Jimmy Buffett (born James William Buffett on December 25, 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi) is a singer and songwriter, best known for his "island escapism" lifestyle and music including hits such as " Margaritaville" (No. 234 on the list of 'Songs of the Century'), and " Come Monday." He has a devoted base of fans known as " Parrotheads".
The son of James Delaney Buffett Jr. and Mary Loraine "Peets" Buffett, Buffett grew up in Mobile, Alabama, where he attended McGill-Toolen Catholic High School. He only began playing guitar during his college years at Auburn University and the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he received a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1969 ( ΚΣ). Later that year, he married his first wife, Margie Washichek, at Spring Hill College in Mobile.
Buffett began his official musical career in Nashville during the late 1960s as a country artist and recorded his first album, Down to Earth, in 1970. He then moved to Key West and began establishing the easy-going beach bum persona for which he is known.
Buffett's third album was A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean, now acclaimed as his best though it achieved only moderate sales. Havana Daydreamin' appeared in 1976, followed by 1977's Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, which featured the breakthrough hit song " Margaritaville".
During the 1980s Buffett made far more money off his tours than albums and became known as a popular concert draw. He released a series of albums during the following twenty years, primarily to his devoted audience, and also branched into writing and merchandising. Two of the more unusual albums were Christmas Island, a collection of holiday songs, and Parakeets, a collection of Buffett songs sung by children and containing "cleaned-up" lyrics (like "a cold root beer" instead of "a cold draft beer").
