Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett released 56 albums and, along the way, built a billion-dollar business. This tribute is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who died in 2023.
Buffett's 1977 single, “Margaritaville,” reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. The song became the foundation of his business empire.
Here are a couple of videos of Buffett performing the song. The first is from 1978. It's not a slick version, but it's fun to watch. And the comments below the video are lovely and worth reading. And here's an official video of him performing live in Minneapolis in 1993. It's another good one with more heartfelt comments.
The picture in the chapters is a promotional photo of Buffett taken by Tom Corcoran in 1980. It was distributed by Front Line Management Company Inc., and is available on Wikimedia Commons.
Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime writer and newspaper editor, wrote these tributes and recorded them. As an added bonus, here's Sheldon telling Buffett's story on WGCU.org, where he posts once a week.
Sheldon also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, emailshzoldan@comcast.netwith the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in major podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.
