Parrotheads know: Jimmy Buffett was not just a brand, he was a gifted singer-songwriter with a keen understanding of middle age and the American dream.
Jimmy Buffett, who died on Friday at age 76, was the rare singer-songwriter who was keenly aware of the songs that comprised his core songbook.
Almost all of those tunes were written and recorded in the 1970s, the decade when he carefully assembled his signature beach bum persona by bringing country rock to the Florida Keys. He’d strike pay dirt with “Come Monday” and, especially, “Margaritaville,” songs that brought him into the pop mainstream and established the foundation of a career that brought him from the beach into Wall Street boardrooms. Buffett stayed on the road for decades, establishing new business ventures while also writing and recording fresh material. Still, he never lost sight of the handful of songs known as “The Big 8” that he had to play at every show.
“The Big 8,” which include such crowd-pleasers as “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and “Changes in Attitude, Changes in Latitude,” are at the core of Buffett’s catalog and they remain surprisingly resilient, retaining many of their roguish, silly charms after decades’ worth of repetition. As popular as they are, they don’t necessarily show the full range of Buffett’s skill as a songwriter. He excelled at character sketches and storytelling, developing an eye for geographical and generational details that made his best songs portraits of a particular time and place.
Here are 12 essential Buffett songs:
1. “He Went to Paris” (1973)
A character sketch inspired by a meeting with a Spanish Civil War veteran, “He Went to Paris” is an early example of Buffett marrying vivid imagery with economical storytelling. Buffett doesn’t hide a sentimental streak but he doesn’t overplay it either, landing upon a conclusion that extends far beyond this particular story: “Some of it’s magic, some of it’s tragic, but I had a good life all the way.”
2. “Death of an Unpopular Poet” (1973)
One of two songs Bob Dylan cited as proof of why Buffett was one of his favorite songwriters, “Death of an Unpopular Poet” contains some ties to “He Went to Paris.” Where the subject of “He Went to Paris” was a survivor, the poet here died before he could be celebrated. Buffett’s song chronicles the poet’s afterlife, once he had a verse published in “the Times,” leading everybody to scurry to find the genius, only to find that he left everything to his old hound.
