This arrangement of Borsalino has evolved in my hands since the late 70s. The original song was written by Claude Jean Harry Bolling for the movie “Borsalino,” a 1970 film directed by Jacques Deray, starring Alain Delon, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Catherine Rouvel.

I give credit to my friend Dan Johnson who originally came up with the idea and played it for me one day. I fell in love with the song immediately and then, once I worked up my arrangement, I played it for Chet Atkins over the phone. The same thing happened with him – he fell in love with the song and learned this arrangement as well.

I’ll play it through at normal tempo and then step you through the arrangement slowly, one section at a time, and point out the things that I think are important to help you play it as best as you can.