June 05, 2023

1978 - February: Jimmy Buffett — “Son of a Son of a Sailor”

37 minutes

This podcast goes out to all the Parrot heads out there. Son of a Son of a Sailor is the eighth studio album by Jimmy Buffett, and is the follow-up to his breakout album “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.” This is Buffett's highest charting album of the 70's, peaking at number 10 in the U.S.

Jimmy Buffett was born on Christmas Day, 1946, in Pascagoula, Mississippi. He lived in Mobile and Fairhope, Alabama growing up, and began playing guitar at Auburn. He recorded a country album and went to work at Billboard Magazine in Nashville briefly after college, then moved to Key West to serve as the first mate on the Petticoat III yacht. He would also develop what would become his genre of music while in Key West amongst the sea going vessels.

Buffett discovered the profit in touring early, and his focus would turn to live shows as well as other business ventures. Jimmy Buffett is supposedly worth around $550 million today, making him one of the richest musicians in the world.

If you're wondering where the term “Parrot Head” comes from, Buffett made a comment in a 1985 concert in Cincinnati about the fans wearing Hawaiian shirts and parrot hats who returned to his concerts again and again. A member of the Coral Reefer Band coined the term "Parrot Head" as a nod to the Dead Heads who followed the Grateful Dead on tour and the name stuck.

Bruce brings this Caribbean-infused music this week.

Son of a Son of a Sailor

This title track opens the album, and was inspired by Buffett's grandfather, James Delaney Buffett. Jimmy Buffett saw a picture of his grandfather standing on the docks in Nova Scotia where his grandfather grew up. He settled as an adult in Mobile, Alabama, and hadn't returned to Nova Scotia until he was 84. The picture showed him looking at an old ailing schooner, and the lyrics reflect looking back on a sailing life and family.

Mañana

Supposedly this song is about things Buffett did in a week he spent living on his boat in the British Virgin Islands. Mañana means “tomorrow” in Spanish, and can be a term for putting things off indefinitely.

Livingston Saturday Night

This is a song about going for a night on the town. It was used in a movie called “Rancho Deluxe,” released in 1975 starring Jeff Bridges and Sam Waterston playing cattle rustlers in Livingston Montana. It also appeared in the 1978 movie "FM."

Cheeseburger in Paradise

Here's the big hit from the album. It reached number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, and is the lead song from Buffett's greatest hits album. The lyrics describe a guy trying to eat healthy, but who can't resist the temptation of the cheeseburger. The song itself was inspired by an event where Buffett was caught out in the Caribbean on a boat with a broken icebox, where he had to live for several days off canned food and peanut butter.

ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:

Theme to the motion picture “Which Way Is Up?” by Stargard

This comedy starring Richard Pryor was a remake of an Italian comedy from 1972 called “The Seduction of Mimi.”

STAFF PICKS:

Psycho Killer by The Talking Heads

Wayne's staff pick is straight from the CBGB club in Now York City, and is the first "hit" from the Punk/Alternative/New Wave band. While it didn't make it into the top 40, it did crack the top 100. The lyrics represent the thoughts of a serial killer who has already killed and probably will not stop.

What's Your Name by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Rob features a song written by Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington inspired by a time when the band was drinking at a hotel bar, got kicked out, and went to a hotel room instead while trying to pick up a groupie. The incident did not happen in Boise, however. Lynyrd Skynyrd had been tragically affected by a plane crash by the time this song was released.

Serpentine Fire by Earth, Wind & Fire

Lynch brings us some 70's funk and horns. The name "serpentine fire" comes from a yoga pose. The song hit number 1 on the R&B charts and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Earth, Wind & Fire is known for hits upbeat, positive funk.

Lovely Day by Bill Withers

Bruce redeems another great song from Big Pharma. Before Astra Zeneca used this to advertise their drug Farxiga, it was a hit from Bill Withers' 1977 album "Menagerie." Withers wrote this song with Skip Scarborough, and it went to number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 6 on the Billboard R&B Chart. Withers holds a note for 18 seconds, the longest held note for any top 40 singe.

NSTRUMENTAL TRACK:

Main Theme from the motion picture “Don” by Kalyanji-Anandji

We finish up this week's podcast with an Indian composer duo writing for a Bollywood film..

Thanks for listening to “What the Riff?!?”

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**NOTE: What the Riff?!? does not own the rights to any of these songs and we neither sell, nor profit from them. We share them so you can learn about them and purchase them for your own collections.

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By Rob Marbury, Wayne Rowan, Bruce Fricks, John Lynch

4.9

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