Jimmy Buffett built a pop-culture empire on the daydream of “wastin’ away again in Margaritaville”: just hanging out on a tropical beach, drink in hand, a little wistful but utterly relaxed.
Buffett leveraged it into a major brand for restaurants, resorts, clothing, food and drink, as well as a perpetual singalong on his robust touring circuit, where his devoted fans — the Parrot Heads — gathered eagerly in their Hawaiian shirts.
Buffett cannily marketed his good-timey image; it made him a billionaire.
He came up with wry song premises like the one behind “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” which starts as the lament of an attempted vegetarian who can’t resist carnivorous impulses.
But Buffett’s songwriting wasn’t all smiley and one-dimensional.
Persons:
Jimmy Buffett, wastin ’, “, ”, Buffett, Buffett cannily, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Zac Brown, I’ve
Locations:
Margaritaville ”, Paradise, “, Paris