What does Earnest Hemingway and Jimmy Buffett have in common? Well, not only have they both lived in Key West, but they each have reached #1 on the New York Times Bestseller fiction list and non-fiction list. Maybe there’s something in the water over there.
Jimmy Buffett was born on Christmas Day in 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi. He spent his childhood there and in Mobile, AL and Fairhope, AL. He came to guitar late in life (for guitar players, anyway) and began playing while in college. He graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1969 with a degree in history.
He first came to Key West in November of 1971and began to develop his Florida-Caribbean-Country-Rock sound we all know and love today. A prolific musician, at the time of this writing, he has released 29 albums, but he quickly learned that he made a lot more money touring than from selling albums. He has since developed a rabid fan base called Parrotheads.
Not only is he prolific in music though, he certainly keeps busy in other pursuits as well:
- He is a licensed airplane pilot
- He is a sailor and spends much of his time sailing around in his sailboat or cruising in powerboats
- Owns the restaurant chain Margaretville and co-owns Cheeseburger in Paradise
- Worked as a correspondent for Billboard magazine after college
- Founded the Save The Manatee club
- Is developing a billion dollar retirement community called “Latitude Margaritaville” in Daytona Beach.
- Wrote several books, topping the NYT Bestseller list in fiction and non-fiction
But we are here for the books, so let’s get to it. As a reminder, I have a conveniently located amazon link right here if you should be so moved as to purchase one of Jimmy Buffett’s books after reading this article.
And now the books!
The Jolly Mon (1988)
Tales From Margaritaville (1989)
Trouble Dolls (1991)
Where is Joe Merchant? (1992)
A Pirate Looks at Fifty (1998)
A Salty Piece of Land (2004)
Swine Not?: A Novel Pig Take (2008)
