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Jimmy Buffett 2011 Year in Review

December 28th, 2011


It seems like we just did this a short time ago… but nope, another year has come and gone and this one saw some big stories in Margaritaville.

Here’s our annual roundup of the biggest Buffett headlines of the year.

January

  • Tour dates began to leak out and get confirmed, earlier than in years past
  • Buffett plays Australia for the first time in several years
  • After a nasty fall off the stage in Australia, Buffett is hospitalized for head and arm injuries
  • Jimmy cancels show in New Zealand to focus on recovering

February

  • Buffett’s featured on the 2011 New Orleans Jazz Fest poster
  • Kenny Chesney joins Jimmy at the Everglades Benefit show in Palm Beach, FL
  • Charlie Sheen melts down in front of the world, but manages to mention “A Pirate Looks at Forty” in an interview: “Rock bottom? That’s a fishing term. Doesn’t Jimmy Buffett sing ‘down to rock bottom again?’ Love me some Jimmy Buffett. Yeah man, pirate looks at forty.”

March

  • Mac McAnally is honored with the 2011 Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts
  • Most of the spring and summer tour is confirmed in March with tickets going on sale later in the month
  • Buffett trademarks “Tiger Blood” for a vodka energy drink. To date, nothing has been done with the trademark
  • At the annual SXSW technology festival, Jimmy helps demo StageIt, a service that lets artists broadcast live shows from anywhere and earn money from the viewers.
  • Jimmy performs at the Key West wedding of Fred Troxel and Rita Brown
  • Lance Armstrong tweets as Jimmy plays an impromptu show at Baz Bar on St. Barths.

April

  • Final approval is received for a Margaritaville Casino in Biloxi
  • The Welcome to Fin Land Tour kicked off April 16th in Tampa
  • April 16th was officially designated Jimmy Buffett Day in Florida, per a resolution in the state house
  • Jimmy plays a fundraiser at the Pensacola Naval Air Museum

May

  • Buffett returns to the iconic New Orleans Jazz Fest
  • Landshark Bar & Grill opens in Myrtle Beach
  • The annual Frisco, TX show is capped off with “Livingston’s Gone To Texas,” played for the first time in over 30 years
  • Jimmy reveals that he’s come across some unreleased tunes from the 60’s and 70’s and will put them out in a project dubbed “Buried Treasure”
  • Kenny Chesney makes a surprise appearance at Jimmy’s Nashville show on May 28th. They played “Come Monday” and “Back Where I Come From” together

June

  • In early June, Buffett attended the 40th annual NYPD Foundation Gala
  • Jimmy and the Zac Brown Band win CMT Performance of the Year at the CMT Music Awards for their performance of Margaritaville on CMT Crossroads
  • The duet “Knee Deep” with the Zac Brown Band is released to country radio and a music video is shot in Mexico

July

  • Buffett attends the final space shuttle launch and plays a private show for shuttle workers
  • Savannah Jane Buffett, Jimmy’s daughter, launches clothing line
  • Jimmy plays Cuyahoga Falls outside of Cleveland for the first time since 2004

August

  • “Knee Deep” becomes Jimmy’s second number one song when it reaches the top of the chart in early August
  • Jimmy throws a 60th birthday party for his wife Jane. Guests included Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jane Fonda, Jack Nicholson, Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart, Richard Gere, Jon Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, and James Taylor
  • The Bristow, Virginia concert is postponed due to Hurricane Irene
  • Jimmy opens for Ilo at his Stephen Talkhouse show on Long Island. Bill and Hillary Clinton were in attendance
  • With Hurricane Irene still whipping up waves, Jimmy rescued a surfer off Montauk

September

  • A line of Margaritaville Coffee is announced
  • Jimmy releases a live version of the Volcano album, with all tracks recorded at shows from the Welcome to Fin Land Tour
  • It’s become an annual tradition… Buffett plays a show in Paris in late September

October

  • A 15,000 sq. ft. Margaritaville gaming area opens in the Flamingo Casino in Las Vegas
  • The Las Vegas Margaritaville breaks the record for the world’s largest margarita
  • Buffett performs in Phoenix for the first time since 2009 and Denver for the first time since 2004

November

  • Jimmy performs at Meeting of the Minds in Key West for the first time in several years
  • Margaritaville Online enters beta testing with several thousand parrothead testers invited to start playing the game before it’s released to the general public
  • Mac McAnally wins CMA Musician of the Year for the fourth year in a row
  • Another Margaritaville Casino wins approval, this one in Bossier City, Louisiana
  • Jimmy Buffett guest stars on an episode of the CBS show Hawaii Five-0

December

  • Along with his sisters, Jimmy donates a boat to the University of Southern Mississippi
  • Jimmy and Jane are honored with the 2011 Child Advocacy Award at the annual Child Mind Gala
  • Longtime Coral Reefer Ralph MacDonald dies after a battle with cancer
  • On December 25th, Jimmy celebrated his 65th birthday

What do you think was the biggest Buffett story of 2011?

