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.
Hurdy Gurdy Man had created "Celtic Rock". The session was produced by Mickie Most and engineered by Eddie Kramer. Donovan had originally hoped Jimi Hendrix would play on the song, but he was unavailable. In fact, Donovan said he wanted to give the song to Hendrix for him to record, but that Mickie Most "flipped out" when he heard the song and insisted that Donovan should record it himself as his next single. The lyrics recount the tale of a nameless narrator being visited in his dreams by the eponymous "hurdy gurdy man" and his close associate, the "roly poly man", who come