Maps of Music

Somewhere Over the Rainbow (1981)

Where the lyrics of Somewhere Over the Rainbow take you, and where it was really made.

Willie Nelson's 1981 album of 1940s pop standards was made partly as a tribute to gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.

Key places

Recorded at Gilley's Recording Studio (1981)

Recording site Gilley's Recording Studio — The album was recorded at Gilley's Recording Studio in Pasadena, Texas, where the sessions for this record took place. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Somewhere Over the Rainbow: twenty-sixth studio album by country singer Willie Nelson, released 1981
• Contains 1940s pop standards arranged by Nelson
• Acoustic jazz instrumentation
• Released February 1981 by Columbia Records
• Ten tracks, five per side

Background

• Acoustic jazz sound meant as a tribute to gypsy jazz guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt, one of Nelson's heroes
• Reinhardt influenced Nelson's playing
• "Over the Rainbow" written by E. Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen
• Side two includes Nelson's own song "In My Mother's Eyes"
• "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" is a traditional song arranged by Nelson

Recording

• Recorded at Gilley's Recording Studio in Pasadena, Texas
• Engineer Bert Frilot
• Guitar and vocals: Willie Nelson, Freddy Powers
• Tenor guitar and mandolin: Paul Buskirk
• Fiddle: Johnny Gimble
• Bass guitar: Bob Moore; upright bass: Dean Reynolds

Cover

• Photography by Norman Seeff

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Willie Hugh Nelson on April 29, 1933, in Abbott, Texas.
• Wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band, Bohemian Polka, as a guitarist at age nine.
• Attended Baylor University for two years before dropping out to pursue music.
• Moved to Nashville in 1960 and joined Ray Price's band as a bassist.

Career

• Songs such as "Crazy" (Patsy Cline), "Funny How Time Slips Away" and "Pretty Paper" became hits for other artists.
• Debut album ...And Then I Wrote was released in 1962; joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1965.
• Helped lead the outlaw country movement after moving to Austin, Texas in 1972.
• Red Headed Stranger (1975) was a critically acclaimed concept album; the single "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" became his first number one hit.
• Co-founded Farm Aid in 1985 with Neil Young and John Mellencamp.
• Acted in over 30 films, including The Electric Horseman (1979).
• Received a Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance for "Ride Me Back Home" (2019).
• Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993 and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Released February 1981 by Columbia Records
• Willie Nelson's twenty-sixth studio album
• Features 1940s pop standards arranged by Nelson
• Acoustic jazz instrumentation meant as a tribute to Django Reinhardt
• Side one: "Mona Lisa" (2:28), "Exactly Like You" (2:22), "Who's Sorry Now?" (2:58), "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)" (3:30), "Won't You Ride in My Little Red Wagon" (2:28)
• Side two: "Over the Rainbow" (3:33), "In My Mother's Eyes" (3:06), "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" (2:58), "It Wouldn't Be the Same (Without You)" (2:54), "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" (2:10)
• Personnel: Willie Nelson and Freddy Powers on guitar and vocals; Paul Buskirk on tenor guitar and mandolin; Johnny Gimble on fiddle; Bob Moore on bass guitar; Dean Reynolds on upright bass
• Engineer Bert Frilot; photography by Norman Seeff

Records

• US country albums chart: number 1
• Billboard 200: number 31

Sources: es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Side two places Nelson's own song "In My Mother's Eyes" among the 1940s standards.
• Johnny Gimble plays fiddle and Freddy Powers is credited on guitar and vocals.
• The album was recorded at Gilley's Recording Studio in Pasadena, Texas.
• The tribute to Django Reinhardt shapes the album's acoustic jazz instrumentation.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

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