''Riddles in the Sand'' is the thirteenth studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...

. It was released in September 1984 as MCA 5512 and was produced by noted

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

producer

Jimmy Bowen James Albert Bowen (born November 30, 1937) is an American record producer and former rockabilly singer. Bowen brought Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood together, and introduced Sinatra to Mel Tillis for their album, ''Mel & Nancy.'' Early life ...

and represented a concerted shift toward a more country sound by Buffett. He appeared on the album's cover in typical country singer garb and promoted the album at Fan Fair country music festival in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. The album was originally to have been titled ''Gulf and Western Music'' reflecting the fusion of musical styles seen in much of Buffett's music often called Gulf and Western music. In the album's liner notes, Jim Harrison says, "This album has a musical range expanding in an arc from

Bob Wills James Robert "Bob" Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade C ...

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

with the Gulf somehow always there."Riddles in the Sand
liner notes at BuffettRemasters.com

Songs

The album is the first of Buffett's not to contain a song written solely by him; he co-wrote all of the songs with

Will Jennings Wilbur Herschel Jennings (June 27, 1944 – September 6, 2024) was an American lyricist. He was known for writing the songs " Up Where We Belong", " Higher Love", " Tears in Heaven" and "My Heart Will Go On". He was inducted into the Songwriter ...

and

Michael Utley Michael Edward Utley (born 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and was the musical director and keyboard player for Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band. After Buffett's death he retired from touring and was replaced by his ...

(one also with

Josh Leo Josh Leo (born 1953 in Des Moines, Iowa) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer active in Nashville, Tennessee. Leo was born in Des Moines, Iowa, but was raised in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1976, he moved to Chicago, Illinois ...

) except for a song by

Mac McAnally Lyman Corbitt McAnally Jr. (; born July 15, 1957), known professionally as Mac McAnally, is an American singer-songwriter, session musician, and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. Two of his sing ...

and one by Rhonda Coullet. The album's final song, "La Vie Dansante," was later remade by

Aaron Neville Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer renowned for his distinctively smooth, vibrato-heavy tenor and a genre-crossing career that spans R&B, soul, gospel, jazz, country, and pop. He gained national prominence with hi ...

for his 1991 album ''Warm Your Heart''. That version contained an added background chorus in French. Buffett recorded a new version of "Knees of My Heart" for his 2003

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

collection '' Meet Me in Margaritaville: The Ultimate Collection''.

Chart performance

''Riddles in the Sand'' reached No. 95 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart and No. 18 on the ''Billboard'' Top Country Albums chart. The song "When the Wildlife Betrays Me" hit No. 42 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart, "Who's the Blonde Stranger?" hit No. 37 Country, and "Bigger Than the Both of Us" hit No. 58 Country.

Track listing

Side 1: #"Who's the Blonde Stranger?" (Jimmy Buffett,

) – 3:44 #"When the Wildlife Betrays Me" (Jimmy Buffett, Michael Utley, Will Jennings) – 2:51 #"Ragtop Day" (Jimmy Buffett, Michael Utley, Will Jennings) – 3:03 #"She's Going Out of My Mind" (

) – 3:26 #"Bigger than the Both of Us" ( Rhonda Coullet) – 3:57 Side 2: #"Knees of My Heart" (Jimmy Buffett, Michael Utley, Will Jennings) – 2:41 #"Come to the Moon" (Jimmy Buffett, Michael Utley, Will Jennings) – 3:47 #"Love in Decline" (Jimmy Buffett, Michael Utley, Will Jennings) – 2:42 #"Burn that Bridge" (Jimmy Buffett, Michael Utley, Will Jennings) – 3:12 #"La Vie Dansante" (Jimmy Buffett, Michael Utley, Will Jennings) – 4:02

Personnel

The Coral Reefer Band: *Jimmy Buffett – guitar, vocals *Matt Betton – drums, saxophone *

Sam Clayton Sam Clayton (born September 16, 1946) is an American singer and percussionist, primarily focusing on drums, conga and djembe, throughout his musical career. He is best known as a supporting vocalist and percussionist with the American rock band ...

– percussion *

Emory Gordy Jr. Emory Lee Gordy Jr. (born December 25, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter and music producer. A former member of Emmylou Harris' backing band The Hot Band, he is best known for his association with country singer Patty Loveless, to whom ...

– bass *

Robert Greenidge Robert Greenidge (born 28 April 1950 in Success Village, Laventille, Trinidad) is a steelpan player. He is a member of popular music singer Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band and the instrumental group Club Trini. Greenidge has also collaborated ...

– steel drums *

Greg "Fingers" Taylor Greg "Fingers" Taylor (June 3, 1952 – November 23, 2023) was an American harmonica player, best known for his work with Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band. Career Greg Taylor was born in Wichita, Kansas, on June 3, 1952, where he attended Wich ...

– harmonica *

Mike Utley Michael Gerard Utley (born December 20, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a guard for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington State Cougars, earning ...

– keyboards *

Reggie Young Reggie Grimes Young Jr. (December 12, 1936 – January 17, 2019) was an American musician who was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studio house band, The Memphis Boys, and was a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with ...

– guitar *

John Barlow Jarvis John Barlow Jarvis (born January 2, 1954, in Pasadena, California)Paul Kingsbury, editor"The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music" 2004 is an American songwriter, composer, session pianist and recording artist. Before mo ...

– synthesizer, 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 " ...

– guitar *Larry Lee,

Wendy Waldman Wendy Waldman (born Wendy Steiner on November 29, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Biography Early life Waldman grew up in the Los Angeles area and was raised in a musical environment. Her father Fred Steiner was a ...

, Thomas Flora,

– background vocals

Singles

*"When the Wild Life Betrays Me" b/w "Ragtop Day" (Released on MCA 52438 in August 1984) *"Bigger Than the Both of Us" b/w "Come to the Moon" (Released on MCA 52499 in November 1984) *"Who's The Blonde Stranger" b/w "She's Going Out Of My Mind" (Released on MCA 52550 in March 1985)

Notes

{{Authority control Jimmy Buffett albums 1984 albums Albums produced by Jimmy Bowen MCA Records albums