Never had the pleasure of seeing him. Enjoyed his Caribbean flavored soft pop. Margaritaville is a great song. As a record dealer, I've heard most of his discography. When I stumbled across his somewhat scarce 1970 debut on Barnaby Records, Down To Earth, it was an eye opener. Like most records released in 1970, it had a pronounced psychedelic favor that was much different than his later work for ABC and MCA.
Seems like a good day to fire up a doobie and put some booze in the blender.
I saw Buffett that one time (at Poplar Creek outside Chicago) because a buddy of mine said he'd go see the GD with me, if I'd see Buffett with him, so a deal was struck. (He got to see the 1990 GD show at Soldier Field that was the show played at this summer's Meet Up at the Movies; I'm not sure exactly when we saw Buffett.)
The obit I read for Buffett this morning mentioned how Parrot Heads were akin to deadheads, and I can see how someone not very familiar with either scene might say that. But what struck me most about the scene at Buffett's show was the conformity. Floral Hawaiian shirts, leis, grass skirts, coconut bras, shark fins, and lots of booze. Sure, some ganja got smoked, but I don't think I'm going out on a limb by saying that Parrot Heads were mostly booze heads. It was more like a frat party than an acid test. That said, it was a good time, but not something I felt like I had to do again.
Damn. I definitely had my time with Mr. Buffett, times etched into my brain.
For a significant period in the '90s his shows at Shoreline Amphitheatre were epic affairs. I don't know what they were like in other venues around the country during that time, but when he played other venues in the Bay Area the shows were NOTHING like the ones at Shoreline. For about ten years Buffett at Shoreline was a "thing" with his fans and with others who discovered that Buffett at Shoreline was a PARTY! And raging, alcohol soaked, virtually uncontrollable parties they were.
Comparing those shows to a frat party is pretty spot-on. I always used to think that the majority of the crowd were grown, responsible adults who used Buffett shows to shed their responsibilities and trappings of adulthood and act like idiots for one night. And the only thing more difficult & annoying to deal with than huge crowds of drunken college-aged frat rats are fully grown drunken 30/40-something "frat rats".
It was at a Buffett show where a drunken loon climbed onto & halfway up one of the seams of the tent before slipping and falling, screaming the whole way before smashing onto Buffett's bus backstage. I was back there because I knew he was going to fall and was warning people to get out of the way. Right after crashing onto the top of the bus I saw his leg hanging over the side, blood dripping off his shoeless foot and I thought, "I just saw a man die". I then walked into the bowl and 20,000 oblivious happy fools who had no idea what had happened were singing about changes in attitude, changes in latitude.
The tent guy ended up surviving but that was one of the strangest things I ever saw at the 'line. And I've seen a lot of really strange things at Shoreline.
Somewhere along the line, like all things, his shows lost their manic popularity, but Jimmy Buffett definitely has a place in Shoreline lore and in my personal experiences. I'll raise a tequila in his honor this afternoon.
Jimmy Buffett died after a lengthy skin cancer battle, according to a source at TMZ. The singer, who was 76, was apparently diagnosed with the disease four years ago and it turned into lymphoma, which was ultimately the cause of his death, the insider said. “He lived his life in the sun, literally and figuratively,” one close friend shared.
The source also said that Jimmy began receiving hospice care last Monday and had close family and friends with him throughout. Sir Paul McCartney also apparently went to the “Margaritaville” crooner’s home a week ago and sang to his family.
For a significant period in the '90s his shows at Shoreline Amphitheatre were epic affairs.
Yes they were, I went several times and it was not unlike the festive atmosphere at a Dead show - Buffet style, but that crowd had a fun vibe. Good times with the Parrot heads!
Wow. This hits me harder than anyone since John Prine died. There was a time when Jimmy Buffet was it for me. Before my first dead show. Way back. His first albums were pure gold. A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean (1973), Living and Dying in 3/4 Time (1974), A1A (1974), Havana Daydreamin' (1976), Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes (1977) And to some extent, Son of a Son of a Sailor (1978) Were incredible albums and I knew most every word of every song. Cheeseburger in paradise is where I got off the bandwagon. But before that he was it.
I saw him for the first time in 75 in a beer bar in Houston in 1975. I had never heard of him but had some time to kill. I was blown away. I remember Come Monday and God's own drunk stood out, and I was hooked. Started buying his albums. Saw him again in Laramie Wyoming. He had a broken leg. Saw him years later in Irvine California, and he had another broken leg.
I was so disappointed in Cheeseburger that I kinda walked away. Was not a fan of the pop bullshit path he greedily went down after that. But those early albums are pure gold. If you are not familiar, please take some time and listen to a few of his best..
Not a parrot head, but often spin his records. A1A is my favorite.
His book Pirate Looks at 50 is an interesting read. And the Coral Reefer Band has some of the best players in Nashville. Mac McNally doing "Little Martha" had my jaw on the floor.
I remember way back in the 70's when I would take the bus to High school in Rockford Illinois our bus driver was a Parrot Head who had an 8 track player (remember them) installed on the bus and would play Jimmy Buffet 8 tracks. I remember he wore a green army jacket like he was in Vietnam before and let us High Schoolers drink and smoke weed on his bus!
Looks like they're having a parade in Key West today for Jimmy. Way cool. Great tribute!
Updated obit:
JIMMY BUFFETT (1946-2023)
Sep 01, 2023
(December 25, 1946 - September 1, 2023)
The beloved singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett passed away at his home in Sag Harbor, Long Island on Friday September 1, 2023 surrounded by family and friends. Buffett, 76, had been fighting Merkel Cell Skin Cancer for four years. He continued to perform during treatment, playing his last show, a surprise appearance in Rhode Island, in early July.
With a recording career that spanned more than fifty years and included hits such as “Margaritaville,” “Come Monday,” and “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” Buffett was one of the most successful performers in popular music. He filled arenas with fans who called themselves “Parrot Heads,” and popularized a signature blend of folk, country and Caribbean music with lyrics that often reflected Buffett’s world travels. A pilot and a sailor, Buffett wrote songs about his plane being shot at by Jamaican police (“Jamaica Mistaica”), getting lost in the Sahara Desert (“Buffet Hotel”) and smugglers he had known around the Florida Gulf Coast (“A Pirate Looks at 40”).
Although he was best known for upbeat party songs (others include “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” and “Fins”) Buffett first achieved notoriety for thoughtful ballads that showed the influence of Texas songwriters such as Jerry Jeff Walker and Canadian Gordon Lightfoot.
Bob Dylan praised lesser-known Buffett compositions “He Went to Paris” and “Death of an Unpopular Poet” - songs that reflected the observational, storytelling skills Buffett developed in his early career as a journalist for Billboard magazine.
Buffett had a second career as a successful author. He was one of a handful of writers who had number one best-sellers on both the fiction and non-fiction lists of the New York Times Book Review.
He had a third career as an entrepreneur, building a diversified lifestyle brand business, including Margaritaville hotels, restaurants, and retirement communities, along with sidelines such as Land Shark beer. Buffett’s branding and business acumen made him one of the most financially successful musicians of all time.
James William Buffett was born on Christmas, 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi and grew up in Alabama. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1969. He credited early years playing and singing in the streets and bars of New Orleans with shaping his dedication to connecting with his audience and giving the customers a good show. Buffett had little patience with performers who took themselves too seriously. He liked to say that the job of singing for a living was descended from the profession of court jester.
