Allmusic reviewer Steve Huey praised the album: One of Blue Note's greatest mainstream hard bop dates, Song for My Father is Horace Silver's signature LP and the peak of a discography already studded with classics..it hangs together remarkably well, and Silver's writing is at his tightest and catchiest [REF].
The album was identified by Scott Yanow in his Allmusic essay "Hard Bop" as one of the 17 Essential Hard Bop Recordings [REF].