Despite not charting in any country, Folk Singer received critical acclaim; most reviewers praised its high-quality sound, especially on remastered versions, as well as the instrumentation.

The drummer Francis Clay was replaced by Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, who played in the Muddy Waters Junior Band.

[2] Hare was replaced by a succession of guitarists, including James "Pee Wee" Madison, who played a right-handed guitar left-handed.

[3] The electric guitarist Buddy Guy, who had recorded with Waters on Blues from Big Bill's Copacabana, released by Chess in 1963, was hired.

[7] The original vinyl release includes nine songs, most of which are performed at a slower tempo, with the exception of the uptempo "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl".

One of the first CD versions was released in 1993 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, containing two bonus tracks, "You Can't Lose What You Never Had" and "The Same Thing.

"[9] The 1999 remastered version contains five bonus tracks, "The Same Thing", "You Can't Lose What You Never Had", "My John the Conqueror Root", "Short Dress Woman" and "Put Me In Your Lay Away".

[6] Reviewing its 1993 CD reissue, Rolling Stone wrote, "...There aren't too many blues albums that qualify as audiophile recordings, but Muddy Waters Folk Singer surely does.