Jimmy Buffett, "A1A"

Ken puts on a white sports coat

, and

Apr 20, 2022

Ken’s Pitch:

“I have never ever won an award for any music that I’ve written, but I don’t really care when I have fans like Parrotheads. Reward enough!” - Jimmy Buffett (1990)

They say the best revenge is a life well lived. Well, if Jimmy Buffett wanted revenge against all those decision-makers that passed him up for awards, mission accomplished. If you’ve seen Jimmy live, you know what happens there. You know it’s truly a circus of otherwise corporate suburban moms, dads, and grandparents…those “kids of all ages” we’ve heard about for years. Over the last five decades, I’ve toggled back and forth between loving that scene and despising it. And now, and for the rest of Jimmy’s days on the road, I understand what it is, and I can appreciate it, even if I don’t necessarily want to be a part of it all the time. Those shows offer an all-too-necessary escape from our daily lives, and they give us a venue and an incredible soundtrack to tap into that inner party animal that needs to come out every now and again.

Before the Parrotheads and before the beach balls and Hawaiian shirts graced the lawn seats of every outdoor concert venue in the western hemisphere, Jimmy Buffett was revolutionizing music by combining country, folk, and rock with just a hint of the Caribbean. Later in his career (late ‘70s and ‘80s) he would lean into the Caribbean sound harder, but in the early stuff it’s just enough to add a unique and clever twist on traditional country-folk.

After a couple of failed attempts on Andy Williams’ label, Barnaby Records, Buffett signed with ABC Records to release A White Sport Coat and A Pink Crustacean to some modest success on both the country and mainstream charts. But it was 1974, with the February release of Living and Dying in ¾ Time, and the December release of his finest opus, A1A, that launched the feeding frenzy of some of the most devoted fans this side of 710 Ashbury St.

Living and Dying brought us Buffett’s first charting tracks: “Come Monday” reached #30 on the Hot 100 and “Pencil Thin Mustache” made it to #44 on the Easy Listening charts. Jimmy wasn’t exactly The Rolling Stones, but the album got his beach ball rolling downhill and gaining speed.

With some money in his pocket, and the confidence that his honest, heartfelt songwriting and storytelling would be his “if you build it, they will come” moment, Jimmy gave us A1A.

Critics have called it the first album in his “Key West phase” which doesn’t seem accurate given that he never left the phase. In fact, if Key West was largely defined by romantic tales of Hemingway, bar fights, and hardcore fishermen, Buffett redefined Key West with the music he made in the ‘70s. One might say the island would look a lot different today if not for Jimmy Buffett and his music.

Upon hearing the opening guitar riff on “Making Music For Money” you might think you’re hearing a unique take on Springsteen’s “Darlington County” but that song wouldn’t be released for another 10 years. Interesting that this song should come up first; it’s the story of a musician who’s had some success, so his agent is trying to point him in a particularly marketable musical direction. He says, “Son, you got to be commercial if you want to turn the people on” to which Buffett responds, “I know this may sound funny, but money don’t mean nothin’ to me, I won’t make music for money, I’m gonna make my music for me.” That’s how he defined those early years. He simply did what he wanted, told the stories he wanted to tell, made honest music that was important to him, and he figured if people wanted to hear it, well that’d be pretty alright too.

That’s why he included tracks like “Door Number Three”, his strange ode to the game show Let’s Make A Deal, and “Dallas”, which has Jimmy telling us why we should avoid that city at all costs. He wasn’t making commercial music, he was putting his art out there, take it or leave it.

The rest of the album includes the lovely “Stories We Could Tell”, “Life Is Just A Tire Swing”, and “Nautical Wheelers”, but we also get the best stuff Buffett has ever done. Starting with a song we all know by heart, “A Pirate Looks At Forty”, a gorgeous lament about a man longing for a simple life on the water that hasn’t existed for centuries. “Migration” ironically sings about how people flock to Florida for the weather, but they never see the beauty of the world outside of their mobile home park. I suppose the irony there is that in 2022 Florida, many of those mobile home parks are filled with…yup, Parrotheads. The two best tracks are “Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season” and “Tin Cup Chalice”, two concert staples that have been fan favorites for almost 50 years.

Jimmy Buffett didn’t invent island escapism with his unique brand of music, but he made it accessible to all of us. For brief moments while driving our cars in traffic, doing the dishes at night, or laying on the beach on a summer day we can escape to the islands. And when we go see his shows, all the other escapees are there too and it’s time to party!

Buffett may not have won any awards by 1990, but that’s not a reflection of his talent or his storytelling. It’s because critics and the industry insiders that vote on these things vastly underestimate how much we all need Jimmy Buffett and his music in our lives. Stress, anxiety, and the daily toll that capitalism takes on our bodies and souls doesn’t just go away. We need a place to let it all out, and Jimmy provides it for us.

