Will Jimmy Buffett land another number one song? He’ll have his chance this summer as the Zac Brown Band will release “Knee Deep,” a duet with Jimmy, as their next single.
In 2003, Jimmy scored his only number song with “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” a collaboration with Alan Jackson. After the success of that song, Buffett released License to Chill, an album containing duets with several country stars including Toby Keith, Martina McBride, George Strait, and Clint Black, among others.
Buffett’s had three singles on the charts since “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.” “Hey Good Lookin’” reached #8 in 2004, “Trip Around the Sun” hit #20 that same year, and “Bama Breeze” reached #58 in 2006.
This isn’t the first time that Jimmy and the Zac Brown Band have partnered up. In December of 2009 they taped an episode of “CMT Crossroads” that aired in March of last year.
The Zac Brown Band is riding high right now. Music legend James Taylor joined them at the ACM Awards last Sunday to perform their latest single “Colder Weather” (Watch Now), and then this past week the single went to number one on the Billboard Top Country Songs chart.
Sam Gazdziak at The 9513 has a good writeup on how “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” came to be a song, and how it fell into the hands of Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett:
The timing on the song was so perfect, that the time from when it was written to when it was released to radio was about three months, a rarity in the industry. Brown recorded the demo, which was initially pitched to Kenny Chesney, but his team passed.
“I think they wanted to not do so much beachy stuff anymore,” he says. “If we had gotten it to him three years earlier, he probably would have jumped on it, but the timing wasn’t right.”
Fortunately, Alan Jackson was looking for a song that he could cut with his friend Jimmy Buffett, and Gary Overton, then the head of EMI Publishing Nashville, turned him on to “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.”
The song was released in June, 2003, and was an immediate hit, debuting at #31 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It eventually spent a total of eight weeks at #1 and made it to #17 on the pop charts. It also won the Country Music Association Vocal Event of the Year award in 2003. Not bad for Brown’s first ever single.
2009 was another big year for Jimmy Buffett. His summer tour was hugely successful again, he partnered with the Miami Dolphins to rename their home field Landshark Stadium, and a new album dropped in December. And of course there was lots more in between. So here’s our Jimmy Buffett 2009 Year in Review:
January
In early January Jimmy made a swing through the Caribbean, making stops at his Margaritaville Cafes in Grand Cayman and Cozumel where he, Mac, and Nadirah played surprise shows
Buffett attends Wounded Warriors Project’s Soldier Ride in Key West
Spring and summer tour dates began to trickle out in mid-to-late January
February
On February 2nd Margaritaville.com confirmed all shows for the Summerzcool Tour
Also on February 2nd, Jimmy Buffett’s at the Beachcomber Restaurant opened in Honolulu
Parrothead license plates become available for South Carolina residents
On February 12th, Jimmy played a surprise show at the Margaritaville in Key West
About 2 weeks later, Mailboat Records releases 4 digital downloads from the Key West show
On Tuesday the 24th, Buffett and the Coral Reefers open the 2009 Summerzcool Tour in Maui
On the 26th he plays a private show for the opening of Jimmy Buffett’s at the Beachcomber
March
Jimmy performs at Netscape founder Jim Clark’s wedding in the British Virgin Islands
In late March, we report that Margaritaville Rum is coming soon
Also at the end of the month, Coral Reefer Mac McAnally releases a new single: “You First”
April
Buffett sends out an April Fool’s joke on his Twitter account saying that the summer tour has been canceled
On April 10th, Jimmy called in to Radio Margaritaville to discuss the tour and a new album in the works
First rumblings surface about Jimmy entering into a partnership with the Miami Dolphins
Spring tour kicks off in Atlanta on April 16th
Buffett also plays Dallas, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Tampa in April
A planned Today Show appearance by Jimmy in Key West in May is scrapped so that the NBC staff could stay in NYC to cover the Swine Flu outbreak
May
It was announced on May 1st that Jimmy had entered into a agreement with the Miami Dolphins to rename their home field “Landshark Stadium”
The Fall tour dates are removed from Margaritaville.com, causing mass speculation and frustrating parrotheads on the West Coast
On May 8th the Dolphins held a press conference in Miami announcing the stadium’s name change to Landshark Stadium. Jimmy performed at the event
Tour resumed on May 14th in Phoenix. Jimmy also plays Las Vegas, Concord CA, and Irvina CA in May
Additional Fall tour dates are announced in London, Paris, Orlando, and Charlottsville, VA. The San Diego, Seattle, and Las Vegas shows planned for the Fall are officially canceled
June
Trump Entertainment Resorts terminates the agreement with Coastal Development to buy the Trump Marina and Casino and turn it into a Margaritaville-themed casino
It’s announced that the first Canadian Margaritaville will open in Edmonton
Prior to the Dolphins Monday Night Football game on the 21st, Jimmy performs outside of the stadium
A new line of iced tea by Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville is announced
On September 30th it was announced that Jimmy had joined the effort to restore Miami’s Marine Stadium, the venue for the Live By The Bay show from 1985.
October
On October 16th the Margaritaville on Grand Cayman was robbed
Jimmy plays for the National Association of Convenience Stores in Las Vegas
Jimmy performs at Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, CA on October 24th
November
We reported on the 3rd that “Margaritaville” had been trademarked for video game use
On the 7th, Jimmy played a show on St. Barth’s for the 60th anniversary of Le Select
The CMA Awards were held on the 11th and Coral Reefer Mac McAnally won Musician Of The Year for the second straight year
Jimmy plays final shows of the Summerzcool Tour in Charlottsville VA, Toronto, Uncasville CT, and New York City
On the morning of the 23rd, Jimmy appeared on the Today Show to discuss his upcoming album “Buffet Hotel”
December
Jimmy’s new album “Buffet Hotel” is released. It’s Jimmy’s first studio album since “Take The Weather With You” in 2006
On the 9th, Jimmy and the Zac Brown Band tape an episode of CMT Crossroads in Nashville
We reported on the 13th that Buffett had acquired two new airplanes
On the 17th, we reported that an aviation departure procedure out of Palm Beach International Airport in Florida had been named after Jimmy
We report on the 18th that a job listing for a General Manager at a Margaritaville location in Nashville had been posted
On Christmas Day, Jimmy celebrated his 63rd birthday
Longtime Coral Reefer Band guitarist Peter Mayer has a new album dropping on Wednesday and Jimmy Buffett lends his vocals on one of the tracks.
The CD is entitled Goodbye Hello and Buffett duets with Mayer on the Beatles hit “Rocky Raccoon”.
Goodbye Hello will be available Wednesday at LittleFlockMusic.com or at the annual Meeting of the Minds convention in Key West. Peter Mayer and other Coral Reefers will be performing at the parrothead pilgrimage.
Below is a clip of “We Can Work It Out” from the album:
Jimmy Buffett is back on country radio and back on the singles charts with “Knee Deep,” his duet with the Zac Brown Band.
Sam Gazdziak at 
Longtime Coral Reefer Band guitarist 
