60 Fun Facts About Jimmy Buffett

In which Gulf Coast town was Jimmy Buffett born in 1946?

He grew up in Mobile, Alabama, but the birthplace on the record is a Mississippi shipbuilding town.

Jimmy Buffett shared his birthday with which holiday?

He was born on 25 December 1946, so his birthday concerts always had a seasonal twist.

Buffett flunked out of which university after a single year in 1966?

He later finished at the University of Southern Mississippi, where a Coral Reefer-to-be first spotted him playing solo on campus.

What subject was Buffett's 1969 bachelor's degree in?

The degree came from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg; the history major became one of the best-selling authors of his era.

As a Nashville editorial assistant, Buffett was first to report the breakup of which bluegrass act?

The scoop ran in Billboard magazine, where he worked while trying to launch a country career.

Buffett's 1970 debut album Down to Earth famously sold roughly how many copies?

The folk-rock flop convinced him Nashville was not working; Key West would soon fix that.

A 1971 busking expedition persuaded Buffett to move, in spring 1972, to which town?

The Florida Keys became the setting, and the sales pitch, for the rest of his career.

What was the title of Buffett's 1973 breakthrough album, his first for ABC/Dunhill?

It was cut at Tompall Glaser's studio on Music Row, the same outlaw-country hangout that Waylon Jennings used.

Which 1974 song, written for his future wife, was Buffett's first single to reach the Billboard Hot 100?

He wrote it while on tour heading to California; it reached No. 30 and remains one of his 'Big Eight' concert staples.

Buffett formed the Coral Reefer Band in 1975 and that August served as the opening act for which group?

Two years later the headliners returned the favour by playing at his 1977 wedding in Aspen.

The Coral Reefer Band's name is a pun combining coral reefs with slang for what?

Original Reefer Greg 'Fingers' Taylor discovered Buffett playing solo at The Hub on the Southern Miss campus in 1970.

'Margaritaville' first appeared on which 1977 album?

It was his seventh album, and the title track became a concert staple in its own right.

What was the peak position of 'Margaritaville' on the Billboard Hot 100?

It did top the Easy Listening chart, and reached No. 13 on Hot Country Songs.

Buffett claimed he wrote most of 'Margaritaville' in about how long?

Producer Norbert Putnam recalled it grew out of a bad beach day: a lost flip-flop, a foot cut on a pop top and no salt for the drink.

In which year was 'Margaritaville' inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame?

Seven years later the Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry.

According to producer Norbert Putnam, which mishap on a bad beach day helped inspire 'Margaritaville'?

The same afternoon he cut his foot on a beer-can pop top and ran out of salt, all of which ended up in the song.

'Cheeseburger in Paradise' was inspired by a boat trip where Buffett survived on canned food and what?

He finally reached Road Town on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands and celebrated with a burger.

'Cheeseburger in Paradise' peaked at what position on the Billboard Hot 100?

It came from the 1978 album Son of a Son of a Sailor and later lent its name to a restaurant chain.

Which 1979 album contained both 'Fins' and its own title track?

Decades later Buffett wrote new lyrics to 'Fins' for the Miami Dolphins.

Which restaurant chain did Buffett beat in a 1983 lawsuit over trademarking 'Margaritaville' as a drink special?

The win protected the name that would become his own hospitality empire two years later.

Songs You Know by Heart, Buffett's best-selling album, is what kind of record?

Released in 1985, it collected the 'Big Eight' and was certified 7x Platinum by 2005.

Which Coral Reefer Band member, better known as another famous rock group's bassist, coined 'Parrot Head'?

He noticed the Hawaiian shirts and parrot hats returning show after show, much like Deadheads.

The first Parrothead club was founded in 1989 in which city?

Clubs raise money for charity and gather each year for the Meeting of the Minds after Fantasy Fest.

Roughly how many Parrotheads attend the annual Meeting of the Minds festival?

The five-day gathering follows Fantasy Fest in the Florida Keys.

Buffett's first Margaritaville Cafe, opened in 1984 and soon closed, was in which Alabama beach town?

It began as a T-shirt shop; the second attempt in the Keys became the flagship in 1987.

On Frank Sinatra's final studio album Duets II, Buffett sang which standard with him?

The 1994 pairing put the beach bard alongside the Chairman of the Board on a Kurt Weill tune.

Buffett's 2003 duet 'It's Five O'Clock Somewhere' was recorded with which country star?

It spent eight weeks atop Hot Country Songs and won the CMA Vocal Event of the Year, Buffett's first award in 30 years of recording.

Who wrote 'It's Five O'Clock Somewhere'?

Neither singer wrote it; the songwriters earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song in 2004.

Which 2004 album became Buffett's only No. 1 on the Billboard 200?

It sold 238,600 copies in its first week and was loaded with country duets, including George Strait and Martina McBride.

What was the title of Buffett's 1998 memoir, a No. 1 New York Times nonfiction bestseller?

He is one of very few writers to top both the fiction and nonfiction bestseller lists.

Buffett co-wrote the children's books The Jolly Mon and Trouble Dolls with which family member?

