Initially released in 1959 in a limited edition, one side of the record was credited to the fictional bluesman Blind Joe Death, while the other side was credited to John Fahey. It was one of the first albums independently recorded and produced by an artist. Self-released on Takoma Records, the label formally came into existence in 1963 when Fahey and ED Denson partnered with distributor Norman Pierce.

Fahey’s earliest recordings were custom edition 78-rpm discs released by Fonotone, a label run by his friend Joe Bussard. In 1959, Fahey recorded his own album in Takoma Park, Maryland, and had it pressed by RCA Custom Recorders. He financed the pressing of 100 copies with money earned from pumping gas and a $300 loan from an Episcopal minister. Some copies were broken in transit, while others were given to friends. Fahey distributed copies to folklorists, planted them in record stores and Goodwill bins, and slowly sold the rest over four years.

Fahey's music in 1959 stood apart from the mainstream, as described by musicologist Dick Spottswood, who noted that while rhythm and blues was being marketed to white audiences as rock 'n' roll, Fahey showed no interest in that trend.