Buffett is survived by his wife of 46 years, Jane (Slagsvol) Buffett, his daughters Savannah Jane (Joshua) and Sarah Delaney, his son Cameron Marley (Lara), his grandson Marley Ray and devoted pack of dogs Lola, Kingston, Pepper, Rosie, Ajax and Kody. Also survived by his Montana sister, Laurie Buffett McGuane (Tom), their children Heather Hume, Anne Buffett McGuane, Maggie McGuane and Thomas McGuane IV; his Alabama sister, Lucy Buffett and daughters Mara Delaney Buffett O’Dwyer and Melanie Leigh Buffett; and many more wonderful cousins, nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Jimmy Buffett’s Foundation Singing for Change, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute or MD Anderson Cancer Center.
His final performance, playing "Margaritaville" with a couple of his Coral Reefer Band collaborators on an outdoor stage next to the water and boats, surrounded by adoring fans at a surprise appearance on July 2, 2023 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island:
Me and a girl I dated used to go see Jimmy every year around 80-82-83ish at Blossom Music Center outside of Cleveland. It was kinda before the whole Parrot Head thing took off and became huge but there were a few coconut bras, and lots of Hawaiian shirts all around. Fun shows and some good times, no heavy lifting other than bending the elbow and passing a joint. Definitely turned into a drunkfest along the way, kinda like dead related shows now.
A couple weeks ago I found out about a ferry service here in Ft. Myers that will run you down to Key West and back. Just bought 4 round trip ticket vouchers for the wife and me to use in Jimmy's honor.
Jimmy Buffett’s daughter has revealed how the “Margaritaville” singer faced his last days before dying on Sept. 1 at the age of 76.
The singer died of complications from Merkel cell skin cancer after being diagnosed with it four years ago.
On Wednesday, Sarah “Delaney” Buffett, 31, posted a touching tribute to her dad on Instagram, where she described his upbeat attitude toward death.
“I knew my dad my whole life, but in his final days, I saw who he was: a man whose spirit could not be broken,” her post began. “Despite the pain, he smiled everyday. He was kind when he had every excuse not to be.”
Sarah Buffett said her dad “told us not to be sad or scared, but to keep the party going,” but added that “as much as I’d like to use that as an excuse to drink myself into oblivion worthy of his literary heroes, I know it’s not what he meant.”
Although Jimmy Buffett “loved his weed and his wine,” she said, “most of the time, he was just high on life, and that is what he wanted for everyone: to enjoy the fantastic trip that life can be.”
In the tribute, Sarah Buffett also noted how her dad repeatedly told his family how much he appreciated the doctors, nurses and others who helped during his cancer treatment.
“So to those who took care of my dad at home and in the hospital, I want to thank you for giving us more time together. I am eternally grateful.”
She also shared her dad’s ability to laugh at himself.
“When I showed him the ’South Park’ episodes that parody him, he loved chuckling along,” she said. “I remember teasing him about their Margaritaville blender jokes, and without missing a beat, he zinged me with ‘You live off those fucking blenders!’ He got me there.”
She then offered this final farewell to her dad.
“Finally, to my dad, thank you,” she said. “You turned nothing into something and gave me everything. I will never be able to repay you or my mom for my beautiful life. I will love you forever, and I will always keep the party going (responsibly, of course).”
Although Jimmy Buffett was on my musical radar for years, you probably couldn't call me anything but the most casual of fans. Knew some songs, enjoyed them and that was pretty much it. There are two situations that added a little bit to my life, and another, though.
The first was when a friend of mine who was his book editor, found out that my then young daughter love to read. Since my friend was the number 1 children's book editor at that time, she contacted a number of her authors and gifted my daughter a bunch of signed first edition children's books for her just started collection. Among them was a copy of Buffett's award-winning The Happy Mon, I came to find out for the first time right after his passing that my daughter and her husband are full on Parrot Heads.
The second was at the year I was photographing Bonnaroo. The press was informed late Saturday night that Buffett was going to play a surprise set at 9 am Sunday morning. Since there was an early start time for an unannounced set, no one expected a large crowd. I get to the photo pit that morning to see thousands of Parrot Heads waiting for Mr. Buffett in full-on island party mode. It seemed that every fan within 4 hours of driving had descended on Tennessee and purchased tickets that morning. It was probably the most fun set of the festival and good-time vibes were everywhere that morning. Never got to see him again but glad I did at least once.
Jimmy Buffett was probably my first favorite songwriter, probably around age 10. I wasn't old enough to understand what boat drinks were, but before long I knew all the songs by heart - A1A, A white sport coat and a pink crustacean, changes in latitude, living and dying in 3/4 time, I still have those records and still listen to them regularly. Listening to Pencil Thin Mustache right now, actually. I suppose it was the winters we spent in the keys where my dad worked playing in the bars - (the Lorelei in islamorada was always my favorite), any band that couldn't spit out a (any) JB request was instantly booed right out of town lol. Jimmy was long gone for Malibu by this time, but his influence and energy were everywhere in the Florida keys, always.
In hindsight now; jimmy's book; a pirate looks at fifty was something of an instruction manual for me on how I would approach my adult life. I named my first sailboat, a 26' Catalina the Savannah Jane. It seemed appropriate enough. All these years later I'm still kind of working on my second sailboat. Might even name it Row Jimmy. Anyways the whole idea of growing older, but not up is just a theme that has always stuck in the front of my mind.
His was the first concert I ever spent $100+ on a ticket to. That's still a lot of money for a ticket, but I don't remember ever hesitating at all. Worth every pennty. That was maybe around 1998, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas where he would play once or twice a year. People came from all over the world to these shows. For a day or two, the whole place would basically transform into margaritaville. The comparison to a Grateful Dead show with alcohol vs lsd is spot on. My much younger liver was always up for the challenge, and these were during years when there really wasn't anything interesting (enough) in the Grateful Dead universe to hold my attention. Jimmy's shows seemed like a comfortable, familiar place. Even the casino employees and security were always all really into the energy of it all, and a lot of them knew all the words too. A couple of those shows were so good they were even released commercially. He always had great players in his band, most of whom easily competent enough to front their own bands (some did) too. I do miss those times occasionally.
Most people don't know Jimmy got his "big" start around Austin Texas in the mid 70's, and his music from this era is what really opened the doors for a younger me to artists like Guy Clark, Robert Earl Keen, Willis Alan Ramsey, and many other Texas singer-songwriter types that in time have become my very favorite performers. Texas is an entire musical world unto itself, really.
I'll miss him. The world was a better place with Jimmy Buffett in it.
Interesting to see so much black screen love for Buffett. Not because it's not deserved, but because I don't recall much if any chatter about the guy here over the years.
But clearly there are many of you who really love him.
Always a bummer when a favorite or especially a hero passes on.
I've always enjoyed a good Buffett show. Saw 10 shows over the years at my local shed. Only annoying thing is the fans were a bunch of drunks. Vomit in 90° was never a good thing, but I liked the music.
Late 70's, early 80's, Lane County Fair Building (Eugene, I don't recall it was during the county fair). Cody, Jerry Jeff and the Coral Reefer Band. I think Billy C. from the Airmen introduced the Reefers as "the hardest drinking band in show business".
Later that night, walking home, my friends and I investigated a flashing lights cop show on I-5 near our home. It was Jerry Jeff, who decided to drive South in the North bound lane. Who hasn't done that? We thanked Mr. Walker for a fun show as he was cuffed and taken to the pokey.
I picked up Kinky Friedman's 2006 book "Texas Hold 'Em" off the dollar rack at a local independent bookstore. Figured for a buck, why not?
In the chapter "The Wanderer" talking about his pal Jerry Jeff Walker, I was surprised by this little comment about Buffett.
"Way back when doctors drove Buicks, Jerry Jeff rode his thumb out of his hometown in upstate New York, stopped by Key West long enough to invent Jimmy Buffett, then drifted over to New Orleans, where he sang for pennies on street corners. Perhaps he was curious to discover, in the words of Bob Dylan, "Who's gonna throw that minstrel boy a coin?"'
