Strummin' country

Buffett's new album has a decidedly Nashville accent

Friday, June 25, 2004

Gary Graff

Special to The Plain Dealer

Margaritaville has a bit of a twang these days.

Last year, Jimmy Buffett topped the country charts with Alan Jackson on the duet "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," which also won awards from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. Next month, Buffett will be host to Jackson and a bunch of other country boys 'n' gals Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, George Strait, Martina McBride, Clint Black and Nanci Griffith as guests on his new album, "License to Chill."

Buffett will be performing Thursday at a sold-out show at Blossom Music Center.

He's not going to be trading in his Hawaiian print shirt for a 10-gallon hat anytime soon, but Mississippi native Buffett is happy to reconnect with what he considers his musical roots.

"I'm going back to the great old country songs that I like, written by people like Harlan Howard and Don Gibson and John Loudermilk," explains Buffett, 58, who worked for the music trade publication Billboard in Nashville in the late 1960s before starting his recording career with 1970's "Down to Earth." He also logged time in the '80s on the MCA Nashville label.

"When I worked in Nashville, that's the kind of country music that was there, which is kind of traditional country. It always was fun to write country music; Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw' was and still is a hoot, and that was a stone country song in its own way." The Jackson collaboration, however, is what rekindled Buffett's interest in making country music again.

"I met him a couple years ago," recalls Buffett, whose new single, a version of Hank Williams' "Hey Good Lookin'," features Jackson, Chesney, Strait, Keith and Black.

"I met him and George Strait out fishing in the Bahamas and didn't know them very well. It was a perfect place to get to know him. He was a fan, which I was honored by, and he's a very nice guy."

When Jackson came to Buffett's Shrimp Boat Sound Studios in Key West, Florida, to record new tracks for his "Greatest Hits, Vol. 2" album, he asked Buffett to sing on "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere." The experience, Buffett says, reminded him of the kind of kinship he feels from a sector of the country community these days, particularly from party-minded artists such as Chesney and Keith.

"It's obvious they've been kind of borrowing from me for a long time," Buffett explains, "the Eagles and me and a couple other people. What country music is today sure sounds a lot like what we did in the late '70s."

Chesney, for one, doesn't deny the influence.

"Jimmy Buffett's great, man," he says. "When I started thinking about the kind of shows I wanted to put on, I always thought about his concerts and the energy and the fun and how everybody is smiling and just having a great time. That's something I wanted to do, too."

You can't blame anybody for wanting to emulate Buffett.

Over the past 33 years, he's carved out a career not only as a successful recording artist but also as one of pop music's most consistently popular touring acts. He's also the co-owner of a label, Mailboat Records, that's put out not only Buffett's album but also titles by Poison, Boz Scaggs and Dan Fogelberg.

As an author, he's topped both the fiction and nonfiction sides of the New York Times best-seller lists with title such as "Tales From Margaritaville," "Where is Joe Merchant?" "When a Pirate Looks at Fifty." He's also penned the children's books "The Jolly Mon" and "Trouble Dolls," the latter with his oldest daughter, Savannah Jane. He and Herman Wouk collaborated on a musical stage adaptation of Wouk's novel "Don't Stop the Carnival." Buffett's other enterprises include Margaritaville restaurant franchises, a new line of tequila and the Radiomargaritaville.com Internet service.

And he's still interested in stepping into the movie realm. While the long-delayed film adaptation of "Where Is Joe Merchant?" remains on ice, he's purchased the rights to Carl Hiaasen's 2002 children's book, "Hoot." A script is being developed, and Buffett has also enlisted Lost Highway Records chief Luke Lewis, who oversaw the Grammy-winning "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack, to help come up with a musical scheme for the movie.

"I don't apologize for being a businessman as well as being a performer," Buffett says of his varied pursuits. "It's like getting equity in yourself. If you can get yourself in a position where you can be in charge of your own fate, that's a good thing. I think the more kids that see you have to do that in this business, the less train wrecks you're going to have down the road to success.

"I don't want to be on 'Behind the Music,' y'know - the soap opera of 'We made our money, we did drugs, we got divorced and we're gonna come back.' I'd like to avoid that scenario as much as possible."

Graff is a free-lance writer in Beverly Hills, Mich.

