Jimmy Buffett

https://variety.com/2023/music/obituaries-people-news/jimmy-buffett-dead-margaritaville-1235711632/

 

Although I didn’t have any personal connections to Jimmy Buffett, “Margaritaville” was the second song to be played on my self-selected retirement party playlist. I also remember my trip out to Minneapolis quite a few years ago to catch a couple of Minnesota Twins games. I was glancing at the local newspaper while riding the light rail out to the Mall Of America and discovered that the newest branch of his Margaritaville restaurant chain was having a soft opening there that same day. I wandered by around 11:15 and there was no line, so I decided to have my lunch there. (I was tempted by the “cheeseburger in paradise” but opted for jambalaya instead.)

 

Chris Morris had a great summary in his Variety obituary: “Buffett’s boozy, punny, often marijuana-scented variety of tropical good-time music struck an abiding chord with an army of enthusiastic fans, who dubbed themselves “parrotheads” in reference to the colorful avian headgear they sported at the musician’s sold-out concerts.”

 

And on a more serious note (also from the Variety obit):

Analyzing the enduring appeal of Buffett’s music, Christopher Ashley, director of the 2017 jukebox musical “Escape to Margaritaville,” said, “There is a celebratory bacchanalian quality but also a real strain of sadness in those songs. I think his songs have a real philosophical commitment to finding joy now, being as now is the only moment… Don’t postpone joy. Embrace it. Grab it. I think that’s profound and a great message to send in a world as joy-challenged as this one.”

 

I’ve posted my favorite Buffett songs elsewhere, but this classic duet deserves its own shout-out.