Be interesting to hear some history and stories on that.
How Jerry Jeff Walker Helped Put Jimmy Buffett on the Road to ‘Margaritaville’
The king of the Parrotheads remembers the ups and downs of his half-century friendship with the late cosmic cowboy.
Long before Jimmy Buffett became one of the most successful musicians in the world (his net worth was recently estimated at north of half a billion dollars), he was a struggling Nashville songwriter trying to figure out his path in the music business. Then he met Jerry Jeff Walker, who already had a hit and a handful of albums to his name. The meeting changed Buffett’s life. Last week he spoke to Texas Monthly about his old friend, who passed away on October 23. Here’s what he had to say.
[Note: to read more testimonials to Jerry Jeff, go here.]
I met Jerry Jeff in Nashville in 1970. I was writing songs and had a job as the Southern pop editor for Billboard magazine and a friend introduced me to him at an ASCAP event. I knew who he was from “Mr. Bojangles.” I was a huge fan, and we went out, had dinner. He was living in Florida, in Coconut Grove. I was in my first marriage, and there was trouble on the horizon. Nothing was happening for me in Nashville, and I looked at him and I thought, “Man, that’s the life I’d like to lead.” We got very drunk that night; this was nothing new in those days.
He ended up staying at my house. In the middle of the night there was a commotion and my wife said, “What’s going on down there?” I said, “It’s Jerry Jeff and he’s trying to make a phone call.” He was talking to an operator, and cursing loudly. Then, about five a.m. the phone rang, and in those days, the phone people would call and say, “We cut off your phone service because you used an obscenity. Are you ready to behave yourself now?” I went “Oh my God!” Jerry Jeff got up that morning and apologized to my wife. “I’m really sorry about this,” he said to me. “If you’re ever in Miami look me up.”
So a year later, I was working the folk circuit in the South, starting to get a name, and my manager got a call from these people in Miami who had a folk club, they wanted to book me. I’d split up with my wife, and I thought, “I’ll go to Miami and work the way Jerry Jeff does.” Coconut Grove was where I wanted to be. So I got on plane, went to Miami, called Jerry Jeff, told him I was there, and he said, “Come on over, stay with us.”
I stayed in his guest house. He was in with a great group of people—Freddie Neil, Vince Martin, Bobby Ingram, Dion—and they were all playing these folk clubs. I was gonna be an opening act, but my gig wasn’t going to be for another two weeks. I said to Jerry Jeff, “What am I gonna do until then?” And he said, “I wrecked my car and it’s in a garage, these guys are working on it and I’m working on it too, come on and help me.” So that’s what I did for two weeks. I lived with him and we worked on his car, which was a 1947 Packard.
There was always somebody around. Jerry Jeff introduced me to Freddie Neil [who had just had a big hit with “Everybody’s Talkin’,” off the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack]. He was probably Jerry Jeff’s favorite friend and songwriter. He was the real, real deal. There were all these other people coming through town—David Crosby, Rick Danko, Elaine “Spanky” McFarlane, Joni Mitchell, a lot of people getting out of the cold weather and coming to Miami. For me as a nobody, I couldn’t get over my luck, meeting all these people. That’s what Jerry did for me—because I was with him, that gave me some significance that I really didn’t deserve at the time. Everyone gathered around him. He was living large, and that was what everybody wanted to do then—live large. Miami at the time had a history going back to pirate days, the Mafia, the hippie days, the Cubans. It’s always been a pirate town—and he was the head pirate.
His girlfriend Murphy was from Key West. When that car was fixed, they said, “We’re gonna go to Key West, come on, you’ll love it down there.” I’d never been. We got in that car, he took me to Key West, it changed my life.
I’ve probably seen all of the Jerry Jeffs that there are. The dark period, the coked-up period. He almost wore his welcome out in Key West, for obvious reasons. He could be charming, but he could be the devil. I put him in a song I wrote, “The Devil I Know.”
We got down to Key West and I had credibility there as well because Jerry introduced me to all these scalawags and city officials, people at the Chart Room Bar—I got a job at the Chart Room Bar. He and Murphy went back to Miami and I stayed in Key West and never went back. I loved it—I’d been a teenager on Bourbon Street in college, I knew New Orleans from childhood, and Key West just had that magic.
Jerry Jeff and I wrote a song together called “Railroad Lady” while riding the train from New Orleans to Nashville. I thought it was a wonderful thing to be on a train with Jerry Jeff Walker, writing a song. I put it out on my album A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean and he said, “Why’d you give me credit for it?” I said, “Because we wrote it on the train.” He didn’t remember it.
By that point, Austin had come onto his radar. He played a last show at the Big Pine Key Inn in Big Pine, Florida, and got drunk, turned around, smashed his guitar, walked offstage. I went, “Woah.” You only saw that in the movies. When he realized what he’d done the next day, God, was he horrified. He wrote the song “That Old Beat Up Guitar” about it. He packed up, said, “I’m going to Austin,” and I didn’t hear from him for six months.
At the time, I was kind of coming out of the minor leagues, I was making records. From working all these bars and clubs I realized that I had the chops to perform, and I wound up going to Texas to play shows, and I’d stay with Jerry Jeff. He was with Susan by then; I could tell that was a very good move.
I’d gotten there on my own but he was there for me. He was my credibility in Coconut Grove, he was my credibility in Key West, and he was my credibility in Austin. My first time there I was an opening act at Castle Creek [a long-gone Austin folk club]. Jerry Jeff came and we played onstage that night. He’s the best wild man/concierge you could have. He knew everybody and he could be charming or he could walk off the stage and break his guitar. People still loved him and put up with him—because he was Jerry Jeff. He didn’t have a death wish, but he got out there pretty much.
When he got to Austin, he re-created himself. It was never, “I gotta get in, I need to be somebody.” He went there and was very comfortable being Jerry Jeff Walker, with both the good and the bad. He was a magnet, surrounded by all these musicians—B.W. Stevenson, Marcia Ball, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Marshall Chapman. I met all of them. Everybody wanted to be Jerry Jeff. He had a pied piper kind of thing. He had this sense about him and the thing of it was, it started with fun—he was fun—he seemed to be having fun.
I came to Austin a lot in those days. I made it there by getting these college bookings and getting on Willie’s second Fourth of July picnic. I played Castle Creek many times. I think it was after one of those shows, the next morning I had a hangover and I had to fly home that afternoon. I went to El Rey, a Mexican restaurant on Anderson Lane for lunch. I had a margarita, which helped with the hangover, and in the car on the way to the airport the chorus of a new song started to come to me. I wrote a little more on the plane and finished the rest of “Margaritaville” back in Key West.
In Austin, it didn’t matter that I was a Florida boy. Jerry Jeff took me down to Charlie Dunn’s [boot shop], dressed me, gave me a whole makeover. I got my first cowboy hat in Austin because of Jerry Jeff. Imagine this guy from New York who moved to Florida and created a scene in Coconut Grove, and then becomes the cosmic cowboy in Austin. He was the best carnival sideshow performer there ever was.
But all of a sudden you’d see the dark side and you’d say, “I don’t want to be around that guy.” I felt bad about it because he was only hurting himself as a performer. To me, it’s a treasure to be able to perform. I’d see him onstage when he wasn’t having fun and I’d say, “How can you not have fun up there? It’s a gift.”
We’ve all got dark sides, but his, he could go deep. He was often coked up or drunk, and you didn’t know what you were gonna get. There was no telling him not to, he had to figure that out by himself. I tried to tell him, but he didn’t listen. He’d say, “Aw f—!” or “Aw, you don’t know what you’re talking about!” By that time, I’d figured it out. I never thought he’d ever make it to forty, the way he was going.