To reach Gary Graff:

entertainment@plaind.com




Strummin' country Buffett's new album has a decidedly Nashville accent Friday, June 25, 2004 Gary Graff Special to The Plain Dealer Margaritaville has a bit of a twang these days. Last year, Jimmy Buffett topped the country charts with Alan Jackson on the duet "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," which also won awards from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. Next month, Buffett will be host to Jackson and a bunch of other country boys 'n' gals Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, George Strait, Martina McBride, Clint Black and Nanci Griffith as guests on his new album, "License to Chill." Buffett will be performing Thursday at a sold-out show at Blossom Music Center. He's not going to be trading in his Hawaiian print shirt for a 10-gallon hat anytime soon, but Mississippi native Buffett is happy to reconnect with what he considers his musical roots. "I'm going back to the great old country songs that I like, written by people like Harlan Howard and Don Gibson and John Loudermilk," explains Buffett, 58, who worked for the music trade publication Billboard in Nashville in the late 1960s before starting his recording career with 1970's "Down to Earth." He also logged time in the '80s on the MCA Nashville label. "When I worked in Nashville, that's the kind of country music that was there, which is kind of traditional country. It always was fun to write country music; Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw' was and still is a hoot, and that was a stone country song in its own way." The Jackson collaboration, however, is what rekindled Buffett's interest in making country music again. "I met him a couple years ago," recalls Buffett, whose new single, a version of Hank Williams' "Hey Good Lookin'," features Jackson, Chesney, Strait, Keith and Black. "I met him and George Strait out fishing in the Bahamas and didn't know them very well. It was a perfect place to get to know him. He was a fan, which I was honored by, and he's a very nice guy." When Jackson came to Buffett's Shrimp Boat Sound Studios in Key West, Florida, to record new tracks for his "Greatest Hits, Vol. 2" album, he asked Buffett to sing on "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere." The experience, Buffett says, reminded him of the kind of kinship he feels from a sector of the country community these days, particularly from party-minded artists such as Chesney and Keith. "It's obvious they've been kind of borrowing from me for a long time," Buffett explains, "the Eagles and me and a couple other people. What country music is today sure sounds a lot like what we did in the late '70s." Chesney, for one, doesn't deny the influence. "Jimmy Buffett's great, man," he says. "When I started thinking about the kind of shows I wanted to put on, I always thought about his concerts and the energy and the fun and how everybody is smiling and just having a great time. That's something I wanted to do, too." You can't blame anybody for wanting to emulate Buffett. Over the past 33 years, he's carved out a career not only as a successful recording artist but also as one of pop music's most consistently popular touring acts. He's also the co-owner of a label, Mailboat Records, that's put out not only Buffett's album but also titles by Poison, Boz Scaggs and Dan Fogelberg. As an author, he's topped both the fiction and nonfiction sides of the New York Times best-seller lists with title such as "Tales From Margaritaville," "Where is Joe Merchant?" "When a Pirate Looks at Fifty." He's also penned the children's books "The Jolly Mon" and "Trouble Dolls," the latter with his oldest daughter, Savannah Jane. He and Herman Wouk collaborated on a musical stage adaptation of Wouk's novel "Don't Stop the Carnival." Buffett's other enterprises include Margaritaville restaurant franchises, a new line of tequila and the Radiomargaritaville.com Internet service. And he's still interested in stepping into the movie realm. While the long-delayed film adaptation of "Where Is Joe Merchant?" remains on ice, he's purchased the rights to Carl Hiaasen's 2002 children's book, "Hoot." A script is being developed, and Buffett has also enlisted Lost Highway Records chief Luke Lewis, who oversaw the Grammy-winning "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack, to help come up with a musical scheme for the movie. "I don't apologize for being a businessman as well as being a performer," Buffett says of his varied pursuits. "It's like getting equity in yourself. If you can get yourself in a position where you can be in charge of your own fate, that's a good thing. I think the more kids that see you have to do that in this business, the less train wrecks you're going to have down the road to success. "I don't want to be on 'Behind the Music,' y'know - the soap opera of 'We made our money, we did drugs, we got divorced and we're gonna come back.' I'd like to avoid that scenario as much as possible." Graff is a free-lance writer in Beverly Hills, Mich. To reach Gary Graff: entertainment@plaind.com Copyright 2004 cleveland.com. All Rights Reserved.