Online Encyclopedia
Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett (born December 25, 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for his "island escapism" lifestyle and music including hits such as "Margaritaville." He has a rabid cult following known as "Parrot Heads."
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Career
Buffett began his musical career in the late 1960s as a country artist, and recorded his first album, Down to Earth in 1970. He then moved to Key West and began establishing the easy-going beach bum persona for which he is known. He played during his college years at Auburn University and the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi where he received a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1969.
Buffett's second album was White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean , now acclaimed as his best though it achieved only moderate sales.
"Margaritaville" was released in 1974 and made him into a pop star for a brief period, continued by 1976's Havana Daydreamin' and 1977's Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.
During the 1980s, Buffett made far more money off his tours than albums, and he became known as a popular concert draw. He released a series of albums during the following twenty years, primarily to his devoted audience, as well as branching into writing and merchandising of various kinds.
In 2003 he parterned with Alan Jackson for the number one country hit "It's Five O'clock Somewhere ," his first number one spot on the country charts.
Buffett released a new album called License to Chill on July 13, 2004. The album sold 238,600 copies in its first week of release according to Nielsen SoundScan . Buffett topped the U.S. pop albums chart for the first time in his three-decade career.
Discography
| Year | Album/CD | Record Label | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Down To Earth | Barnaby | |
| 1971 | High Cumberland Jubilee | Barnaby | |
| 1973 | A White Sport Coat & A Pink Crustacean | Dunhill | |
| 1974 | Living & Dying in 3/4 Time | Dunhill | |
| 1974 | A1A | Dunhill | |
| 1975 | Rancho Deluxe | United Artists | Movie soundtrack |
| 1976 | Havana Daydreamin' | ABC | |
| 1977 | Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes | ABC | |
| 1978 | Son Of a Son Of a Sailor | ABC | |
| 1978 | You Had To Be There | MCA | Live recording |
| 1979 | Volcano | MCA | |
| 1981 | Coconut Telegraph | MCA | |
| 1981 | Somewhere Over China | MCA | |
| 1983 | One Particular Harbour | MCA | |
| 1984 | Riddles In The Sand | MCA | |
| 1985 | Last Mango in Paris | MCA | |
| 1985 | Songs You Know By Heart | MCA | Greatest Hit(s) |
| 1986 | Floridays | MCA | |
| 1988 | Hot Water | MCA | |
| 1989 | Off To See The Lizard | MCA | |
| 1990 | Feeding Frenzy | MCA | Live Recording |
| 1992 | Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads | Margaritaville/MCA | Box Set |
| 1993 | Before The Beach | Margaritaville/MCA | Compilation of Down to Earth & High Cumberland Jubilee |
| 1993 | Margaritaville Cafe Late Night Menu | Compilation of various artists including Jimmy Buffett | |
| 1994 | Fruitcakes | Margaritaville/MCA | |
| 1995 | Margaritaville Cafe Late Night Gumbo | Compilation of various artists including Jimmy Buffett | |
| 1995 | Barometer Soup | Margaritaville/MCA | |
| 1996 | Banana Wind | Margaritaville/MCA | |
| 1996 | Christmas Island | Margaritaville/MCA | Christmas Songs |
| 1998 | Biloxi | Greatest Hit(s) | |
| 1998 | Don't Stop The Carnival | Margaritaville/Island | |
| 1998 | American Storyteller | Laserlight | |
| 1999 | Beach House on the Moon | Margaritaville/Island | |
| 1999 | There's Nothing Soft About Hard Times | Madacy | |
| 1999 | Buffett Live - Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays | Mailboat | Live recording |
| 2002 | Far Side Of The World | Mailboat | |
| 2003 | Meet Me In Margaritaville: The Ultimate Collection | UTV/MCA/Mailboat | Greatest Hit(s) |
| 2003 | Live in Auburn, WA | Mailboat | Live recording |
| 2003 | Live In Las Vegas, NV | Mailboat | Live recording |
| 2003 | Live In Mansfield, MA | Mailboat | Live recording |
| 2003 | Live In Cincinnati, OH | Mailboat | Live recording |
| 2004 | License To Chill | Mailboat |
Writing
Buffett's writing has placed him in good company. Jimmy has written three No. 1 best sellers. Tales From Margaritaville and Where Is Joe Merchant? both spent over seven months on the New York Times Best Seller fiction list. His book, A Pirate Looks At Fifty went straight to #1 on the New York Times Bestseller non-fiction list, making him the sixth author in that list's history to have reached #1 on both the fiction and non-fiction lists. The other five authors who have accomplished this are Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, William Styron, Irving Wallace and Dr. Seuss.
As of August 2004, he is working on completing his fifth novel titled A Salty Piece of Land.
Trivia
He is a regular visitor to the Caribbean island of Saint Barts, where he is rumored to have written his hit song, "Cheeseburger in Paradise ."
A pilot, Jimmy Buffett owns and flies a restorated Grumman HU-16 Albatross . It can sometimes be seen on the ramp at Princess Juliana International Airport (IATA indentifier SXM ) in nearby Sint Maarten while Buffett is in the area.
He is a distant cousin to legendary investor Warren Buffett.
External links
- Official Jimmy Buffett Web Site
- Launch's artist page on Buffett
- The IMDb entry on Buffett
- Great Chords Compilation
While flying his seaplane into Jamaica Jimmy Buffett was shot down by Jamaica police on Jan 16,1996. The plane named "the Flying Boat" was carrying U2's Bono and Jimmy Buffett. Police suspected it was also smuggling in drugs so shot it right out of the sky. This event caused a new song by Buffett called "Jamaica Mistaka".