He tried just about everything to get clean, and he eventually did, yes he did. And Susan had a lot to do with that, his kids too. It made me feel really good to see him do that. It could’ve gone the other way.
When my career took off I always stayed in touch with him. The last time we played together was three or four years ago, in Texas. I had a show in Frisco at the soccer field. ZZ Top was supposed to play but had to cancel. I called Jerry Jeff: “What are you doing?” “Nothing.” “Want to open for us?” I hadn’t played Dallas in ten years. He said yeah, and he sold a lot of tickets. I thought it would be fun to have him on the show, payback, to him from me, but it was an incredibly good show and he was on, and by that time I had recorded one of [his son] Django’s songs, “Somethin’ ’Bout a Boat.” It came full circle, it couldn’t have been better.
Would I have gotten to Key West without Jerry Jeff? Probably. And I probably could have found a job—I’d made the commitment. But it was so much easier because of him. When I heard he passed, I thought about what he had done for me in Key West, what he did for me in Coconut Grove, and what he did for me in Austin. Jerry Jeff was genuine from the beginning, from the time they shut my phone off and he said come stay with me if you ever get to Miami and I needed it desperately. There was no hesitation when it came to taking me in, none. I always tried to emulate that with other people I’ve helped out. I think that’s one of those beatitudes he had, he was at heart a very kind person—he loved to play and loved to sing and to hang out, and the spirit of what music did for him made other people happy.
What it comes to is, he wrote what he was. He was a gypsy songman—he just loved it. He wouldn’t have kept going and survived if he hadn’t loved it so much. Then he turned his life around and got to enjoy it more.
He met his demons and he conquered them, that’s what I think. He lived nearly forty years longer than anyone who hung out with him in those days thought he would. And they were a great forty years.
He came through it and he slayed those dragons, and I give him as much credit for that as for writing “Mr. Bojangles.” He saved his own life. I’m just happy I knew him that long. I’m happy he made it.
1st saw Jimmy at Great Adventure (6 Flags, NJ) in Summer '82. Loved his show. Listened to Living and Dying in 3/4 Time incessantly. Kept monitoring what he was doing but didn't see him again until the early 90s when he was playing PNC in Holmdel. It might even still have been the Garden State Arts Center, and got introduced to the alcoholic Parrothead madness that was the tailgate scene. Saw him several years running until he stopped playing PNC because of the police presence coming down on the Parrotheads.
Fast forward to my 15th wedding anniversary 2006. He was playing MSG on our anniversary, so we decided to go. Since there's no parking lot, all the local bars around the Garden are full of Parrotheads. We're in Stout on 34th(?) St., being marginally responsible because it's our anniversary, but enjoying ourselves. Pirates, shark fin hats, all the attendant craziness going down all around us. I walk to the john at one point and this one lost looking young woman in business attire asks me "Excuse me sir, but WHAT is GOING ON HERE?" Honey, Jimmy Buffett is playing down the block and the circus has definitely come to town.
So, I had been in touch with Howie (MSGMAN, RIP) and he had told me to get the cheapest tickets I could get and let him know where we would be. He gave us the classic Howie tour, moving us to better and better seats as the show went on, until the beginning of 2nd set and we're 8th row center on the floor and it was absolutely raging. Saw him again after the show to say goodnight and he was absolutely exhausted. He was like, "we need to get hazard pay for these gigs. So many unhinged drunks. Roger Waters was here the other night, and all the stoned folks were no issue. The Parrotheads are just ridiculous!"
That was the last time I saw Jimmy play live. Loved him, but the prices were outrageous, I'm not a big fan of Jones Beach, and the Parrotheads were just too much.
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The news is shocking. RIP.
The news is shocking. RIP.
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Most mysterious calling
Most mysterious calling harbor
so far but yet so near
and I can see the day when my hair's still gray
and finally disappear
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Finally gets his Cheeseburger
Finally gets his Cheeseburger in Paradise.
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Never met the man but heard
Never met the man but heard several stories of his kindness and generosity.
In 2008 Little Feat recorded Join The Band with various artists https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Join_the_Band_(Little_Feat_album)
Due to the guest musicians having contracts with different labels the details couldn't get worked out to release the album.
Jimmy Buffet stepped in with his wallet and made it happen!
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I saw hom play once in the
I saw him play once in the early 90s. It was about what I expected, except for a Vanilla Fudge song in the mix.
Smooth sailing, Mr Buffett.
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Never had the pleasure of
Never had the pleasure of seeing him. Enjoyed his Caribbean flavored soft pop. Margaritaville is a great song. As a record dealer, I've heard most of his discography. When I stumbled across his somewhat scarce 1970 debut on Barnaby Records, Down To Earth, it was an eye opener. Like most records released in 1970, it had a pronounced psychedelic favor that was much different than his later work for ABC and MCA.
Seems like a good day to fire up a doobie and put some booze in the blender.
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So long Parrot Head. You
So long Parrot Head. You made it happen. Enjoy Margaritaville in Heaven. R I P
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: nevermind
I saw Buffett that one time
I saw Buffett that one time (at Poplar Creek outside Chicago) because a buddy of mine said he'd go see the GD with me, if I'd see Buffett with him, so a deal was struck. (He got to see the 1990 GD show at Soldier Field that was the show played at this summer's Meet Up at the Movies; I'm not sure exactly when we saw Buffett.)
The obit I read for Buffett this morning mentioned how Parrot Heads were akin to deadheads, and I can see how someone not very familiar with either scene might say that. But what struck me most about the scene at Buffett's show was the conformity. Floral Hawaiian shirts, leis, grass skirts, coconut bras, shark fins, and lots of booze. Sure, some ganja got smoked, but I don't think I'm going out on a limb by saying that Parrot Heads were mostly booze heads. It was more like a frat party than an acid test. That said, it was a good time, but not something I felt like I had to do again.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: krab
https://www.youtube.com/watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp41g9XeMJM Uncle John's Band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAXzv2p8JyQ Scarlet Begonias
Skin cancer, have your spots checked, had a melanoma cut out 4 years ago
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lance minimum goad Newberry
Damn. I definitely had my
Damn. I definitely had my time with Mr. Buffett, times etched into my brain.
For a significant period in the '90s his shows at Shoreline Amphitheatre were epic affairs. I don't know what they were like in other venues around the country during that time, but when he played other venues in the Bay Area the shows were NOTHING like the ones at Shoreline. For about ten years Buffett at Shoreline was a "thing" with his fans and with others who discovered that Buffett at Shoreline was a PARTY! And raging, alcohol soaked, virtually uncontrollable parties they were.
Comparing those shows to a frat party is pretty spot-on. I always used to think that the majority of the crowd were grown, responsible adults who used Buffett shows to shed their responsibilities and trappings of adulthood and act like idiots for one night. And the only thing more difficult & annoying to deal with than huge crowds of drunken college-aged frat rats are fully grown drunken 30/40-something "frat rats".
It was at a Buffett show where a drunken loon climbed onto & halfway up one of the seams of the tent before slipping and falling, screaming the whole way before smashing onto Buffett's bus backstage. I was back there because I knew he was going to fall and was warning people to get out of the way. Right after crashing onto the top of the bus I saw his leg hanging over the side, blood dripping off his shoeless foot and I thought, "I just saw a man die". I then walked into the bowl and 20,000 oblivious happy fools who had no idea what had happened were singing about changes in attitude, changes in latitude.
The tent guy ended up surviving but that was one of the strangest things I ever saw at the 'line. And I've seen a lot of really strange things at Shoreline.
