Jimmy Buffett

• Born: December 25, 1946
• Place of Birth: Pascagoula, Mississippi
• Died: September 1, 2023
• Place of Death: Sag Harbor, New York

AMERICAN ROCK SINGER, SONGWRITER, AND GUITARIST

With a musical style best described as an amalgam of country-western, rock, and reggae, Buffett created a roster of appealing, lighthearted story songs that celebrate coastal towns, libations, and carefree lifestyles.

The Life

James William Buffett was born in Mississippi, but he grew up in Mobile, Alabama. He attended a Catholic elementary school and an all-male high school. He studied at Auburn University in Alabama and at Pearl River Community College in Mississippi before transferring to the University of Southern Mississippi, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in history and journalism in 1969. That year he married Margie Washichek, moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and worked as a freelance journalist for Billboard. He performed locally in Nashville and recorded two albums that met with limited success.

In the early 1970s he divorced and moved to Florida, where his musical career flourished. He worked with country-music singer Jerry Jeff Walker and started a long and fruitful collaboration with the Coral Reefer Band. He met Jane Slagsvol; they married and had three children.

In addition to being a singer and a songwriter, Buffett was an airplane pilot, a record producer, a film producer, a soundtrack composer, a conservationist, and an entrepreneur. Notably, he was one of a few authors to have a New York Times bestseller in both the fiction and nonfiction categories. Although his most popular songs were written in the 1970s, his concert tours, which continued into the 2020s, kept his music vital. His devoted fans are called Parrot Heads.

The Music

Buffett composed humorous and sentimental ballads and sung them over a simple accompaniment. His music does not fit one genre; it samples several, such as country-western, rock, and reggae. Supported by a marimba, a ship’s bell, an electronic piano, an organ, an acoustic guitar, conga drums, and other percussion instruments, Buffett unspooled his first-person tales in lyrics that revolve around themes of sailing, drinking, and living freely.

Backed by the Coral Reefer Band, Buffett released several albums in the 1970s, including the immensely successful Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes and Son of a Son of a Sailor. His duet with Alan Jackson, “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” was a country hit in 2003, and in 2004 his album License to Chill was his first to be ranked number one on the Billboard chart.

“Come Monday.” Buffett’s first nationally successful song, “Come Monday,” appeared on the Billboard singles chart under the pop, country, and adult contemporary headings. This slow ballad, which features a steel guitar, a string section, and tender lyrics about being separated from a loved one, has a definite country sound. “Come Monday” was the only hit song from the album Living and Dying in 3/4 Time.

“Margaritaville.” “Margaritaville” was a surprise hit when it was released in 1977 on Buffett’s album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes. The singer’s persona relates the story of his return to Margaritaville (evidently a tropical tourist destination) and the inebriation that he initially blames on a woman but admits is “my own damned fault.” The combination of guitar, marimba, conga drums, electronic keyboard, and Buffett’s tranquil voice became the quintessential elements of his sound. “Margaritaville” ranked in the Top 15 on the Billboard charts in the pop, country, and adult contemporary categories. Even after the album was certified platinum later that year, no one suspected just how big the song would become outside the music arena. In addition to the restaurant chain Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville and the satellite radio station Radio Margaritaville, a Margaritaville brand of tequila, a margarita mix, footwear, and frozen shrimp products were created. One Buffett biography was titled Jimmy Buffett: The Man from Margaritaville Revealed; a two-disc collection of Buffett’s songs was called Meet Me in Margaritaville. When Buffett released an album of his greatest hits in 1985, its title made a subtle reference to the enormity of the song’s success: Songs You Know by Heart: Jimmy Buffett’s Greatest Hit(s).