Savannah, his eldest, later became a radio personality; Coral Reefer keyboardist Michael Utley scored The Jolly Mon.

Buffett's 1997 musical Don't Stop the Carnival was based on a novel by whom?

The author of The Caine Mutiny wrote the 1965 Caribbean novel; critics were unkind to the stage version.

The jukebox musical Escape to Margaritaville opened on Broadway in 2018 in which house?

It had premiered at La Jolla Playhouse in 2017 and closed after 124 regular performances.

Who wrote the book of Escape to Margaritaville?

Garcia created My Name Is Earl; O'Malley is the actor known for Yes, Dear and Glee.

Buffett's Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant chain was sold in 2012 for $11 million to which company?

He had founded it in 2002 with Bloomin' Brands, the Outback owner; the chain shut for good in 2020.

Buffett founded Margaritaville Records in 1992 with distribution through which major label?

He later put out his own albums through Mailboat Records instead.

Which brewer partnered with Buffett in 2006 to make LandShark Lager?

In 2009 the beer briefly gave its name to the Miami Dolphins' stadium.

Latitude Margaritaville, the $1 billion retirement community Buffett announced in 2017, is near which city?

Built with the Minto Group, the 3,900-home village put the beach-bum brand into the 55-plus market.

On 25 August 1994 Buffett crashed his Grumman Widgeon seaplane off which island?

He survived the take-off accident; two years later a different plane of his was shot at in Jamaica.

Buffett's 'Jamaica Mistaica' recounts his seaplane being fired on in 1996 by whom?

U2's Bono and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell were among the passengers; the police had mistaken the plane for a smuggler's.

With former Florida governor Bob Graham, Buffett co-founded which conservation group in 1981?

Its Adopt-A-Manatee programme still funds rescue, research and lobbying for the sea cows.

Radio Margaritaville, online-only from 1998, moved to which satellite service in 2005?

The 24-hour trop-rock channel survived the 2008 Sirius-XM merger and was still streaming in 2025.

Buffett died in September 2023 of complications from which rare cancer?

He had been diagnosed with the aggressive skin cancer in 2019 and kept touring; he died at 76 in Sag Harbor, New York.

Buffett was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024 in which category?

The nod came a year after his death and alongside two career Grammy nominations.

Buffett's posthumous album Equal Strain on All Parts took its title from his grandfather's term for what?

The record arrived in November 2023, two months after his death.

On the Hawaii Five-0 reboot, Buffett had a recurring role as which character?

The character's name is a nod to his own song 'Bama Breeze'; he appeared in seven episodes.

In which 2015 blockbuster does Buffett cameo fleeing dinosaurs while clutching two margaritas?

His earlier bit parts include an 'Additional Blond Agent' in Repo Man and a 727 pilot in Congo.

Buffett married Jane in 1977 in Aspen, Colorado, and which band played at the wedding?

He had opened for them two summers earlier; the couple raised two daughters and an adopted son.

Buffett's 2010 collaboration 'Knee Deep' was with which group?

The song showed a new generation of country acts adopting his beach-and-boat themes; Kenny Chesney is another he influenced.

Buffett's final full concert, on 6 May 2023, was at Snapdragon Stadium in which city?

His last live appearance of any kind came that July in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

Before a 2022 refit, Margaritaville at Sea Paradise sailed under what name?

The ship sails short Bahamas runs from Palm Beach; the brand's 349-room Hollywood Beach resort opened in 2015.

Which of these songs is NOT one of the 'Big Eight' Buffett played at nearly every concert?

The Big Eight are the 1970s core: Margaritaville, Come Monday, Fins, Volcano, A Pirate Looks at Forty, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Why Don't We Get Drunk and Changes in Latitudes.

The 1974 song 'A Pirate Looks at Forty', from the album A1A, was written about what kind of man?

The A1A title refers to the coastal Florida highway that runs down to the Keys.

Buffett's 1999 live album took its title from his preferred concert schedule of playing on which days?

By 1999 he had cut back to around 20–30 dates a year with few back-to-back nights.

In which Long Island village did Buffett live and die, at his waterfront estate?

He died there on September 1, 2023, aged 76; his estate was estimated at $275 million.

Buffett's first award in three decades of recording came in 2003 from which body?

It was for 'It's Five O'Clock Somewhere', which spent a then-record eight weeks atop the Hot Country Songs chart.

Buffett was a devoted fan of which NFL team, attending its first game at Tulane Stadium in 1967?

In 2012 he made suspended coach Sean Payton an honorary Coral Reefer in protest at the bounty-scandal ban.

What did the unrelated Berkshire Hathaway boss call Buffett, who returned the favour with 'Uncle'?

Jimmy became a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder in the 1980s and increased his stake over the years.

Who inducted Buffett into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024 and sang 'Come Monday'?

Kenny Chesney and Coral Reefer Mac McAnally joined him for the performance.

Buffett was named the tenth-biggest touring artist of the 2000s with roughly how many ticket sales?

That was despite a deliberately relaxed schedule of only a few dozen shows a year.