Somewhere along the line, like all things, his shows lost their manic popularity, but Jimmy Buffett definitely has a place in Shoreline lore and in my personal experiences. I'll raise a tequila in his honor this afternoon.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Strangha
Is that what the word is,
Is that what the word is, skin cancer? Definitely believable.
Glad he recorded "Banana Republics," written by the GREAT Steve Goodman and Jim Rothermel.
Had that laid back image, and it was a fun one, but he was one money-making sum bitch.
Glad I got to be here when he was. Time for some margaritas tonight. Maybe a party with some friends. Thanks Jimmy, and rest well.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Strangha
When asked how Jimmy wanted
When asked how Jimmy wanted to be remembered, he said this:” ‘He had a good time and made a lot of people happy’ would be good.”
Well done, I'd say.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: donster
My take at my first of 2 JB
My take at my first of 2 JB shows: "It's like a GD show with alcohol in place of LSD"
RIP Jimmy. May the 4 winds ....
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Strangha
https://www.msn.com/en-us
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/jimmy-buffett-s-cause-of-death-reve...
Jimmy Buffett died after a lengthy skin cancer battle, according to a source at TMZ. The singer, who was 76, was apparently diagnosed with the disease four years ago and it turned into lymphoma, which was ultimately the cause of his death, the insider said. “He lived his life in the sun, literally and figuratively,” one close friend shared.
The source also said that Jimmy began receiving hospice care last Monday and had close family and friends with him throughout. Sir Paul McCartney also apparently went to the “Margaritaville” crooner’s home a week ago and sang to his family.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Strangha
Notice from the family.
Notice from the family.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Woz
For a significant period in
For a significant period in the '90s his shows at Shoreline Amphitheatre were epic affairs.
Yes they were, I went several times and it was not unlike the festive atmosphere at a Dead show - Buffet style, but that crowd had a fun vibe. Good times with the Parrot heads!
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: doctor
RIP It's 5 o'clock in heaven
RIP
It's 5 o'clock in heaven
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: MarkD
Wow. This hits me harder than
Wow. This hits me harder than anyone since John Prine died. There was a time when Jimmy Buffet was it for me. Before my first dead show. Way back. His first albums were pure gold. A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean (1973), Living and Dying in 3/4 Time (1974), A1A (1974), Havana Daydreamin' (1976), Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes (1977) And to some extent, Son of a Son of a Sailor (1978) Were incredible albums and I knew most every word of every song. Cheeseburger in paradise is where I got off the bandwagon. But before that he was it.
I saw him for the first time in 75 in a beer bar in Houston in 1975. I had never heard of him but had some time to kill. I was blown away. I remember Come Monday and God's own drunk stood out, and I was hooked. Started buying his albums. Saw him again in Laramie Wyoming. He had a broken leg. Saw him years later in Irvine California, and he had another broken leg.
I was so disappointed in Cheeseburger that I kinda walked away. Was not a fan of the pop bullshit path he greedily went down after that. But those early albums are pure gold. If you are not familiar, please take some time and listen to a few of his best..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0W7gXEEbqo&list=PL8639C0DB407CD402&index=9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dgjOObPxds&list=PL8639C0DB407CD402&inde...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh9qWX0iaxs&list=PL8639C0DB407CD402&inde...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue2-ZVxpVjc&list=PL8639C0DB407CD402&index=3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56nHBah7mdE&list=PL8639C0DB407CD402&index=4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDIrJkNE4Jk&list=PL8639C0DB407CD402&index=6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_wikdQ2Z0A&list=PL8639C0DB407CD402&inde...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAvnVpZmxhQ&list=PL8639C0DB407CD402&inde...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHw9K9yMots&list=PL8639C0DB407CD402&inde...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DnBwdBhS3c&list=PL8639C0DB407CD402&inde...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kof_hnu5JG4&list=PL8639C0DB407CD402&inde...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAz0FR4fySc&list=PL8639C0DB407CD402&inde...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7DUmQmHiXE&list=PL8639C0DB407CD402&inde...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VIYV1lrscg&list=PL8639C0DB407CD402&inde...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pODJMJgSJWw&list=PL8639C0DB407CD402&inde...
And this one with co-writer Jerry Jeff Walker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-kiPZ3SDSU
RIP Jimmy. And thanks.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Ken D.
Not a parrot head, but often
Not a parrot head, but often spin his records. A1A is my favorite.
His book Pirate Looks at 50 is an interesting read. And the Coral Reefer Band has some of the best players in Nashville. Mac McNally doing "Little Martha" had my jaw on the floor.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: MarkD
I had never heard his take on
I had never heard his take on Scarlet Begonias before, but damn that was good. Thanks for posting Krab.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: doctor
I remember way back in the 70
I remember way back in the 70's when I would take the bus to High school in Rockford Illinois our bus driver was a Parrot Head who had an 8 track player (remember them) installed on the bus and would play Jimmy Buffet 8 tracks. I remember he wore a green army jacket like he was in Vietnam before and let us High Schoolers drink and smoke weed on his bus!
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: MarkD
"Drink it up, this ones for
"Drink it up, this ones for you" Jimmy. "It's been a lovely cruise."
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Druba
Only saw him once in the
Only saw him once in the early 80's, was a solid show... Lane County Fairgrounds, and the cost was an extra $1 (on top of fair admission). RIP
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: r n
He played at the Boarding
He played at the Boarding House in San Francisco quite a bit in 1974 1975 . Did any old timers see him there ?
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Strangha
Looks like they're having a
Looks like they're having a parade in Key West today for Jimmy. Way cool. Great tribute!
Updated obit:
JIMMY BUFFETT (1946-2023)
Sep 01, 2023
(December 25, 1946 - September 1, 2023)
The beloved singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett passed away at his home in Sag Harbor, Long Island on Friday September 1, 2023 surrounded by family and friends. Buffett, 76, had been fighting Merkel Cell Skin Cancer for four years. He continued to perform during treatment, playing his last show, a surprise appearance in Rhode Island, in early July.
With a recording career that spanned more than fifty years and included hits such as “Margaritaville,” “Come Monday,” and “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” Buffett was one of the most successful performers in popular music. He filled arenas with fans who called themselves “Parrot Heads,” and popularized a signature blend of folk, country and Caribbean music with lyrics that often reflected Buffett’s world travels. A pilot and a sailor, Buffett wrote songs about his plane being shot at by Jamaican police (“Jamaica Mistaica”), getting lost in the Sahara Desert (“Buffet Hotel”) and smugglers he had known around the Florida Gulf Coast (“A Pirate Looks at 40”).
Although he was best known for upbeat party songs (others include “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” and “Fins”) Buffett first achieved notoriety for thoughtful ballads that showed the influence of Texas songwriters such as Jerry Jeff Walker and Canadian Gordon Lightfoot.
Bob Dylan praised lesser-known Buffett compositions “He Went to Paris” and “Death of an Unpopular Poet” - songs that reflected the observational, storytelling skills Buffett developed in his early career as a journalist for Billboard magazine.
Buffett had a second career as a successful author. He was one of a handful of writers who had number one best-sellers on both the fiction and non-fiction lists of the New York Times Book Review.
He had a third career as an entrepreneur, building a diversified lifestyle brand business, including Margaritaville hotels, restaurants, and retirement communities, along with sidelines such as Land Shark beer. Buffett’s branding and business acumen made him one of the most financially successful musicians of all time.
James William Buffett was born on Christmas, 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi and grew up in Alabama. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1969. He credited early years playing and singing in the streets and bars of New Orleans with shaping his dedication to connecting with his audience and giving the customers a good show. Buffett had little patience with performers who took themselves too seriously. He liked to say that the job of singing for a living was descended from the profession of court jester.
