We lost Michael Parkinson while I was away on holiday, but I couldn't find a single song that mentioned him... and I wanted to spare you all Parky's favourite, Jamie Cullum. Oh, very well then, in his honour... here's my favourite Jamie Cullum song, the one where he admits to being a Morrissey fan...
Earlier this week, we also lost Gary Wright. No songs I could find name-checked him, but it does give me an opportunity to spin this in his honour...
However, the day I heard about Gary's passing, news also reached me about the death of a personal favourite: the legendary Jimmy Buffett. You may well roll your eyes incredulously, but I'll never tire of this tune...
Having dipped more than a toe into his back catalogue over the years, I could name you many more great Jimmy Buffett tunes, but none are quite as good as Margaritaville, a song that gave birth to an entire industry of restaurants, hotels, casinos and even retirement homes. For a man whose music championed an idyllic beach bum lifestyle, he certainly knew how to make money. And he made quite an impression on the Celebrity Jukebox too...
If I die young let me die in California
And when I'm gone, let 'em play my favorite song
It's Jimmy Buffett to remember,
Life's a beach, baby, enjoy it!
Here's a song about smoking too much weed. No idea why that would mention Jimmy...
I don't know if I'm understood
But hearing Jimmy Buffett never sounded so good
Even rappers love Jimmy!
But wait, there's more. Specifically, Cecil Otter. Yes, you read that right. There's a rapper called Cecil Otter...
I'm a son of a gun
The son of a son of a sailor
Jimmy Buffett
I'm a son of a gun
The son of a son of a sailor
In case you were wondering what he's going on about, here's another great Jimmy Buffett tune...
Can I beat the name Cecil Otter? How about Mack Abernathy?
He's got Jimmy Buffett playin' on the radio
A jug of coffee and a roll of Skoal
(Skoal is a brand of smokeless tobacco, apparently. Don't ask me.)
Or you could try Del's brother from a Texan Mother, Ritchie Trotter...
I wanna sell it all and move to the coast
Take early retirement and buy me a boat
Live like Jimmy Buffett and let my worries wash away
I’d trade this 9 to 5 for the pirate life
...which gives me an excuse to play another great Jimmy Buffett tune...
Rocking Horse will no doubt feature on a future edition of Namesakes. Here's one band who have used that name...
This guy, meanwhile, appears to have based his entire act on Jimmy...
Coastin', coozie in my hand
Workin' on a three-day tan
Coastin', losin' track of time
Easy-goin' like the tide
Yeah, laid back, ain't got nowhere to go
Jimmy Buffett on the radio
And if you wanna know where you can find me, I'll be
Chillin' knee-deep in the ocean
Here's a brand new tune, from a band I will be investigating further. (I told you to stop rolling your eyes like that.)
Jimmy Buffett came on, margarita
Two for one, little buzz, margarita
It's the freakin' weekend, 'nother margarita
If you got one, raise it up, margarita
And here's a couple of young men whose parents must surely keep telling them to get proper jobs...
Joe Nichols sounds and looks like an old school country singer... but he's still a Parrothead, by the sound of it.
If I was Jimmy Buffett, I'd sing about swimmin'
If I was a Stone, it'd be about Honky Tonk women
If I was Ole Blue Eyes, I'd sing Fly Me To The Moon
But since I'm just me, I'd sing about you
Here's a genuine old school country singer, and a song he co-wrote with Jimmy... as he explains in the middle...
When I heard of the Jimmy's passing though, one song immediately sprang to my mind. It's recorded live (or made to sound that way) and features a perfectly timed guest appearance by the great man himself. It also asks that very important question, "What would Jimmy Buffett do?"
(And it's not the only song to do that, as Keith Robinette will tell you.)
So let's raise a glass to Jimmy, for whom heaven must surely be Margaritaville. And if you think it's too early in the day, just remember: It's Five O'Clock Somewhere...
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