All of the tracks on the two-compact disc set were originally issued by Columbia on the then-standard two-sided 78 rpm record format.

[citation needed] In 2013, Columbia reissued the album as The Essential Blind Willie Johnson.

Johnson, who provided lead vocals and guitar accompiment, was sometimes backed by female vocalists, most commonly his first alleged wife Willis B.

[1] Blues historian Samuel Charters provided the information in album's liner booklet, correcting some bigrophahical errors he made from his first project featuring Johnson's recordings, titled Blind Willie Johnson 1927–1930.

[4][page needed] See List of songs recorded by Blind Willie Johnson for sessionography information.