Buffett is survived by his wife of 46 years, Jane (Slagsvol) Buffett, his daughters Savannah Jane (Joshua) and Sarah Delaney, his son Cameron Marley (Lara), his grandson Marley Ray and devoted pack of dogs Lola, Kingston, Pepper, Rosie, Ajax and Kody. Also survived by his Montana sister, Laurie Buffett McGuane (Tom), their children Heather Hume, Anne Buffett McGuane, Maggie McGuane and Thomas McGuane IV; his Alabama sister, Lucy Buffett and daughters Mara Delaney Buffett O’Dwyer and Melanie Leigh Buffett; and many more wonderful cousins, nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Jimmy Buffett’s Foundation Singing for Change, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute or MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Philzone Refugee
His final performance,
His final performance, playing "Margaritaville" with a couple of his Coral Reefer Band collaborators on an outdoor stage next to the water and boats, surrounded by adoring fans at a surprise appearance on July 2, 2023 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island:
https://www.jambase.com/article/jimmy-buffett-margaritaville-final-perfo...
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: 2 Room Shack
many people in the surf
many people in the surf community have commented what a nice & cool person he was.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: skyjunk
Me and a girl I dated used to
Me and a girl I dated used to go see Jimmy every year around 80-82-83ish at Blossom Music Center outside of Cleveland. It was kinda before the whole Parrot Head thing took off and became huge but there were a few coconut bras, and lots of Hawaiian shirts all around. Fun shows and some good times, no heavy lifting other than bending the elbow and passing a joint. Definitely turned into a drunkfest along the way, kinda like dead related shows now.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: skyjunk
A couple weeks ago I found
A couple weeks ago I found out about a ferry service here in Ft. Myers that will run you down to Key West and back. Just bought 4 round trip ticket vouchers for the wife and me to use in Jimmy's honor.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Strangha
https://www.huffpost.com
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jimmy-buffett-sarah-buffett-instagram-tri...
Jimmy Buffett’s daughter has revealed how the “Margaritaville” singer faced his last days before dying on Sept. 1 at the age of 76.
The singer died of complications from Merkel cell skin cancer after being diagnosed with it four years ago.
On Wednesday, Sarah “Delaney” Buffett, 31, posted a touching tribute to her dad on Instagram, where she described his upbeat attitude toward death.
“I knew my dad my whole life, but in his final days, I saw who he was: a man whose spirit could not be broken,” her post began. “Despite the pain, he smiled everyday. He was kind when he had every excuse not to be.”
Sarah Buffett said her dad “told us not to be sad or scared, but to keep the party going,” but added that “as much as I’d like to use that as an excuse to drink myself into oblivion worthy of his literary heroes, I know it’s not what he meant.”
Although Jimmy Buffett “loved his weed and his wine,” she said, “most of the time, he was just high on life, and that is what he wanted for everyone: to enjoy the fantastic trip that life can be.”
In the tribute, Sarah Buffett also noted how her dad repeatedly told his family how much he appreciated the doctors, nurses and others who helped during his cancer treatment.
“So to those who took care of my dad at home and in the hospital, I want to thank you for giving us more time together. I am eternally grateful.”
She also shared her dad’s ability to laugh at himself.
“When I showed him the ’South Park’ episodes that parody him, he loved chuckling along,” she said. “I remember teasing him about their Margaritaville blender jokes, and without missing a beat, he zinged me with ‘You live off those fucking blenders!’ He got me there.”
She then offered this final farewell to her dad.
“Finally, to my dad, thank you,” she said. “You turned nothing into something and gave me everything. I will never be able to repay you or my mom for my beautiful life. I will love you forever, and I will always keep the party going (responsibly, of course).”
Her Instagram post with the full message. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw3M1KwPvWK/
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: nevermind
That's a far cry from Trixie
That's a far cry from Trixie Garcia's assessment of Jerry as a shitty father (but a great man).
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: skifurthur
Although Jimmy Buffett was on
Although Jimmy Buffett was on my musical radar for years, you probably couldn't call me anything but the most casual of fans. Knew some songs, enjoyed them and that was pretty much it. There are two situations that added a little bit to my life, and another, though.
The first was when a friend of mine who was his book editor, found out that my then young daughter love to read. Since my friend was the number 1 children's book editor at that time, she contacted a number of her authors and gifted my daughter a bunch of signed first edition children's books for her just started collection. Among them was a copy of Buffett's award-winning The Happy Mon, I came to find out for the first time right after his passing that my daughter and her husband are full on Parrot Heads.
The second was at the year I was photographing Bonnaroo. The press was informed late Saturday night that Buffett was going to play a surprise set at 9 am Sunday morning. Since there was an early start time for an unannounced set, no one expected a large crowd. I get to the photo pit that morning to see thousands of Parrot Heads waiting for Mr. Buffett in full-on island party mode. It seemed that every fan within 4 hours of driving had descended on Tennessee and purchased tickets that morning. It was probably the most fun set of the festival and good-time vibes were everywhere that morning. Never got to see him again but glad I did at least once.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: El Nino
Love this thread. So much
Love this thread. So much better than anything you read online. RIP Jimmy
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: skifurthur
^
^
Correction to my above post. The name of Jimmy Buffet's book is The Jolly Mon, not Happy.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
Jimmy Buffett was probably my
Jimmy Buffett was probably my first favorite songwriter, probably around age 10. I wasn't old enough to understand what boat drinks were, but before long I knew all the songs by heart - A1A, A white sport coat and a pink crustacean, changes in latitude, living and dying in 3/4 time, I still have those records and still listen to them regularly. Listening to Pencil Thin Mustache right now, actually. I suppose it was the winters we spent in the keys where my dad worked playing in the bars - (the Lorelei in islamorada was always my favorite), any band that couldn't spit out a (any) JB request was instantly booed right out of town lol. Jimmy was long gone for Malibu by this time, but his influence and energy were everywhere in the Florida keys, always.
In hindsight now; jimmy's book; a pirate looks at fifty was something of an instruction manual for me on how I would approach my adult life. I named my first sailboat, a 26' Catalina the Savannah Jane. It seemed appropriate enough. All these years later I'm still kind of working on my second sailboat. Might even name it Row Jimmy. Anyways the whole idea of growing older, but not up is just a theme that has always stuck in the front of my mind.
His was the first concert I ever spent $100+ on a ticket to. That's still a lot of money for a ticket, but I don't remember ever hesitating at all. Worth every pennty. That was maybe around 1998, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas where he would play once or twice a year. People came from all over the world to these shows. For a day or two, the whole place would basically transform into margaritaville. The comparison to a Grateful Dead show with alcohol vs lsd is spot on. My much younger liver was always up for the challenge, and these were during years when there really wasn't anything interesting (enough) in the Grateful Dead universe to hold my attention. Jimmy's shows seemed like a comfortable, familiar place. Even the casino employees and security were always all really into the energy of it all, and a lot of them knew all the words too. A couple of those shows were so good they were even released commercially. He always had great players in his band, most of whom easily competent enough to front their own bands (some did) too. I do miss those times occasionally.
Most people don't know Jimmy got his "big" start around Austin Texas in the mid 70's, and his music from this era is what really opened the doors for a younger me to artists like Guy Clark, Robert Earl Keen, Willis Alan Ramsey, and many other Texas singer-songwriter types that in time have become my very favorite performers. Texas is an entire musical world unto itself, really.
I'll miss him. The world was a better place with Jimmy Buffett in it.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: joy
>>>artists like Guy Clark,
>>>artists like Guy Clark, Robert Earl Keen, Willis Alan Ramsey, and many other Texas singer-songwriter types
seems appropiate to put this here:
Billy Joe Shaver performing:
I'm going to live forever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oilwusvq5SI
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
and I just want to say, among
and I just want to say, among songwriters; in my opinion Jimmy Buffett was the real unequalled master of the double entendre.
billy joe had a lot of great ones too
Rest In Peace to them both
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lance minimum goad Newberry
Interesting to see so much
...