“Cheeseburger in Paradise.” “Cheeseburger in Paradise” was released in 1978 on the album Son of a Son of a Sailor. This song is the story of Buffett’s failed attempt to become a vegetarian and his ultimate desire to consume an elaborate, perfect cheeseburger. In addition to his standard use of guitar, drums, and vocals, this song features an electric organ, hand clapping, harmonica, and a female chorus. In The Parrot Head: Handbook, Buffett wrote that the inspiration for this song was a cheeseburger he imagined while he was lost on the Caribbean Sea. He landed on an island and, to his surprise, found a restaurant that served cheeseburgers. He ordered the cheeseburger he imagined, and he was served something rather different, but he was pleased, nonetheless, to be fed and back on dry land. In addition, a restaurant chain was built around this song.

Musical Legacy

Although Buffett’s music was distinctive for its leisurely attitude, Buffett himself was tireless. He performed on concert tours for decades, composed and recorded music for numerous albums, wrote several books, and traveled extensively. He was noted for his involvement in multiple business ventures and conservationist organizations. He collaborated with other musicians, such as James Taylor, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Jim Croce, and Alan Jackson. He and his fans contributed “parrot head,” “phlock,” and “parrot hedonism” to the lexicon.

Buffett died on September 1, 2023, at his home in Sag Harbor, New York, following a four-year battle with Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare form of skin cancer. He was seventy-six years old.

In 2024, Florida’s legislature declared that August 30 would officially become Jimmy Buffett Day in the state. That same year, Buffett was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Principal Recordings

ALBUMS: Down to Earth, 1970; A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation, 1973; A-1-A, 1974; Living and Dying in 3/4 Time, 1974; Rancho Deluxe, 1975; Havana Daydreamin’, 1976; High Cumberland Jubilee (1972), 1976; Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, 1977; Son of a Son of a Sailor, 1978; You Had to Be There, 1978; Volcano, 1979; Coconut Telegraph, 1981; Somewhere over China, 1982; One Particular Harbour, 1983; Riddles in the Sand, 1984; Last Mango in Paris, 1985; Floridays, 1986; Hot Water, 1988; Off to See the Lizard, 1989; Feeding Frenzy, 1990; Fruitcakes, 1994; Barometer Soup, 1995; Banana Wind, 1996; Christmas Island, 1996; Don’t Stop the Carnival, 1998; Beach House on the Moon, 1999; Captain America, 2002; Far Side of the World, 2002; License to Chill, 2004; Take the Weather With You, 2006; Buffet Hotel, 2009; Songs from St. Somewhere, 2013; Songs You Don't Know By Heart, 2020.

Bibliography

"About." Jimmy Buffet, 2024, www.jimmybuffett.com/about. Accessed 26 Sept. 2024.

Buffett, Jimmy. The Parrot Head: Handbook. Universal City, Calif.: MCI Records, 1992.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. A Pirate Looks at Fifty. New York: Random House, 1998.

Corcoran, Tom. Jimmy Buffett: The Key West Years. Marathon, Fla.: Ketch & Yawl Press, 2006.

Eng, Steve. Jimmy Buffett: The Man from Margaritaville Revealed. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1996.

Friskics-Warren, Bill. "Jimmy Buffett, Roguish Bard of Island Escapism, Is Dead at 76." The New York Times, 12 Sept. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/09/02/arts/jimmy-buffett-dead.html. Accessed 26 Sept. 2024.

"Jimmy Buffett to be Inducted Into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." Buffett News, 22 Apr. 2024, www.buffettnews.com/2024/04/22/32107/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2024.

Quigley, Jackson, with Jerry Gontang. Jimmy dotcom: The Evolution of a Phan. Lake Forest, Calif.: St. Somewhere Press, 2000.

Runnells, Charles. "Jimmy Buffett Day: What Every Parrothead Should Know About Florida's Trop-Rock Icon." Naples Daily News, 19 Aug. 2024, www.naplesnews.com/story/entertainment/2024/08/19/who-is-jimmy-buffett-hit-songs-florida-margaritaville-cheeseburger-in-paradise-parrothead-key-west/74765985007/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2024.

Thomas, Ryan. The Parrot Head Companion: An Insider’s Guide to Jimmy Buffett. Secaucus, N.J.: Carol, 1998.