Jimmy Buffett World Discussion Board

I heard a new song from him called Rum is the Reason and it certainly seems that his friendship with Jimmy has had an influence on this song. It certainly sounds a lot like a couple Jimmy songs worked in the music and words. The main part that shows it's a JB influence is that at the end of the songs Toby says, "Take it home Coral Reefers." Apparently this is off his album that came out with Sailboat for Sail but first time I've heard the song. He debuted the song on Colbert's show back in September.

That damn Toby Keith. I really like that tune I Love This Bar and I like a couple other tracks but the rest of his music is just crap. But this song... it works. It's actually pretty damn good. And, yes, that is a (not entire) Coral Reefer Band backing him up.

Edited errors for correction in parentheses:

Tell me about “Rum Is The Reason.” Before I read anything about the album I listened to it, and at during that song, I thought, “This sounds like Jimmy Buffett.” And then at the end of the song, you say, “C’mon, Coral Reefers! (Take it home, Coral Reefers)”

We had this idea that rum is the reason that pirates didn’t rule the world. So I said, “If pirates are known for rum, who would be known for whiskey?” Whiskey comes from Tennessee, so I thought, “Davy Crockett.” And then the song started falling together. Tequila and Poncho Villa. Hitler drank beer, and Stalin probably drank some kind of vodka. And so we started having fun with it, and we kept coming back to the idea that rum is the reason that pirates didn’t rule the world. And it had that Caribbean sound to it. And I called Mac McAnally, and he’s Jimmy Buffett’s right hand man [he’s a member of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band]. I said, “Mac, come down and bring the Coral Reefers.” And he turned the Reefers loose, and put on the real steel drums, I didn’t want to have a synthesized steel drum from a keyboard, so we bought (brought) the real cats in.

And then you got Buffett himself on another song, “Sailboat For Sale.” Are you friends with him?

My bucket list was Roger Miller, Haggard, Willie Nelson and Jimmy Buffett. Well, Roger had passed away before I got to Nashville. But I did work with Willie, we had a big #1 hit with “Beer For My Horses.” I got to record a couple of times with Hag. I wrote a song that Merle recorded on his album. But I thought, “At some point, I gotta meet Buffett.” At some point I met him, we hit it off. My two biggest albums were recorded at his studio in Key West. As time went on, we had dinner a couple of times, and then he called me one day and said “I’ve got this song called ‘Too Drunk To Karaoke,’ and I want you to sing on it.” So we did that. And then I sent him “Sailboat For Sale,” and I said, “If you want to sing on it, pick out a part,” and he did. It’s kind of cool, I’ve checked off those boxes [ on the bucket list].

How did Buffett like “Rum Is The Reason?”

He said, he wish he’d written it! And he’s as good as it gets.

Rum Is The Reason
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLq65ULwMko

Sailboat For Sale
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHRla_MjU4s

gonna have to give it a listen

Not bad at all! I fell out of favor with Toby's music when he started going all political, but his latest album as a whole is actually quite good

I really like that tune I Love This Bar and I like a couple other tracks but the rest of his music is just crap.

hnoor0044 wrote:I really like that tune I Love This Bar and I like a couple other tracks but the rest of his music is just crap.

I like a couple post like 2000 but that's it. His pre-2000 stuff was pretty good. But then again most country pre-2000 was good and post-2000 is crap

Air M'Ville Cap'n wrote:

hnoor0044 wrote:I really like that tune I Love This Bar and I like a couple other tracks but the rest of his music is just crap.

I like a couple post like 2000 but that's it. His pre-2000 stuff was pretty good. But then again most country pre-2000 was good and post-2000 is crap

Agreed Josh! Modern country is just shit!