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lance minimum goad Newberry
Interesting to see so much
Interesting to see so much black screen love for Buffett. Not because it's not deserved, but because I don't recall much if any chatter about the guy here over the years.
But clearly there are many of you who really love him.
Always a bummer when a favorite or especially a hero passes on.
I'm still hurting over Wayne Shorter.
And I always will.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lance minimum goad Newberry
Interesting to see so much
Damn, the rare triple post. I'm in a hotel and am watching the football game.
I'm not paying attention.
Bad Lance.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: nevermind
> I don't recall much if any
> I don't recall much if any chatter about the guy here over the years
A lot of it is really personal too. Some very cool stories. I think Jimmy would've liked that.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Bo Diddley
I've always enjoyed a good
I've always enjoyed a good Buffett show. Saw 10 shows over the years at my local shed. Only annoying thing is the fans were a bunch of drunks. Vomit in 90° was never a good thing, but I liked the music.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Rusty
Late 70's, early 80's, Lane
Late 70's, early 80's, Lane County Fair Building (Eugene, I don't recall it was during the county fair). Cody, Jerry Jeff and the Coral Reefer Band. I think Billy C. from the Airmen introduced the Reefers as "the hardest drinking band in show business".
Later that night, walking home, my friends and I investigated a flashing lights cop show on I-5 near our home. It was Jerry Jeff, who decided to drive South in the North bound lane. Who hasn't done that? We thanked Mr. Walker for a fun show as he was cuffed and taken to the pokey.
Good Times
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: doctor
Funny story Rusty!
Funny story Rusty!
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: nevermind
Maureen Dowd has a pretty
Maureen Dowd has a pretty sweet remembrance of Buffett in the New York Times this weekend. Here's the end-run-around-the-paywall link:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230909113231/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/...
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Strangha
I picked up Kinky Friedman's
I picked up Kinky Friedman's 2006 book "Texas Hold 'Em" off the dollar rack at a local independent bookstore. Figured for a buck, why not?
In the chapter "The Wanderer" talking about his pal Jerry Jeff Walker, I was surprised by this little comment about Buffett.
"Way back when doctors drove Buicks, Jerry Jeff rode his thumb out of his hometown in upstate New York, stopped by Key West long enough to invent Jimmy Buffett, then drifted over to New Orleans, where he sang for pennies on street corners. Perhaps he was curious to discover, in the words of Bob Dylan, "Who's gonna throw that minstrel boy a coin?"'
Be interesting to hear some history and stories on that.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
The Kinky Friedman & Billy
The Kinky Friedman & Billy Joe Shaver album Live From Down Under; on Sphincter records, is really a solidly entertaining journey
featuring such modern classics as:
Get Your Biscuits in the Oven (and your buns in the bed)
The Asshole From El Paso
I'm Just An Old Chunk of Coal (but I'm gonna be a diamond someday)
Homo Erectus
and
They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Strangha
Just did a search. You'll get
Yeah, BSS, I used to play "Jesus" in mormon Utah on my old radio show. He was also played on a station in Phoenix when I lived there.
Just did a search. You'll get 2 free stories at this link. https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/jerry-jeff-walker-jimmy-...
But here it is. November 2020.
How Jerry Jeff Walker Helped Put Jimmy Buffett on the Road to ‘Margaritaville’
The king of the Parrotheads remembers the ups and downs of his half-century friendship with the late cosmic cowboy.
Long before Jimmy Buffett became one of the most successful musicians in the world (his net worth was recently estimated at north of half a billion dollars), he was a struggling Nashville songwriter trying to figure out his path in the music business. Then he met Jerry Jeff Walker, who already had a hit and a handful of albums to his name. The meeting changed Buffett’s life. Last week he spoke to Texas Monthly about his old friend, who passed away on October 23. Here’s what he had to say.
[Note: to read more testimonials to Jerry Jeff, go here.]
I met Jerry Jeff in Nashville in 1970. I was writing songs and had a job as the Southern pop editor for Billboard magazine and a friend introduced me to him at an ASCAP event. I knew who he was from “Mr. Bojangles.” I was a huge fan, and we went out, had dinner. He was living in Florida, in Coconut Grove. I was in my first marriage, and there was trouble on the horizon. Nothing was happening for me in Nashville, and I looked at him and I thought, “Man, that’s the life I’d like to lead.” We got very drunk that night; this was nothing new in those days.
He ended up staying at my house. In the middle of the night there was a commotion and my wife said, “What’s going on down there?” I said, “It’s Jerry Jeff and he’s trying to make a phone call.” He was talking to an operator, and cursing loudly. Then, about five a.m. the phone rang, and in those days, the phone people would call and say, “We cut off your phone service because you used an obscenity. Are you ready to behave yourself now?” I went “Oh my God!” Jerry Jeff got up that morning and apologized to my wife. “I’m really sorry about this,” he said to me. “If you’re ever in Miami look me up.”
So a year later, I was working the folk circuit in the South, starting to get a name, and my manager got a call from these people in Miami who had a folk club, they wanted to book me. I’d split up with my wife, and I thought, “I’ll go to Miami and work the way Jerry Jeff does.” Coconut Grove was where I wanted to be. So I got on plane, went to Miami, called Jerry Jeff, told him I was there, and he said, “Come on over, stay with us.”
I stayed in his guest house. He was in with a great group of people—Freddie Neil, Vince Martin, Bobby Ingram, Dion—and they were all playing these folk clubs. I was gonna be an opening act, but my gig wasn’t going to be for another two weeks. I said to Jerry Jeff, “What am I gonna do until then?” And he said, “I wrecked my car and it’s in a garage, these guys are working on it and I’m working on it too, come on and help me.” So that’s what I did for two weeks. I lived with him and we worked on his car, which was a 1947 Packard.
There was always somebody around. Jerry Jeff introduced me to Freddie Neil [who had just had a big hit with “Everybody’s Talkin’,” off the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack]. He was probably Jerry Jeff’s favorite friend and songwriter. He was the real, real deal. There were all these other people coming through town—David Crosby, Rick Danko, Elaine “Spanky” McFarlane, Joni Mitchell, a lot of people getting out of the cold weather and coming to Miami. For me as a nobody, I couldn’t get over my luck, meeting all these people. That’s what Jerry did for me—because I was with him, that gave me some significance that I really didn’t deserve at the time. Everyone gathered around him. He was living large, and that was what everybody wanted to do then—live large. Miami at the time had a history going back to pirate days, the Mafia, the hippie days, the Cubans. It’s always been a pirate town—and he was the head pirate.
His girlfriend Murphy was from Key West. When that car was fixed, they said, “We’re gonna go to Key West, come on, you’ll love it down there.” I’d never been. We got in that car, he took me to Key West, it changed my life.
I’ve probably seen all of the Jerry Jeffs that there are. The dark period, the coked-up period. He almost wore his welcome out in Key West, for obvious reasons. He could be charming, but he could be the devil. I put him in a song I wrote, “The Devil I Know.”
We got down to Key West and I had credibility there as well because Jerry introduced me to all these scalawags and city officials, people at the Chart Room Bar—I got a job at the Chart Room Bar. He and Murphy went back to Miami and I stayed in Key West and never went back. I loved it—I’d been a teenager on Bourbon Street in college, I knew New Orleans from childhood, and Key West just had that magic.
