Ry Cooder – Chicken Skin Music

Ry Cooder — Chicken Skin Music

A roots music tapestry combining Hawaiian, gospel, conjunto, folk and blues!

Part of the Acoustic Sounds 40 Series

Releasing 40 titles to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Acoustic Sounds!

180-gram 45 RPM double LP

Mastered from the original master tape

Pressed at Quality Record Pressings

Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jacket by Stoughton Printing

The title says it all — Chicken Skin Music means goosebumps, and Ry Cooder delivers them in spades. Released in 1976, this groundbreaking album captures Cooder at his most adventurous, blending gospel, Tex-Mex, Hawaiian, folk, and blues into one seamless, soul-stirring whole. Long before “world music” was a genre, Cooder was already building the bridges — connecting sounds, cultures, and traditions with unmatched taste and precision.

What makes Chicken Skin Music so extraordinary is the joy in the playing. Cooder’s slide guitar glides effortlessly alongside Flaco Jiménez’s accordion, Gabby Pahinui’s slack-key stylings, and gospel-choir harmonies that lift every track skyward. Songs like “He’ll Have to Go,” “Stand by Me,” and “Always Lift Him Up / Kanaka Wai Wai” radiate warmth and humanity, revealing Cooder’s rare gift for honoring tradition while reinventing it in his own unmistakable voice.

Few records sound this alive, this inclusive, or this downright moving. It’s Ry Cooder at his most inspired.