Jimmy Buffett has been a fun part of so many lives for what seems like forever. And now, he’s passed on to that tropical paradise where the cheeseburgers are cooked to perfection, the margaritas flow and nobody blows out a flip flop.
While I remember liking his major hit “Margaritaville” when it was on the 1977 music charts and radio, it wasn’t until a few years later that I got into more of Jimmy’s music. A co-worker during my summer job at the Elmhurst Park District mentioned going to a Buffett concert and what a wild party it was. A few years later I experienced that wild party myself.
I saw the Parrot-head leader in concert several times. Twice when working at Q-101 where major Buffett fan Robert Murphy (and my boss at the time) hosted pre-party and skybox events for listeners. The only negative encounter was at a Poplar Creek concert where I had to step around puddles of vomit left by some doubled over college boys who downed a few too many boat drinks.
Seeing Jimmy Buffett in concert was always the best party ever!
While working at Q-101, I got Jimmy on the phone for a visit when he was in town to sing the 7th inning stretch at a Cubs game. The way we rounded him up was kind of tricky. Robert Murphy spotted a naked Buffett (save for his flip flops) at a downtown Chicago gym and called me with the scoop. I quickly rang that gym and had Jimmy paged. Sure enough, the guy came to the phone and agreed to do a phoner with us the next morning. Jimmy laughed at how he was tracked down. Not that we were stalkers, but that was a funny way to score a show guest.
Music wise, my all-time favorite Buffett song will always be “Son of a Son of Sailor.” Maybe it’s because I was the ‘son of a sailor’ myself. There’s no way to count how many times I’ve sung that tune to a karaoke track on my home computer. Some day I’ll have to warble it at a karaoke bar.
Besides his own self-created songs, Buffett did great covers of Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and Crosby Stills and Nash’s “Southern Cros” which were concert staples of his. Another favorite of mine was one he co-wrote with Clint Black titled “Happiness Alone.” Clint was a friend of Jimmy’s and I’m sure he’s grateful for getting to collaborate on that track back in the early 90’s.
Jimmy also wrote and recorded songs for movies and plays. The best being “I Don’t Know’ (Spicoli’s Theme) from the great “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” soundtrack.
For many decades, seeing a Buffett concert was a summertime ritual for hundreds of thousands of Parrot-heads. In later years, I sometimes wondered what life would be like for them if Jimmy wasn’t on the road performing. Sadly, due to his recent health issues, that summer happened this year. And there will be no more Buffett show summers to look forward to.
A friend of mine noted Mr. Margaritaville was a good example of a life coach. No doubt on that! I always admired how self-actualized the guy was. You talk about someone who ran his own show and did all he wanted, that was Jimmy Buffett.
As another pal noted- ‘So very few lived that way, and yet so many want to’. Lessons well learned from Jimmy Buffett.