BuffettWorld would like to wish Jimmy Buffett a happy 74th birthday today!

Jimmy wrote this about his birthday and Christmas for his 1996 album Christmas Island:

For those of you who didn’t know, I was born on Christmas Day 1946, the day W.C. Fields died. I think this only goes to prove that God does have a sense of humor, but being born on Christmas was rough going at first. The most obvious scam was to try and double up on presents. “Here’s your Birthday and Christmas present.” I even knew at that young tender age that a scam was in progress and it did not sit well with me. More importantly, it did not sit well with my mother, who made it known, in no uncertain terms to the aunts, uncles and cousins of the Buffett clan strung out along the Gulf coast, that she expected two presents for her bouncing baby boy-one for his birthday and one for Christmas. On the whole it worked quite well, though there were a few Scrooge like occurrences where I would get socks for my birthday and a tie for Christmas. This probably is the reason I never have liked to wear either since.

Born December 25th, 1946 to James Delaney Buffett and Mary Loraine, Jimmy shares his birthday with Humphrey Bogart, Sir Isaac Newton, Barbara Mandrell, Sissy Spacek, Annie Lennox, Justin Trudeau, Karl Rove, and Jesus Christ.

Happy birthday Jimmy and Merry Christmas everyone!

The man who introduced Jimmy Buffett to Key West has passed away after a battle with throat cancer. Jerry Jeff Walker, most famous for the song “Mr. Bojangles,” was 78.

The Margaritaville Key West website details Buffett and Walker’s venture to Key West:

Jimmy Buffett arrived in Key West in November 1971 with singer and songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker (already famous for “Mr. Bojangles”) and Teresa “Murphy” Clark. Jerry Jeff, Murphy and her young son, Justin, had offered Jimmy refuge in their open-air Coconut Grove home after Jimmy fled Nashville’s weather and business climate.

His marriage to his hometown sweetheart had ended, and he’d failed to find many open doors in the Music City. The record industry didn’t understand the young man’s style, motivation or lyrics. Murphy and Jerry Jeff wanted to deliver some happiness to dispel Jimmy’s gloom and sense of loss. After a week or two of Florida-orientation, they piled into “Flying Lady,” Jerry Jeff’s elegant silver and maroon ’47 Packard sedan, for a drive southward. Jimmy Buffett had never before seen the Florida Keys. Key West was an outpost over 100 miles from our mainland – closer to Cuba than to Florida – a place of fascinating history and charm, dependent upon the ocean for much of its income yet subject to the whims of weather and the perils of change. Jimmy’s discovery of the island meant everything to the man.

It changed his life and countless other lives in turn. As time passes, that quick November 1971 jaunt to the Keys means more and more to the island, the state of Florida, and the national culture.

Jimmy posted a tribute on social media:

In such a hurtful moment, I have to say, that I am SO happy that he drove me to Key West. That lanky frame, cowboy hat, that energy, voice, those songs, wry wit and wonderful laugh will be with me forever. Thank you Jerry Jeff. Love to Susan, Jessie and Django. pic.twitter.com/cEwki8sFTn

— Jimmy Buffett (@jimmybuffett) October 24, 2020

So long Mr. Bo Jangles pic.twitter.com/bd6dLbTdt5

— Jimmy Buffett (@jimmybuffett) October 24, 2020

Read more about Jerry Jeff Walker’s life here.

Jimmy Buffett and longtime Coral Reefer Band member Mac McAnally have both been inducted into the Mississippi Songwriters Hall of Fame:

Some of the best musicians were supposed to gather this week in Ocean Springs. But, like so many other things, the 2020 Mississippi Songwriter’s Festival was canceled due to COVID-19.

The cancellation didn’t stop the Hall of Fame ceremony though; it went on virtually on Thursday night.

Pascagoula Mayor Steve Demetropoulos, welcomed the city’s famous musician into the esteemed club, Jimmy Buffett.

“It’s been said that Mississippi is the birth place of America’s music, well Jimmy Buffett is America’s music.” said Demetropoulos.

Before performing on some of the world’s biggest stages, Jimmy Buffett called Pascagoula home. In a recorded message, Buffett reflected on how the Mississippi Coast shaped his iconic music career.

“It’s a long way from the Pascagoula run and my early days growing up in Mississippi certainly had an impact on the way I wrote songs and what I wrote about,” said Buffet. “So, thank you Mississippi for that.”

Read the full story here.

In his new memoir ‘Jost the Facts’, SNL Weekend Update host and co-head writer Colin Jost describes a surfing incident in 2014 on St. Barts where Jimmy came to the rescue:

In 2014, Jost and his girlfriend Carmel Lobello were on vacation in St. Barts when Jost met Jimmy Buffett, who told him he was there because he always spends “a few days surfing wherever we open a new Margaritaville.” When Jost went surfing with Buffett and his family, he got “pinned against the rocks by my own leash” and was “bleeding because I sliced my foot open” as five-foot waves crashed into him. Buffett came to his rescue, paddled over to the rocks, and cut Jost loose with the knife that he surfs with — “(which, how awesome is it that Jimmy Buffett swims with a knife??).” The next day, when Jost tried to find Buffett to thank him for saving his life, he learned he “flew himself to Nevis to play golf for the day.”

Read the full article at Vulture.

Jimmy Buffett’s good friend Bill Withers passed away this week and Jimmy recorded a tribute to him on Instagram. Watch the emotional video below:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jimmy Buffett (@jimmybuffett) on Apr 3, 2020 at 7:22pm PDT