There’s plenty of room left on the shelves of the Newbury St. Collection, so let’s throw A1A up there and grab the blender from under the counter. I’ll bring the rum.

Mitch’s Response:

Looking back at my ticket stubs, I have evidence of at least 9 Jimmy Buffett shows that Ken and I attended together between 1987 and 1991, including back-to-back nights at Great Woods in ’89 & ’90 and a “winter getaway” show in beautiful Worcester, Massachusetts. That’s a lot of cheeseburgers in paradise.

At the time, we thought we were the cool young kids getting into the Buffett scene late, although in retrospect, we were getting into the scene in the middle, and we definitely weren’t cool. At least we had the good sense not to wear those stupid shark fin hats.

I understand Ken’s ambivalence towards the scene, however. Putting the Parrotheads aside, Jimmy has always ridden a fine line between quality and cheese, like the spiritual forefather of Guy Fieri and Tiger King. His ballads span from touching to schmaltzy, and his rockers go from anthemic to pathetic, sometimes all in the same song.

But it doesn’t matter because Jimmy Buffett is an amazing character-driven writer and his whole schtick feels authentic and earned. He always stayed true to himself, developed a unique sound, cultivated a loyal audience, and created an incredible (and lucrative) lifestyle brand. He deserves all of the success that he’s earned, given all of the joy he’s spread, and he seems like a decent guy as well.

A1A is a fantastic album where Jimmy showed that he could either go country or pop, and solidified his beach bum persona. I love Greg Taylor’s harmonica, Mike Utley’s keys, the tasteful use of pedal steel guitars, and the overall vibe. Side A is good, but side B is flawless, with the incredible run of “A Pirate Looks At Forty”, “Migration”, “Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season”, “Nautical Wheelers”, and “Tin Cup Chalice”.

On a musical level A1A absolutely deserves to be in the Newbury St. Collection. It’s a wonderful album by an important artist who charted his own course to success and influence. On a personal level, it’s time for all heads to lay down their arms and come together. The internecine wars between the Deadheads, Parrotheads, and Phish kids merely distract us loyal concertgoers from the real enemy: Ticketmaster!

Pitch Successful (We really are the people our parents warned us about)

CJ’s Response:

I don’t know how I did it, but somehow I avoided going to a Wiggles concert. My kids were heavy into the Australian musical troupe for a few months and I thought we were destined to attend a live performance at the same Boston venue where we saw “Dora the Explorer” and “The Backyardigans” on stage and in person. But my children, bless them, never asked and I never brought it up.

I’d heard that Wiggles shows were wild. Children would dress up as their favorite band member, put on funny hats and basically go batshit crazy for the entirety of the concert.

Just like, to pick a random fanbase, Parrotheads.

I found a lot of similarities between Jimmy Buffett and The Wiggles as I listened to A1A. They both have pleasant songs with silly subject matter. (“Dallas” and “Door #3” for Jimmy. “Fruit Salad” and “Hot Potato” for The Wiggles.) They both like to be a little provocative, naughty even. (Jimmy’s backing group is called The Coral Reefer Band—wink, wink. The Wiggles have a character named Jeff who keeps falling asleep—perhaps because he’s stoned?) And both acts prominently feature pirates. (Jimmy’s alter ego vs. a fellow in The Wiggles called Captain Feathersword who has a feather in lieu of a scimitar.)

I’ve only seen Jimmy Buffett once in concert as part of the Don Henley-led “Concert for Walden Woods” in Foxboro. Jimmy was on the bill with a lineup that included Henley, Aerosmith, Sting, Elton John and Melissa Etheridge. As you can imagine, the level of sanctimony was astronomical. Not from Jimmy, though. He and the Reefers played two songs—“Volcano” and “Margaritaville”—before shuffling off to do a show at nearby Great Woods where Mitch and Ken were likely doing body shots off a forty-six-year-old mother of three.

I liked A1A. It didn’t strike me as vastly different than any other Jimmy Buffett album, Key West period or not. The songs are pleasant and breezy, just like the island that inspired them. And I would like to thank Ken for re-introducing me to the sleeper on this record, “Tin Cup Chalice”, which I will be adding to my summer playlist.

Who cares if Jimmy Buffet is how aging Boomers and old soul X-ers get their groove on? We can always use a little extra cheese (burger) in the musical paradise that is Newbury St.

Pitch Successful (I just had a fruit salad and it was, indeed, yummy yummy.)

Call Havana because this ain’t no daydream. Jimmy Buffett’s A1A has sailed into the Newbury St. Collection.

Jimmy has found a home on Newbury Street, but we want you to take another road to one particular harbor (the comments section) and let us know if Jimmy Buffett’s A1A was a lovely cruise or a Jamaica mistaica.

Exile on Newbury St.

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