The album consists of traditional folk, blues, and spiritual songs featuring Broonzy accompanying himself on acoustic guitar and a guest appearance by Pete Seeger.

An extensively recorded bluesman, Big Bill Broonzy left the United States to tour Europe in 1951, becoming the first Chicago blues player to perform for European audiences.

[2][3] Asch and Smith had partaken in several projects with Broonzy, including albums and interviews, before he was forced to retire from music in early 1957, due to complications from throat cancer.

[2] Trouble in Mind is largely culled from a recording session in New York produced by Asche and Smith; originally, Folkways released the studio work on the album Bill Broonzy Sings the Country Blues in 1957.

These tracks, frequently played by Broonzy live, ensured that his albums would have instant appeal for white audiences in the manner of various country blues-based LPs that had resulted from the rediscovery of old-time blues artists.

[5] PopMatters' reviewer Patrick Jones found the presentation of the album is encouraging "the listener to interact with the music, to learn about it, and to explore its link to history", and "is a rewarding and culturally enriching experience".

[6] Criticism from No Depression noted the novelty of Broonzy's Folkways material as a part of the vogue for "country-turned-urban blues singers as facsimiles of some idealized rural past"; however, it commended the historical significance of the album.