Jerry Jeff and I wrote a song together called “Railroad Lady” while riding the train from New Orleans to Nashville. I thought it was a wonderful thing to be on a train with Jerry Jeff Walker, writing a song. I put it out on my album A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean and he said, “Why’d you give me credit for it?” I said, “Because we wrote it on the train.” He didn’t remember it.
By that point, Austin had come onto his radar. He played a last show at the Big Pine Key Inn in Big Pine, Florida, and got drunk, turned around, smashed his guitar, walked offstage. I went, “Woah.” You only saw that in the movies. When he realized what he’d done the next day, God, was he horrified. He wrote the song “That Old Beat Up Guitar” about it. He packed up, said, “I’m going to Austin,” and I didn’t hear from him for six months.
At the time, I was kind of coming out of the minor leagues, I was making records. From working all these bars and clubs I realized that I had the chops to perform, and I wound up going to Texas to play shows, and I’d stay with Jerry Jeff. He was with Susan by then; I could tell that was a very good move.
I’d gotten there on my own but he was there for me. He was my credibility in Coconut Grove, he was my credibility in Key West, and he was my credibility in Austin. My first time there I was an opening act at Castle Creek [a long-gone Austin folk club]. Jerry Jeff came and we played onstage that night. He’s the best wild man/concierge you could have. He knew everybody and he could be charming or he could walk off the stage and break his guitar. People still loved him and put up with him—because he was Jerry Jeff. He didn’t have a death wish, but he got out there pretty much.
When he got to Austin, he re-created himself. It was never, “I gotta get in, I need to be somebody.” He went there and was very comfortable being Jerry Jeff Walker, with both the good and the bad. He was a magnet, surrounded by all these musicians—B.W. Stevenson, Marcia Ball, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Marshall Chapman. I met all of them. Everybody wanted to be Jerry Jeff. He had a pied piper kind of thing. He had this sense about him and the thing of it was, it started with fun—he was fun—he seemed to be having fun.
I came to Austin a lot in those days. I made it there by getting these college bookings and getting on Willie’s second Fourth of July picnic. I played Castle Creek many times. I think it was after one of those shows, the next morning I had a hangover and I had to fly home that afternoon. I went to El Rey, a Mexican restaurant on Anderson Lane for lunch. I had a margarita, which helped with the hangover, and in the car on the way to the airport the chorus of a new song started to come to me. I wrote a little more on the plane and finished the rest of “Margaritaville” back in Key West.
In Austin, it didn’t matter that I was a Florida boy. Jerry Jeff took me down to Charlie Dunn’s [boot shop], dressed me, gave me a whole makeover. I got my first cowboy hat in Austin because of Jerry Jeff. Imagine this guy from New York who moved to Florida and created a scene in Coconut Grove, and then becomes the cosmic cowboy in Austin. He was the best carnival sideshow performer there ever was.
But all of a sudden you’d see the dark side and you’d say, “I don’t want to be around that guy.” I felt bad about it because he was only hurting himself as a performer. To me, it’s a treasure to be able to perform. I’d see him onstage when he wasn’t having fun and I’d say, “How can you not have fun up there? It’s a gift.”
We’ve all got dark sides, but his, he could go deep. He was often coked up or drunk, and you didn’t know what you were gonna get. There was no telling him not to, he had to figure that out by himself. I tried to tell him, but he didn’t listen. He’d say, “Aw f—!” or “Aw, you don’t know what you’re talking about!” By that time, I’d figured it out. I never thought he’d ever make it to forty, the way he was going.
He tried just about everything to get clean, and he eventually did, yes he did. And Susan had a lot to do with that, his kids too. It made me feel really good to see him do that. It could’ve gone the other way.
When my career took off I always stayed in touch with him. The last time we played together was three or four years ago, in Texas. I had a show in Frisco at the soccer field. ZZ Top was supposed to play but had to cancel. I called Jerry Jeff: “What are you doing?” “Nothing.” “Want to open for us?” I hadn’t played Dallas in ten years. He said yeah, and he sold a lot of tickets. I thought it would be fun to have him on the show, payback, to him from me, but it was an incredibly good show and he was on, and by that time I had recorded one of [his son] Django’s songs, “Somethin’ ’Bout a Boat.” It came full circle, it couldn’t have been better.
Would I have gotten to Key West without Jerry Jeff? Probably. And I probably could have found a job—I’d made the commitment. But it was so much easier because of him. When I heard he passed, I thought about what he had done for me in Key West, what he did for me in Coconut Grove, and what he did for me in Austin. Jerry Jeff was genuine from the beginning, from the time they shut my phone off and he said come stay with me if you ever get to Miami and I needed it desperately. There was no hesitation when it came to taking me in, none. I always tried to emulate that with other people I’ve helped out. I think that’s one of those beatitudes he had, he was at heart a very kind person—he loved to play and loved to sing and to hang out, and the spirit of what music did for him made other people happy.
What it comes to is, he wrote what he was. He was a gypsy songman—he just loved it. He wouldn’t have kept going and survived if he hadn’t loved it so much. Then he turned his life around and got to enjoy it more.
He met his demons and he conquered them, that’s what I think. He lived nearly forty years longer than anyone who hung out with him in those days thought he would. And they were a great forty years.
He came through it and he slayed those dragons, and I give him as much credit for that as for writing “Mr. Bojangles.” He saved his own life. I’m just happy I knew him that long. I’m happy he made it.
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Message from Jimmy's wifeJane
Message from Jimmy's wife Jane on his site. https://www.jimmybuffett.com/news/a-message-from-jane
This story has some videos, including "Bubbles Up" and "My Gummie Just Kicked In." https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jimmy-buffett-wife-jane-slagsvol-tribute_...
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The Eagles pay tribute on the
The Eagles pay tribute on the opening night of their tour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPabzUU4rhg&t=544s
https://americansongwriter.com/eagles-cover-two-jimmy-buffett-songs-duri...
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https://www.reddit.com/r
https://www.reddit.com/r/gratefuldead/comments/1681x3a/parrotheads_n_dea...
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1st saw Jimmy at Great
1st saw Jimmy at Great Adventure (6 Flags, NJ) in Summer '82. Loved his show. Listened to Living and Dying in 3/4 Time incessantly. Kept monitoring what he was doing but didn't see him again until the early 90s when he was playing PNC in Holmdel. It might even still have been the Garden State Arts Center, and got introduced to the alcoholic Parrothead madness that was the tailgate scene. Saw him several years running until he stopped playing PNC because of the police presence coming down on the Parrotheads.
Fast forward to my 15th wedding anniversary 2006. He was playing MSG on our anniversary, so we decided to go. Since there's no parking lot, all the local bars around the Garden are full of Parrotheads. We're in Stout on 34th(?) St., being marginally responsible because it's our anniversary, but enjoying ourselves. Pirates, shark fin hats, all the attendant craziness going down all around us. I walk to the john at one point and this one lost looking young woman in business attire asks me "Excuse me sir, but WHAT is GOING ON HERE?" Honey, Jimmy Buffett is playing down the block and the circus has definitely come to town.
So, I had been in touch with Howie (MSGMAN, RIP) and he had told me to get the cheapest tickets I could get and let him know where we would be. He gave us the classic Howie tour, moving us to better and better seats as the show went on, until the beginning of 2nd set and we're 8th row center on the floor and it was absolutely raging. Saw him again after the show to say goodnight and he was absolutely exhausted. He was like, "we need to get hazard pay for these gigs. So many unhinged drunks. Roger Waters was here the other night, and all the stoned folks were no issue. The Parrotheads are just ridiculous!"
That was the last time I saw Jimmy play live. Loved him, but the prices were outrageous, I'm not a big fan of Jones Beach, and the Parrotheads were just too much.
Bubbles Up!