Celebrity Jukebox #106: Jimmy Buffett

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...

Jamie Cullum - Mixtape

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...

Gary Wright - Dream Weaver

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!

Lana Del Rey - On & On & On (If I Die Young)

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

The Offspring - Mota

Even rappers love Jimmy!

HAHA-YO - Jimmy Buffett

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

Cecil Otter - Lakeshore Drifter

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

Mack Abernathy - Pocket Rocket Ranger

(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

Ritchie Trotter & The Motor Company - Son Of A Beach

...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...

Rocking Horse - Play Another Jimmy Buffett Song

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

Niko Moon - Coastin'

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

Smithfield - Reason For A Rita

And here's a couple of young men whose parents must surely keep telling them to get proper jobs...

Taylor Goyette - Jimmy Buffett

Jesse K Rice - Too Drunk to Meet Jimmy Buffett

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

Joe Nichols - 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...

Jerry Jeff Walker - Railroad Lady

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...

 

Hot 100 #75

We all know what Dave Grohl did after the sad death of Kurt Cobain and the end of Nirvana. Bassist Krist Novoselic was slightly less successful in maintaining a career in the music industry. His own post-Nirvana band Sweet 75 lasted one album, but it does give us an image to open this week's entry in the Hot 100...


Onto your suggestions for #75, the most popular of which was this...


The Connells - 74/75


A fine tune, but is it a 74 song or a 75 song? What a dilemma. It's definitely a year song. I'm not saying I won't use it next week if I get desperate... but it's not my obvious winner this week.


As well as suggesting this, Martin also offered the following. I'm not sure if any of them are in his record collection, or whether he's just resorting to google. If he does own them all, well...much respect.


Joe Nichols - Sunny & 75 (Martin told me not to youtube it. I did. I think I liked it more than he does. But then, I love cheese. Joe Nichols does seem a bit smug in the video though... but I guess I would too if I was him.)


Aaron Lewis - 75 ("Better", says Martin, "if you like that kind of thing". Aaron Lewis is the lead singer of metal band Staind, but this track is acoustic country if anything. Whisper it, but I think I enjoyed Joe Nichols more.)


Brian Jonestown Massacre - Miss June 75 (Not bad, but I think I'd still rather have Joe Nichols, smug or not.)


Any of those could have been a contender... if they were in my collection. But they're not, so let's move on.


Best lyrical suggestion of the week came from Rigid Digit and Alyson...


Billy Joel - Scenes From An Italian Restaurant

Brenda and Eddie were still going steady in the summer of '75...

...and to be honest, this would have been in serious contention most other weeks. But lyrics will always be trumped by titles, if the title song is good enough. That's not to say this week's winner is better than Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, since clearly few songs are. But the selection process is very complex in this feature. I can't even begin to explain the hierarchy of it all.


Sticking with lyrics, The Swede had another T-Rex suggestion this week (Mr. Bolan is doing very well out of this feature)…


T-Rex - Funky London Childhood

The gilded cage we call '75, some is fabulous, some is jive...

Grammatically suspect, but as we've discussed before, Marc Bolan gets a pass when it comes to his use of the English language.


The Swede also offered anything from Neu's album 75 or anything by 75 Dollar Bill. Break all the rules, but worthy of mention.


Meanwhile, Jim returned from Dubai to offer the following this week, which he describes as "a bit 60's girlyish, great little tune".


Lushy - French 75


I concur.


From my own collection then... apart from the Connells, there were just two other options. Firstly this...


Stereolab - Melochord 75


If I'm honest though, I'm not sure I get Stereolab. They're one of those bands I own music by because people in the know keep telling me I should dig them.


This, on the other hand, I love. One of the bands that rode the coat-tails of the Arctic Monkeys (they were both from Sheffield) but failed to make it out of their shadow. I still have great affection for the music they recorded before they packed it all in though.



So then... do I award week 74 to The Connells? Or do you (or I) have a better suggestion? Answers on the back of a stuck-down envelope, please...