Friday, December 24, 2010

Dec. 25: Jimmy Buffet - "Margaritaville" - is 64 today.


James William "Jimmy" Buffett is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's hits include "Margaritaville" (No. 234 on RIAA's list of "Songs of the Century"), and "Come Monday." 

He has a devoted base of fans known as "Parrotheads."

I addition to his career in music, Buffett is also a best-selling writer and is involved in two restaurant chains named after two of his best known songs, "Cheeseburger in Paradise" and "Margaritaville." 

Buffett spent part of his childhood in Mobile, Alabama. He later lived in Fairhope, Alabama, mentioned by Buffett as his "Home Town" during a 2001 concert. He began playing guitar during his college years at Pearl River Community College, Auburn University and The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he received a bachelor's degree in history in 1969.

After graduating from college, Buffett worked as a correspondent for Billboard magazine in Nashville, breaking the news of the separation of Flatt and Scruggs.

Buffett began his musical career in Nashville, Tennessee during the late 1960s as a country artist and recorded his first album, the folk rock Down to Earth, in 1970. During this time Buffett could be frequently found busking for tourists in New Orleans.
Country music singer Jerry Jeff Walker took him to Key West on a busking expedition. Buffett then moved to Key West and began establishing the easy-going beach bum persona for which he is known.

Following this move, Buffett combined country, folk, and pop music with coastal as well as tropical lyrical themes for a sound sometimes called "gulf and western."  Today, he is a regular visitor to the Caribbean island of Saint Barts and other islands where he gets inspiration for many of his songs and some of the characters in his books.

 
(Continued below video and Amazon portals ...)



HIGHLY Recommended (Press album covers for direct links to Amazon):

EncoresBuffet HotelA Pirate Looks at FiftySongs You Know by Heart : Jimmy Buffett's Greatest Hit(s)

-----
Buffett's third album was the 1973 A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean. A1A followed in 1974, Havana Daydreamin' appeared in 1976, followed by 1977's Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, which featured the breakthrough hit song "Margaritaville."

 
During the 1980s, Buffett made far more money off his tours than albums and became known as a popular concert draw. He released a series of albums during the following twenty years, primarily to his devoted audience.

In 2003, he partnered in a partial duet with Alan Jackson for the song "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere,"  a number one hit on the country charts. This song won the 2003 Country Music Association Award for Vocal Event of the Year. This was Buffett’s first award of any kind for his music in his 30 year career.

Buffett's album, License to Chill, released in July 2004, sold 238,600 copies in its first week of release according to Nielsen SoundScan. It's hard to believe, but this marked  the first time  Buffett topped the U.S. pop albums chart in his career.

####

No comments:

Post a Comment