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Joan Baez by  ReleasedOctober 1960RecordedJuly 1960StudioManhattan Towers Hotel Ballroom, Length46:02 VSD-2077 chronology
(1959)Joan Baez
(1960)
(1961)

Joan Baez, also known as Joan Baez, Vol. 1, is the debut solo album by folk singer . The album was recorded in the summer of 1960 and released the same year. The original release featured 13 traditional folk songs. Later reissues included three additional songs.

In 2015, the album was selected for induction into  of the  for special recognition and preservation as one of the sound recordings in over 130 years of recording history that has "cultural, artistic and/or historical significance to American society and the nation's audio legacy".

History

Baez came to prominence during the Folk Music Revival in the late 1950s, particularly in the first  in July 1959. A number of companies tried to sign her after her performance at the music festival, including , but she chose to go instead with the small independent label, . Baez recorded the album for the label in the summer of 1960, when she was 19.

Most of the songs featured only Baez' vocals and guitar, with a second guitar (played by , of ), added to some songs. The album went , although it did not make the  chart until 1962, following the success of her second album, . Joan Baez peaked at number 15 and spent 140 weeks on the chart.

In 1983 Baez described the making of the album to 's :

It took four nights. We were in some big, smelly ballroom at a hotel on Broadway, way up by the river. We couldn't record on Wednesday nights because they played bingo there. I would be down there on this dirty old rug with two microphones, one for the voice and one for the guitar. I just did my set; it was probably all I knew. Just put 'em down. I did "" once, that was it. That's the way we made 'em in the old days. As long as a dog didn't run through the room or something, you had it.

In 2001, Vanguard reissued Joan Baez with new liner notes and three previously unreleased songs. (Between 2001 and 2005, they reissued remastered versions of Baez' 13 original albums with the label.)

In 2014, Waxtime Records reissued Joan Baez with new liner notes and only two bonus tracks from earlier Baez sessions that were originally released in 1959 on the compilation LP Folksingers' Round Harvard Square.

Reception Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRating

In his  review, music critic Bruce Eder gave the album five out of five stars, commenting that the purity of the sound was notable at the time. He wrote of the album "Baez gives a fine account of the most reserved and least confrontational aspects of the folk revival, presenting a brace of traditional songs (most notably "East Virginia" and "Mary Hamilton") with an urgency and sincerity that makes the listener feel as though they were being sung for the first time".

Accolades

The album was included in Robert Dimery's .

In 2015, the album was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the  and selected for inclusion in the .

Track listing No.TitleWriter(s)Length1.""Traditional, arr. Joan Baez2:322."East Virginia"Traditional, arr. Joan Baez3:443.""Traditional, arr. David Gude3:224.""Traditional, arr. Joan Baez2:565.""Traditional, arr. Joan Baez4:416.""Traditional, arr. Joan Baez2:377."", , Arthur Kevess, Teddi Schwartz3:158.""Traditional, arr. Joan Baez3:549."Rake and Rambling Boy"Traditional, arr. Joan Baez1:5910."Little Moses"Traditional, arr. Joan Baez3:3111.""Traditional, arr. Joan Baez5:5812.""Traditional, arr. Joan Baez4:1513."El Preso Número Nueve"2:48