Jimmy Buffett

Jimmy Buffett (born James William Buffett on December 25 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi) is a singer and songwriter, best known for his "island escapism" lifestyle and music including hits such as "Margaritaville" (# 234 on the list of 'Songs of the Century'), and "Come Monday". He has a rabid, but genial, fan-base known as "Parrotheads." They call the youngest members "Parakeets."

Career

Buffett began his official musical career in Nashville during 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.

Related Topics:
1960s - Country - Down to Earth - 1970 - Key West - Beach bum

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Buffett's third album was A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean, now acclaimed as his best though it achieved only moderate sales. Havana Daydreamin' appeared in 1976, followed by 1977's Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, which featured the breakthrough hit song, "Margaritaville".

Related Topics:
A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean - Havana Daydreamin' - 1976 - 1977 - Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes - Margaritaville

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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, as well as branching into writing and merchandising of various kinds. Two of the more unusual albums were Christmas Island, a collection of holiday songs, and Parakeets, a collection of Buffett songs sung by children and containing "cleaned-up" lyrics (like "a cold root beer" instead of "a cold draft beer").

Related Topics:
1980s - Root beer - Draft beer

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In 2003, he partnered in a partial duet with Alan Jackson for the country hit "It's Five O'clock Somewhere," a number one hit on the country charts.

Related Topics:
2003 - Duet - Alan Jackson - It's Five O'clock Somewhere

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Buffett's most recent album, License to Chill, released on July 13 2004, sold 238,600 copies in its first week of release according to Nielsen SoundScan. With this, Buffett topped the U.S. pop albums chart for the first time in his three-decade career. This made some longtime fans feel that Buffett had alienated them by abandoning his traditional "Gulf and Western" sound for a more commercial and thus mainstream act.

Related Topics:
July 13 - 2004 - Nielsen SoundScan - U.S.

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Buffett co-owns the "Margaritaville" and "Cheeseburger In Paradise" restaurants (the latter of which is a part of the Outback Steakhouse family of restaurants). He harbors a well-known love for baseball, and has been part-owner in two minor league teams: the Fort Myers Miracle and the Madison Black Wolf. He makes an estimated 30-40 million dollars a year between his restaurants, album sales, and tours.

Related Topics:
Margaritaville - Restaurant - Outback Steakhouse - Baseball - Fort Myers Miracle - Madison Black Wolf - Dollars

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