- published: 21 Apr 2010
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"Margaritaville" is a 1977 song by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett from the album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes. This song was written about a drink in Austin, Texas, and the first huge surge of tourists who descended on Key West almost two decades ago[when?]. He wrote it in Key West while spending time in Florida. The song was a chart hit in the United States when it was released and contemporary[update] popular culture references and remakes attest to its continuing popularity. It reached #8 on Billboard Hot 100 chart, topped the Easy Listening (Adult Contemporary) chart at #1, and peaked at #13 on the Hot Country Songs chart. It remains[update] Buffett's highest charting solo single.
Named for a cocktail, the margarita, and with lyrics reflecting a laid-back lifestyle in a tropical climate, "Margaritaville" has come to define Buffett's music and career. The relative importance of the song to Buffett's career is referred to obliquely in a parenthetical plural in the title of a Buffett greatest hits compilation album, Songs You Know By Heart: Jimmy Buffett's Greatest Hit(s). The name has been used in the title of other Buffett compilation albums such as Meet Me In Margaritaville: The Ultimate Collection and is also the name of several commercial products licensed by Buffett (see below).
James William "Jimmy" Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer–songwriter, film producer, businessman, and author. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett has recorded hit songs including "Margaritaville" (ranked 234th on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of "Songs of the Century"), and "Come Monday". He has a devoted base of fans known as "Parrotheads".
Aside from his career in music, Buffett is also a best-selling writer and is involved in two restaurant chains named after two of his best known songs, "Cheeseburger in Paradise" and "Margaritaville". He owns the Margaritaville Cafe restaurant chain and co-developed the Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant concept with OSI Restaurant Partners (parent of Outback Steakhouse), which operates the chain under a licensing agreement with Buffett.
Buffett spent part of his childhood in Mobile, Alabama. In grade school years, he attended St. Ignatius School, where he played the trombone in the school band. He later lived in Fairhope, Alabama, mentioned by himself as his "Home Town" during a 2001 concert. He graduated high school from McGill Institute for Boys (now McGill-Toolen Catholic High School) in 1964. He began playing guitar during his college years at Pearl River Community College, The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and Auburn University where he received a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1969. He was initiated into the fraternity Kappa Sigma (ΚΣ) at the University of Southern Mississippi. After graduating from college, Buffett worked as a correspondent for Billboard magazine in Nashville, breaking the news of the separation of Flatt and Scruggs.