Stephen Engle of Bloomberg interviewed Jimmy Buffett before his January 18th benefit show in Hong Kong. They discussed how Jimmy got started, how he continues to have success, and even talked about the economy. There is some great video shown during the interview, and Jimmy even breaks out his guitar to sing an acoustic solo version of Margaritaville. Below is Part I of the interview:

Jimmy Buffett Hong Kong concert interview Part 1
Uploaded by leobellan

The January 18th benefit concert in Hong Kong was a huge success, raising more than $420,000 for Hong Kong’s neediest children. The interest from Parrotheads in Asia was so great, that event organizers are apologizing that so many devoted fans couldn’t get tickets to the show:

As messages begging for tickets were left on Tom Crampton’s blog and strangers started tracking down Dave Garcia’s personal phone number, we understood our major miscalculation Jimmy Buffett’s appeal to devotees in Hong Kong, China, Thailand, the Philippines and beyond.

Truth is, we had no idea how big Jimmy’s first-ever appearance in Hong Kong would become. The concert outstripped all expectations, drawing fans from around Asia and we now realize that we could easily have sold 3,000 tickets instead of 650.

The article on Crampton’s blog goes on to explain Buffett’s generosity:

Buffett himself was confident of success from beginning. So confident, in fact, that he not only flew out with his band and gave the concert for free, but he also paid for the beer and tequila and donated the proceeds from the sales to the charity.

While visiting the orphanage during his visit, Jimmy led the kids in singing the Hokey Pokey and had such fun we actually had trouble getting him out.

At the concert, he played for more than two hours and added the song “Somewhere Over China” to the playlist for the first time in 14 years.

The good news for Buffett fans: Jimmy loved the fans, Hong Kong and the charity so much, he plans to return next year.

Read the entire blog post here. Also, read Fortune Magazine editor Clay Chandler’s article on the benefit: “Buffett (Jimmy, Not Warren) Rescues China.”

The action is in Glendale, Arizona the weekend of February 2 & 3! The new Margaritaville Cafe is just a stone’s throw away from the University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Super Bowl, and Miles Hampton will be broadcasting live from there on Radio Margaritaville.

He’ll have partying guests, and a recap of the red carpet, celebrity packed Landshark ‘Big Game Bash’ being held Friday night! World renowned sports and entertainment stars will be at the Westgate Center Margaritaville Café.

Be tuned in Saturday at 5pm ET and Sunday at 1pm ET for a super party weekend from Margaritaville!

Also, prepare for the big game with Margaritaville’s Big Game Party Guide!

The guide contains great recipes for drinks and food, and party ideas for the perfect Super Bowl weekend.

Jimmy Buffett performed a USO concert this week for our troops aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) during a recent port visit in the Middle East. Navy.mil has some photos of the event:

Jimmy Buffett played a private show on Friday night in Singapore at the Long Bar in the Raffles Hotel, according to a BuffettWorld forum member:

Last night (January 25, 2008) I was visiting the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. I heard a number of Jimmy Buffet songs coming from upstairs a spiral staircase…less than 10 feet away from where we were. Included in the songs were Cheeseburger in Paradise, Brown Eyed girl and Margaritaville. It sounded like it actually was him…so we asked the hostess and she said that it was a private party, she could not reveal who was sponsoring the event, but in fact it was Jimmy Buffet. He made a joke about “…not finding it on E-Bay…” just before he concluded his set.

As guests were leaving the party upstairs…they were all given a “Margaritaville” goody bag.

Jimmy is currently traveling through southeast Asia after performing a benefit show in Hong Kong on January 18th.