Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Willie Nelson album) explained

Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Type:	studio
Artist:	Willie Nelson
Cover:	Somewhere Over The Rainbow Willie Nelson.JPG
Released:	February 1981
Studio:	Gilley's Recording Studio (Pasadena, Texas)
Genre:	Country, pop, jazz
Length:	28:27
Label:	Columbia
Producer:	Willie Nelson, Freddy Powers, Paul Buskirk
Prev Title:	Family Bible
Prev Year:	1980
Next Title:	Always on My Mind
Next Year:	1982

Somewhere Over the Rainbow is a studio album by country music singer Willie Nelson, released in 1981. It features 1940s pop standards arranged by Nelson. The album's acoustic jazz instrumentation was also meant to play tribute to one of his heroes, Belgian gipsy jazz guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt, who influenced Nelson's playing.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Mona Lisa" (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans) (2:28)
2. "Exactly Like You" (Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh) (2:22)
3. "Who's Sorry Now?" (Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Ted Snyder) (2:58)
4. "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)" (Al Neiburg, Doc Daugherty, Ellis Reynolds) (3:30)
5. "Won't You Ride in My Little Red Wagon" (Rex Griffin) (2:28)

Side two

1. "Over the Rainbow" (E. Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen) (3:33)
2. "In My Mother's Eyes" (Willie Nelson) (3:06)
3. "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" (Fred E. Ahlert, Joe Young) (2:58)
4. "It Wouldn't Be the Same (Without You)" (Fred Rose, Jimmy Wakely) (2:54)
5. "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" (Traditional; arranged by Willie Nelson) (2:10)

Personnel

• Willie Nelson – guitar, vocals
• Freddy Powers – guitar, vocals
• Paul Buskirk – tenor guitar, mandolin
• Johnny Gimble – fiddle
• Bob Moore – bass guitar
• Dean Reynolds – upright bass

Technical

• Bert Frilot – engineer
• Norman Seeff – photography

Charts

Year-end charts

Notes and References

1. Top Country Albums – Year-End 1981. Billboard. June 4, 2021.