And now that you’ve read through this year, take a trip down memory lane and view our Year in Reviews from previous years:


Tagged in Year In Review

Buffett Performs at Baz Bar in St. Barts

December 27th, 2011


Jimmy Buffett made an impromptu appearance at Baz Bar on St. Barths Monday night, playing “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”


photo by @tgeisenheimer

Watch a video of the performance from stbartslive.com


Tagged in Special Appearances

Jimmy Talks Sports in ESPN Interview

December 25th, 2011


ESPN has a short interview with Jimmy Buffett where he talks sports, his bucket list, and the Superbowl halftime show:

I hear you love sports. What is your favorite team?

I’m a big sports fan, but favorite … the Saints! I grew up as a Saints fan. I was at the very first game the Saints played in New Orleans — nobody knew who I was back then. It was probably before you were born!

Shane Battier announced he was going to Miami via Twitter and said, “This was a exciting process and after much deliberation, I would like to quote the great poet Jimmy Buffett and take my chances ‘Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season.’ How do you feel about “assisting” with his big announcement?

“I like it a lot. I was a big fan of his during the Duke days. Being a big Heat fan, I think it’s great. I think he has a lot of dimensions. He’s going to be a huge asset. I’m happy with it.”

In 2001 you were ejected from a Heat vs. Knicks game for cursing at referee Joe Forte. Looking back, what are your thoughts, and would you do anything differently?

“No, I wouldn’t do anything different. I remember it humorously now. Alonzo (Mourning) was telling me to stay there. He (referee, Joe Forte) didn’t have any idea who I was. Some people thought it was a publicity stunt. … It completely wasn’t. My son was young, and I told him I was going to have to leave the game because I said a bad word. He said, ‘Do I have to leave?’ ”

What’s on your sports bucket list?

“Saints to win the Super Bowl next year in New Orleans, and I’ll be there.”

Will you be playing halftime? I’m going to vote for that!

“No. I wouldn’t do the halftime show unless it was live. I don’t lip sync.”


Tagged in Interviews, Sports

Happy Birthday to Jimmy Buffett!

December 25th, 2011


Buffett World would like to wish Jimmy Buffett a very happy 65th birthday!

Born December 25th, 1946 to James Delaney Buffett and Mary Loriane, Jimmy shares his birthday with Humphrey Bogart, Sir Isaac Newton, Barbara Mandrell, Sissy Spacek, and Karl Rove.

Happy birthday Jimmy, and Merry Christmas to you all!


Tagged in Personal/Family

Memorial Service Celebrates Ralph MacDonald’s Life

December 23rd, 2011


A memorial service was held Thursday in Harlem for Ralph MacDonald, who died earlier this week at the age of 67.

Roberta Flack sang one of his final compositions, thanking him for writing hits for her like “Where is the Love.”

MacDonald died Sunday of lung cancer at age 67. He was living in Stamford, Conn.

“The song is over, but the melody lingers on,” the Rev. Calvin Butts said during the eulogy.

Valerie Simpson of Ashford & Simpson and Paul Shaffer of David Letterman’s “Late Show” band also attended the music-filled memorial for the eight-time Grammy nominee.

“Ralph was a very important part of my life,” Flack said before singing to some 300 mourners in front of his closed casket.

When Flack began touring internationally, MacDonald stepped in as her musical director.

“He was the kind of musician who could play and understand any kind of music,” she said. “There were no limits.”

She emotionally recited the words to one of his last compositions, “We Are a Family,” before singing the song.

“We are proud, and we are free,” she sang. “Yes, we are a family.”

When friend and singer Dennis Collins performed “My Way” in MacDonald’s honor, he drew hearty laughter for changing the line about biting off more than you can chew to, “He pissed off more than just a few.”

Born in Harlem to Trinidadian parents, MacDonald played conga drums as a boy in the 14-piece band led by his father, Patrick MacDonald, aka calypso performer Macbeth The Great.

For a decade, beginning at age 17, he played percussion for Harry Belafonte.

In 1971, he had his breakthrough as a songwriter when Flack and Donny Hathaway scored with “Where is the Love,” co-written with William Salter.

Read more from this article here, and read the New York Times obituary here.

(H/T Phyllis)


Tagged in Coral Reefers