''Sails'' is the fifty-fourth studio album by

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...

. It was released in 1987 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. ''Sails'' follows in the 1980s' vein of Chet Atkins' releases with a smooth jazz and new age atmosphere.

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

music critic Richard S. Ginell wrote of the album; "this recording veers well across the line into new age wallowing of the most innocuous kind... this is not one of the better Atkins Columbia discs."

Track listing

# "Sails" (Hall) – 4:20 # "Why Worry" (

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

) – 6:23 # "Sometime, Someplace" (

David Hungate William David Hungate (born August 5, 1948) is an American bass guitarist noted as a member of the Los Angeles pop-rock band Toto from 1976 to 1982 and again from 2014 to 2015, and the son of judge William L. Hungate. Along with most of his T ...

, Randy McCormick) – 4:59 # "Up in My Treehouse" (Walker) – 3:52 # "Waltz for the Lonely" (Chet Atkins,

Randy Goodrum Charles Randolph Goodrum (born July 7, 1947) is an American songwriter, pianist, and producer. Goodrum has written number one songs in each of the four decades since his first number one hit, 1978's "You Needed Me". Goodrum's songs have appeare ...

) – 3:01 # "Laffin' at Life" (Atkins, Daryyl Dybka, David Hungate) – 5:30 # "On a Roll" (Atkins, Dybka, Paul Yandell) – 5:21 # "My Song" (

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American jazz and classical music pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also been a ...

) – 5:08 # "Love Letters" (Dybka) – 3:09 # "Wobegon (The Way It Used to Be)" (Atkins) – 3:20

Personnel

*Chet Atkins - guitar, banjo *Darryl Dybka - keyboards *

- bass *

Earl Klugh Earl Klugh ( ; born September 16, 1953) is an American acoustic guitarist and composer. He has won one Grammy award and thirteen nominations. Klugh was awarded the “1977” Best Recording Award For Performance and Sound” for his album “Fi ...

- guitar *

- guitar *Mike Lawler - keyboards *Clayton Ivey - keyboards *Randy McCormick - keyboards *

Billy Joe Walker, Jr. Billy Joe Walker Jr. (February 29, 1952 – July 25, 2017) was an American songwriter, record producer and recording artist. He composed singles for Eddie Rabbitt, including "I Wanna Dance with You", "That's Why I Fell in Love with You" and " B ...

- guitar *

Terry McMillan Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951) is an American novelist. Her work centers around the experiences of Black women in the United States. Early life McMillan was born in Port Huron, Michigan. She received a B.A. in journalism in 1977 from ...

- harmonica, percussion *

Paul Yandell Paul Yandell (September 6, 1935 – November 21, 2011) was an American guitar player from Mayfield, Kentucky. Yandell played fingerstyle, a style he learned to play from his neighbors, influenced by Chet Atkins and Merle Travis. In 1955 he was hir ...

- guitar *Millard Green - guitar *

Larrie Londin Ralph Gallant (October 15, 1943 − August 24, 1992), better known by the stage name Larrie Londin, was an American drummer and session musician. According to journalist James Byron Fox, "If not the best known, Larrie is one of the most listene ...

- drums, percussion *Mark Hammond - percussion, drum programming *Bob Mater - drums *

Jim Horn James Ronald Horn (born November 20, 1940) is an American saxophonist, woodwind player, and session musician. Biography Horn was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for f ...

- horns *Mike Haynes - horns *Baba Ram Dave - sitar *Aristotle Onassid -

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

*Dave Humphries - drum programming

Production notes

*Strings arranged by Bergen White *Horns arranged by Bergen White and Darryl Dybka *Mixed by Dave Palmer and John Mills *Engineered by John Mills and Tom Singers *Mastered by Denny Purcell *Design by Bill Johnson and Jeff Morris

References

{{Authority control 1987 albums Chet Atkins albums Albums produced by Chet Atkins Columbia Records albums