If you live in the Deep South, 2025 has started off with one wicked cold snap that has folks in Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and parts of Florida running to their closets for warm sweaters and winter coats. Those of us in New England and the Delmarva might be better accustomed to the brutally cold weather, but it’s definitely not pleasant outside right now.
February, however, looks like it might have something to warm up blues listeners with two iconic albums receiving audiophile treatment.
Craft Recordings and Bluesville Records proudly announce two reissues for landmark blues titles from a pair of the genre’s most influential artists: 1960’s Blues & Ballads, from pioneering guitarist Lonnie Johnson, and Mississippi John Hurt’s definitive 1966 album, Today!. Set for release on February 28 and available for pre-order today, both LPs will be issued on vinyl in partnership with audiophile leader Acoustic Sounds and feature all-analog mastering by GRAMMY-nominated engineer Matthew Lutthans (the Mastering Lab).
The albums are pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings (QRP) with faithfully reproduced tip-on jackets. Rounding out each title is an obi strip with insightful notes by GRAMMY-winning producer, writer and musician Scott Billington.
Additionally, the remastered albums will be reissued across digital platforms in standard and 192/24 hi-res audio on the same date as each vinyl.
Launched at the top of 2024, Bluesville Records celebrates America’s bedrock music genre, as well as the trailblazing musicians that contributed to its rich traditions, through handpicked titles—all culled from the catalogs of such legendary labels as Stax, Prestige, Vee-Jay, Vanguard, Rounder and Riverside earning widespread praise from critics and listeners alike.
Lonnie Johnson – Blues & Ballads (1960)
Singer, songwriter and musician Lonnie Johnson (1899–1970) was among the most versatile musicians of his era. He not only found success in jazz, blues and R&B but also pioneered one of the most recognizable guitar techniques in modern music. In the early 1920s, the New Orleans–born artist settled in St. Louis, where he was discovered in a blues talent contest. Before long, Johnson was releasing a steady output of solo material, while also playing alongside the biggest names in blues and jazz, including Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith and Duke Ellington.
Johnson’s unique stylings on the guitar also caught the attention of his peers, as he employed a pick to play single-note, string-bending solos. Soon emulated by the likes of Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt and, later, B.B. King, the technique would inform modern jazz, blues and eventually rock guitarists over the century. As a songwriter, Johnson also set himself apart with his expressive lyricism as well as his commentary on racial politics.
These talents helped Johnson score a string of blues hits in the ’20s and ’30s, but his post-war career found him transitioning with equal success into R&B with hits like “Pleasing You,” “Confused” and the chart-topping “Tomorrow Night.”
The ’60s folk revival, meanwhile, introduced Johnson to a younger audience, allowing him new opportunities to tour the world and score a contract with the Prestige Records imprint, Bluesville.
His second album for the label, 1960’s Blues & Ballads, paired Johnson with the seasoned bandleader, banjo player and guitarist Elmer Snowden. Reflecting both artists’ musically diverse careers, the album found them blending classic blues tunes from the likes of Bessie Smith and W.C. Handy (“Back Water Blues,” “St. Louis Blues”) with popular standards (“Memories of You,” “I’ll Get Along Somehow”), alongside original material by both men (“Elmer’s Blues,” “Jelly Roll Baker” and “I Found a Dream,” among them).
The stripped-down recording—featuring Johnson on vocals and electric guitar, Snowden on acoustic guitar and Wendell Marshall on bass—is expressive and intimate, showcasing the breadth of their collective talents.
Where to buy: $32.99 at Amazon
Mississippi John Hurt – Today! (1966)
One of the most influential figures of the 1960s folk revival, Mississippi John Hurt (1893–1966) offered his own brand of the blues, thanks to his gentle vocals and unique syncopated fingerpicking style. Yet, he didn’t find success until the final years of his life. Born to sharecroppers in rural Mississippi, Hurt was a self-taught guitarist and farmhand, who honed his craft during his downtime. In the early 1920s, he began to gig regularly with fiddle player Willie Narmour, who, in turn, recommended his friend to OKeh Records.
Hurt recorded a handful of tracks for the label in 1928, including “Frankie,” “Candy Man Blues” and “Stack O’ Lee Blues.” While his quiet, laid-back nature set Hurt apart from other bluesmen of the era, it didn’t connect with audiences at the time, who were accustomed to the tougher, more assertive styles of artists like Son House and Charlie Patton. Hurt, who never considered himself to be a professional musician, was just as content to return to his life on the farm.
More than 30 years later, however, Hurt would find a new audience that embraced his music. Amid the folk revival, scholars “rediscovered” his recordings and, in 1963, encouraged the 70-year-old bluesman to return to the stage.
Relocating to Washington D.C., Hurt spent the final three years of his life recording for the Library of Congress, performing at festivals, coffeehouses and colleges, appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and making several albums for Vanguard Records.
The first of these LPs, released in 1966, was Today!. Considered his definitive work, Today! found Hurt performing a range of styles—from upbeat originals (“Candy Man,” “Coffee Blues”) to traditional and country blues songs (“Make Me a Pallet on the Floor,” “Corrinna, Corrinna”) and African American spirituals (“Louis Collins,” “Beulah Land”).
The album introduced Hurt to a broader audience and, over the years, would inspire younger generations of artists, including John Fahey, Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Beck and Gillian Welch. In 2009, Today! was added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.
Where to buy: $32.99 at Amazon
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