Hurdy-gurdy twenty-three different forms, and there is still no standardized design today. The six-stringed French "vielle à roue" is the best known and most common sort. A number of regional forms developed, but outside France the instrument was considered a folk instrument and there were no schools of construction that could have determined a standard form. There are two primary body styles for contemporary instruments: guitar-bodied and lute-backed. Both forms are found in French-speaking areas, while guitar-bodied instruments are the general form elsewhere. The box form of the "simphonia" is also commonly found among players of early music and historical re-enactors.
The Hurdy Gurdy Man The Hurdy Gurdy Man The Hurdy Gurdy Man is the sixth studio album (seventh overall) by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the US in October 1968 (Epic Records BN 26420 (stereo)), but not in the UK, because of a continuing contractual dispute that also prevented "Sunshine Superman" and "Mellow Yellow" from being released there. A songbook of lead sheets to the album was nonetheless issued in both countries. Donovan wrote and recorded much of "The Hurdy Gurdy Man" in late 1967, not long after recording the songs that would form "A Gift from a Flower to a Garden".