LISTENING IN: Remembering Jimmy Buffett – the ‘life of the party’

Jimmy Buffett celebrated slackers before the word existed, even though he was hardly one himself. “Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville,” went the chorus to his most famous song, which became an international singalong. But you’ve probably heard that song by now, so we’ve got something else in mind for this week’s video.

Buffett died last weekend at age 76 of a rare form of skin cancer.

“Margaritaville,” released on Feb. 14, 1977, quickly took on a life of its own, becoming a state of mind for those “wastin’ away,” an excuse for a life of low-key fun and escapism for those “growing older, but not up.”

The song spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at No. 8. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016 for its cultural and historic significance, became a karaoke standard and helped brand Key West, Fla., as a distinct sound of music and a destination known the world over.

But there was much more: hit songs like “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes,” “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Son of a Son of a Sailor,” “Come Monday,” and, of course the steel-drum infused “Volcano” (this week’s video) – a song about his time on Montserrat.

But it was the ubiquitous Margaritaville and it’s wayward “lost shaker of salt” that soon inspired restaurants and resorts, even a cruise line, turning Buffett’s alleged desire for the simplicity of island life into a multi-million-dollar brand – an empire based largely on Caribbean-flavoured pop that celebrated the Florida Keys, sunshine, and nightlife. His name became synonymous with a laid-back subtropical party vibe, and his fans were known as Parrotheads.

On Sunday, thousands of Florida Keys residents and visitors gathered on Key West’s Duval Street for a march in his honour, many sporting the flower leis and offbeat headgear favoured by Parrotheads and singing “Margaritaville,” led by local musician Howard Livingston.

“Margaritaville is totally right here in Key West and Jimmy put it on the map, and every day we live that,” said Livingston, a longtime Florida Keys resident who has opened shows for Buffett.

“Any person walking down the street here, ask them how they wound up here, they’ll mention Jimmy Buffett,” Livingston said

Buffet’s business acumen landed at No. 13 in Forbes’ America’s Richest Celebrities in 2016 with a net worth of $550 million with “Margaritaville” showing up on restaurants, clothing, booze, and casinos. He became involved in such products as Landshark Lager, the Margaritaville and Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant chains, boat shoes, salsa, hummus, tortillas, dips, tequila, and blenders. The Margaritaville café on the Las Vegas strip was said to be the top grossing restaurant in the nation.

Buffett was chairman of Margaritaville Holdings based in Palm Beach, Fla. He had a restaurant and a casino in Vegas, a casino in Mississippi, and a hotel in Pensacola Beach, Fla., but the exact scope of his empire was a secret. Margaritaville Holdings LLC didn’t disclose its finances, and he usually declined interview requests.

Along with hit songs, Buffett wrote best-selling novels. In 2008 he was ranked by Vanity Fair as No. 97 on a list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and his fan base was broad and loyal.

“I’m not about to apologize for being a good businessman,” Buffett told The Washington Post in 1998. “Too many people in music have ruined their lives because they weren’t. I’m not a great singer, and I’m only a so-so guitar player. I started running the band years ago because nobody else could, and I turned out to be good at this stuff. There’s never been any grand plan to this thing. I’m making it up as I go along… Just trying to work the system while maintaining my ‘60s anarchic soul.”

Regardless of his commercial achievements, Buffett’s legacy will be, in his words, “helping people forget their troubles for a couple of hours.”

The singer told the Baltimore Sun in 1999 that his optimistic view of life brought fans to the humour and escapism in his work. And that was okay, because there already was enough serious material in the world.

“I was the life of the party,” Buffett said.