| Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Odetta |
| Cover: | Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues CD cover.jpg |
| Recorded: | San Francisco, California, September 1956 |
| Genre: | Folk, blues, vocal, calypso |
| Length: | 45:14 (reissue) |
| Label: | Tradition TLP 1010 (LP) |
| Producer: | Dean Gitter |
| Prev Title: | The Tin Angel - Odetta & Larry |
| Prev Year: | 1954 |
| Next Title: | At the Gate of Horn |
| Next Year: | 1957 |
Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues is the debut solo album by American folk singer Odetta. It was released in November 1956 by Tradition Records.[1]
Like much of Odetta's early work, Ballads and Blues combines traditional songs (e.g. spirituals) with blues covers. Some songs on this album were also recorded for Odetta & Larry's 1954 album The Tin Angel.
The initial vinyl release has tracks 1-8 as side A, then tracks 9-16 as side B (the "Spiritual Trilogy" being counted as one track, a medley). The "enhanced" CD version of this album, released in 2005, contains four bonus tracks and has a slightly different cover with a different photo of the singer. Some tracks are included on the Collectables re-release The Best of Odetta.
Bob Dylan singled this album out as one of his favorites by Odetta; indeed, it was albums like this that inspired him to play folk music instead of rock 'n' roll.[2]
In 2021, the album was selected by the US Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.[3]