Jimmy Buffett biography

Synopsis

Profile

Singer, songwriter. Born on December 25, 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Buffett was raised in Mobile, Alabama, where he attended Catholic high school. He left Mobile to attend the University of Southern Mississippi, where he apparently took up the guitar to meet women. After college, he moved to Nashville to pursue a career as a country singer.

After working with a cover band called The Now Generation, Buffett landed his first record contract in 1970. Later that year, he released his folk-country debut, Down to Earth, followed by High Cumberland Jubilee, both of which went largely unnoticed.

Having always been drawn to the sea, Buffett moved to Key West in the early 1970s, where he adopted his trademark beachcombing persona. Under this new guise, he signed a contract with ABC-Dunhill and put out White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean in 1973. With instant party hits like Why Don't We Get Drunk (And Screw), Buffett gained a loyal following who appreciated the laid-back atmosphere of his live shows. Soon, his fans started wearing Hawaiian shirts, traveling Grateful Dead-style to his shows, and calling themselves "Parrotheads."

Buffett broke into the mainstream with his sixth album, 1977's Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, containing the enduring party standard Margaritaville. His 1978 follow-up, Son of a Son of a Sailor, featured another classic track, Cheeseburger in Paradise. Both albums went gold. His most recent album, Beach House on the Moon, was released in the spring of 1999.

In the late 1980s the business-savvy perfomer capitalized on his beach-bum image with several books, a chain of clubs, a line of beach clothing and his own Margaritaville custom record label.

Buffett currently lives in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is an avid sailor and pilot, and an outspoken environmental activist.

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