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Yum!

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Click the video for some fun!

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After college, Jimmy headed to Nashville with the hopes of becoming a country music star.  In the early 1970's he began playing with a cover band and then released a folk-country album.  Neither of these two ventures was very successful so he decided to head to Key West because he had always been drawn to the water. Once in Key West his persona changed from country to the beach persona he is still know for today.

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James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American musician, songwriter, author, actor, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett has recorded hit songs including "Margaritaville" and "Come Monday". He has a devoted base of fans known as "Parrotheads".

Aside from his career in music, Buffett is also a best-selling writer and is involved in two restaurant chains named after two of his best-known songs; he owns the Margaritaville Cafe restaurant chain and co-developed the Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant chain.

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Birth - 1980's

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1990's to now

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The nachos by which all others are compared. Margaritaville Orlando

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Accomplishments: How did JB become famous?

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Accomplishments: How did JB become famous?

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Really it's a matter of two words: imagination and perseverance.  His early career was anything but successful. After releasing several albums in the '70s that were complete flops he decided he wasn't going to give up on his dreams so he continued writing songs and recording albums.
He went to visit a friend in Miami and took a trip through the Keys ending up in Key West which became a huge inspiration for his music going forward.  The melting pot that was Key West inspired the lyrics to many of Jimmy's songs. He writes about the people, the weather and the beaches.

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At Margaritaville Orlando

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Fins to the left...

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From the book Hoot (Jimmy wrote and sang the song as well as appearing in the movie as a teacher).

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Songs from St. Somewhere show at Riverbend.

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Hard work, a little bit of love and luck are some of the biggest contributors to his overall success.

Jimmy Buffett has turned his music into shops, restaurants (Margaritaville and Cheeseburger in Paradise), clothing, shoes, resorts, books, etc.  He even now has retirement villages (sign me up!) People love feeling good, laid back, and relaxed so his theme became a gold mine.

The Margaritaville restaurants are all over the world including places like Ocho Rios, Jamaica (been there), Cozumel, Mexico (been there), Orlando, Florida (been there), Key West (been there), Las Vegas (been there), Grand Cayman (been there) as well as many other locales.  (Yes I have a problem!)

He has written many books both fiction and non-fiction, even including his daughter in the writing of some books for children.  (I've read most of them).  Needless to say the line of shoes and clothing are laid back, comfy beachy clothes that are great for just hanging around.
He has recently begun opening resorts around the world that are based around the same theme as the rest of his business adventures...laid back.

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Now as you have probably figured out I am huge fan of Jimmy Buffett.  I consider myself to be among his devoted fans known as "parrotheads."  I have been to several of his restaurants all around the world and have started judging nachos based on how they stand up to the Volcano Nachos I get at Margaritaville.  I have many of his CDs and my son was putting his "fins up" at the ripe old age of two.  I have read most of his books and seen him in concert 7 times, so yes that makes me obsessed, I admit.  There were some things about Jimmy that I didn't know before now.

For example, Jimmy invested in a baseball franchise whose future would include 2 World Champion Trophies. The Miami Miracles (originally named the Marlins) were a member of the Class A Florida State League who actually played several sanctioned games in Key West. The team had a partial agreement with the Cleveland Indians, playing several members from the team’s farm system on their roster. Miamian Wayne Huizenga put together a blockbuster deal to operate a major league ball team in South Florida. The Miracle franchise once again became the Florida Marlins.

Another piece of new information I learned was in 1989 in Florida,  legislation entitling the Save The Manatee Trust Fund to benefit from thousands of dollars passed the Florida House and Senate. The bill authorizes the printing and distribution of Save The Manatee license plates. Thanks in part to the encouragement and support of Jimmy Buffett, environmental education and marine mammal research will get a much needed financial lift. I lived in Florida for 8 years, and even had this plate on my car, but had no idea he was behind the initial push for it.