After graduating in 1969, Buffett moved to
New Orleans and often held
street performances for tourists on
Decatur Street and played for drunken crowds in the former Bayou Room nightclub on
Bourbon Street. He released his first album, the country-tinged
folk rock record
Down to Earth, in August 1970; it sold 324 copies. There, Buffett got involved in the literary scene, meeting writers
Thomas McGuane (who married Buffett's sister),
Jim Harrison,
Tom Corcoran, and
Truman Capote; Buffett was hired by
David Wolkowsky, playing for drinks at the Chart Room Bar in the Pier House Motel. There, Buffett met his second wife. In 1973, Buffett signed a
recording contract with
ABC/Dunhill Records, then run by
Don Gant. After
Jim Croce died in a plane crash in September 1973, Dunhill promoted Buffett as a replacement. Buffett's second release and his first release on
ABC/Dunhill Records was
A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean, recorded at
Tompall Glaser's
Glaser Sound recording studio on
Music Row and released in June 1973. The album featured the hit singles "
Grapefruit—Juicy Fruit" and "
Why Don't We Get Drunk" as well as "I Have Found Me a Home", written about his experiences in Key West. He credits his future wife for cleaning up their look, replacing their ripped
Levi jeans and collarless shirts. in 1977 ''
Havana Daydreamin', produced by Don Gant, was released in January 1976. In January 1977, Buffett released Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes'', which, in addition to the
title track, featured his breakthrough hit song "
Margaritaville". That year, Buffett sublet his apartment in Key West to
Hunter S. Thompson. In March 1978, Buffett released
Son of a Son of a Sailor. In addition to the
title track, it featured "
Cheeseburger in Paradise", which reached number 32 on the Hot 100. In 1983, Buffett filed and won a lawsuit against
Chi-Chi's for attempting to trademark "Margaritaville" as a drink special. In October 1985, he released the
compilation album Songs You Know By Heart, which included all of the "Big Eight" songs and was his best-selling album, selling over 7 million copies by 2005. In 1996, Buffett penned the song "Jamaica Mistaica" for his
Banana Wind album based on a January 1996 incident in which Buffett's
Grumman HU-16 airplane named
Hemisphere Dancer was shot at by Jamaican police, who believed the craft to be smuggling marijuana. In April 1998, Buffett released an album of songs from a
musical theatre production he co-created based on
Herman Wouk's novel, ''
Don't Stop the Carnival; the album was certified gold. Comedian Jon Stewart also jokingly criticized the song on The Daily Show'' during a segment called "Math Is Quite Pleasant". By 1999, Buffett had shifted to a more relaxed concert schedule of around 20–30 dates per year, with infrequent back-to-back nights, preferring to play only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This schedule provided the title of his
1999 live album. In 2003, Buffett partnered in a partial
duet with
Alan Jackson for the song "
It's Five O'Clock Somewhere", which spent a then record eight weeks atop the
Hot Country Songs charts. This song won the 2003
Country Music Association Award for Vocal Event of the Year, Buffett's first award in his 30-year recording career. Buffett's album
License to Chill, released on July 13, 2004, sold 238,500 copies in its first week of release according to
Nielsen Soundscan. With the album, Buffett topped the U.S. pop albums chart for the first time in his career. In May 2005, Buffett signed an agreement with
Sirius Satellite Radio to broadcast
Radio Margaritaville, which, from its founding in 1998, was broadcast only online. The channel broadcasts from the Margaritaville Resort Orlando in
Kissimmee, Florida. In August 2006, Buffett released the album
Take the Weather with You, which hit number 1 on the country chart. The album included "Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On", written in honor of the survivors of
Hurricane Katrina. Also in August 2007, Buffett received a star on the Mohegan Sun Walk of Fame. In April 2010, a double CD of performances recorded during the 2008 and 2009 tours called
Encores was released exclusively at
Walmart, Walmart.com, and Margaritaville.com. In 2010, Buffett was named the tenth biggest touring artist of the decade, with 4.5 million ticket sales over the previous 10 years. The single was certified platinum in September 2017. In August 2013, Buffett released
Songs from St. Somewhere; many of the songs were recorded at
Eden Rock, St Barths. Buffett performed his final full concert at
Snapdragon Stadium in
San Diego on May 6, 2023. He made two further concert appearances, as an unannounced guest at concerts by Coral Reefer Band members, in
Amagansett, New York, on June 11 and in
Portsmouth, Rhode Island, on July 2, his final live performance before his death.
Equal Strain on All Parts was released posthumously in November 2023. Buffett got the idea for the album title from his grandfather's description of a nap. Buffett was posthumously selected for induction into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024 in the musical excellence category. He has also described his music as follows: It's pure escapism is all it is...I'm not the first one to do it, nor shall I probably be the last. But I think it's really a part of the human condition that you've got to have some fun. You've got to get away from whatever you do to make a living or other parts of life that stress you out. I try to make it at least 50/50 fun to work and so far it's worked out. In 1989, a music critic in
The Washington Post described Buffett's music as a combination of "tropical languor with country funkiness into what some [have] called the Key West sound, or Gulf-and-western." The name "Gulf-and-western" derives from elements in Buffett's early music including musical influence from
country, along with lyrical themes from the coast of the
Gulf of Mexico. It is a play on the form of "Country & Western" and
Gulf+Western is the former parent company of
Paramount Pictures. In 2020, The
Associated Press described Buffett's sound as a "special
Gulf Coast blend of country,
pop,
folk and rock, topped by Buffett's swaying voice. Few can mix
steelpans,
trombones and
pedal steel guitar so effortlessly."
Musical legacy Musicians that have cited Buffett as a musical influence include
Greg "Fingers" Taylor, a former member of Buffett's
Coral Reefer Band, as well as musicians that have "latched on to his seaside-and-booze themes" such as
Kenny Chesney,
Alan Jackson, and
Zac Brown.
"Parrot Head" fans Parrot Head or
parrothead is a commonly used nickname for Buffett fans, with "parakeets" or "keets" used for younger fans, or children of Parrotheads. At a 1985 Jimmy Buffett concert at the Timberwolf Amphitheater at
Kings Island in
Mason, Ohio, Buffett commented about everyone wearing Hawaiian shirts and parrot hats and how they kept coming back to see his shows, just like
Deadheads.
Timothy B. Schmit, then a member of the
Coral Reefer Band, coined the term "Parrot Head" to describe them. In 1989, the first Parrothead club was founded in
Atlanta. The annual Meeting of the Minds in
Key West, Florida is a five-day festival held after
Fantasy Fest that attracts approximately 5,000 Parrotheads. The Pikes Peak Hash House Harriers and Harriettes have an annual Parrot Head Hash weekend hosted by Yeastee Boy and Bread Box. Buffett's fanbase is composed mostly of
baby boomers. His concerts were known for
tailgate parties and alcohol consumption. ==Writing==