for producer Maynard Solomon and Vanguard Records. Release and reception In 1964, "Cod'ine" was released on Sainte-Marie's first album, It's My Way! Solomon contributed the liner notes, which included blurbs about each song. For "Cod'ine" he wrote: The album reportedly sold well, but did not reach the album charts. John Kay, singer, guitarist and songwriter for the popular 1960s rock group Steppenwolf, recalled purchasing the album after hearing her live for the first time. He was struck by the sheer emotional intensity of songs such as "Cod'ine" and Sainte-Marie's unrestrained vocal delivery. In a retrospective album review for AllMusic, critic William Ruhlmann called it "one of the most scathing topical folk albums ever made. Sainte-Marie sings in an emotional, vibrato-laden voice... Even decades later, the album's power is moving and disturbing". In a song review, Greenwald called it a "true coffeehouse classic [and] one of Buffy Sainte-Marie's most well-loved (and most covered) songs". Festival!, the 1967 documentary film about the Newport Folk Festival by director Murray Lerner, includes a performance of the song by Sainte-Marie. The original appears on several compilation albums, such as The Best of Buffy Sainte-Marie (1970) and Best of the Vanguard Years (2003). Legacy Music journalist Richie Unterberger identified "Cod'ine" as "one of the few '60s songs to explicitly address the dangers of drugs". Author Michael C. Keith includes "Cod'ine", along with "Signed D.C." written by Arthur Lee (1966, Love), "Amphetamine Annie" by Canned Heat (1968), "The Pusher" by Hoyt Axton (1968, Steppenwolf), as examples of songs from the 1960s that explore a similar theme. Although Sainte-Marie had kicked the habit, she feels that the song led some to perceive her as an addict: "In my first couple of records, whoever was choosing the takes wanted me to sound like I was kind of old and dying. I think they imagined that maybe I was a junkie or they probably thought that I was going to be a young casualty." In 1964, Scottish folk singer Donovan recorded a demo version of "Cod'ine". Greenwald described it as "a true progressive folk music classic... a dark, minor-key folk-blues with a fabulously simple descending guitar riff". In 1992, Donovan's demo was released on the box set, Troubadour: The Definitive Collection 1964–1976, under the title "Codine". Early demos also recorded by Janis Joplin (1965, with modified lyrics) and Gram Parsons (1965–1966) were eventually issued on compilation albums. In the 1960s,