Skip James Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (June 9, 1902October 3, 1969) was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. AllMusic stated: "Coupling an oddball guitar tuning set against eerie, falsetto vocals, James' early recordings ...

around this same time, who also recorded for Vanguard an album of the same name.Wynn, Ron
Today! – Skip James
Allmusic. Retrieved 4 June 2011.

Reception

David Freedlander, of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, writes this of ''Today!'':

Track listing

All songs written by Hurt, except when noted ;Side one #"Pay Day" #"I'm Satisfied" #"Candy Man" #" Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor" (trad.) #" Talking Casey" #" Corrina, Corrina" (trad.) ;Side two #"Coffee Blues" #"Louis Collins" #"Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" (trad.) #"If You Don't Want Me Baby" #" Spike Driver Blues" (trad., arranged John Hurt) #"Beulah Land" (trad.)

Personnel

* Mississippi John Hurt – guitar, vocals

References

{{Authority control 1966 albums Mississippi John Hurt albums Vanguard Records albums United States National Recording Registry albums

Background and recording

Reception

Track listing

Personnel

See also

References