Jimmy Buffett went from beach bum to billionaire during his five decades of playing music. Buffett released 56 albums, but he was known as much for his business acumen as he was for his music.
Buffett died September 1 in Sag Harbor, New York from Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare skin cancer. He was 76.
Buffett grew up on the Gulf coast loving music and the sea. He bounced around New Orleans and Nashville, without success. His first album, recorded in 1970, sold 324 copies.
He changed record companies, and each new album did better than the previous. Then came “Margaritaville” in 1977. Our Song of the Day reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, his best-selling single. More importantly, it would become the foundation of his business empire.
He got the idea for the song while drinking margaritas at a bar in Austin, Texas at the end of his tour. He started writing it while stuck in a traffic jam on the Seven Mile Bridge while heading back to Key West, where he was living.
The song touched a nerve for a generation dreaming of leaving the rat race for a tropical lifestyle. He got the idea of creating a business when his lyrics were becoming fodder for cheap souvenirs.
A T-shirt shop grew into restaurants, resorts and senior citizen communities. He became a pilot and an author, with three best-selling novels.
It didn’t matter that his albums barely charted anymore, he became legendary thanks to the million or so Parrot Heads who attended his summer concert tours and how he turned Margaritaville from a song, to a lifestyle, to a billion-dollar business.
Song of the Day is created by Sheldon Zoldan, and produced by Pam James for WGCU. Audio production is by Simon Dunham, WGCU. To receive the Song of the Day in your inbox every day, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
