Having covered the artists inducted into this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Performers category, I’ll now turn my attention to those selected for Musical Excellence.
I only recently learned the major difference between these two classifications, and it turns out it’s a big one: inductees in Musical Excellence are selected by a committee rather than being voted in by the Hall’s larger membership.
Jimmy Buffett’s most enduring classic, and his only top ten hit, is more than just a song. ‘Margaritaville’ is a state of being, a way of life. It launched a chain of restaurants, resorts, and even retirement communities. It’s in the title of a satellite radio station and a Broadway show.
But before any of that, it was just a song. And it’s one of the greatest songs ever, if you ask me.
Jimmy Buffett has written plenty of good time party songs, but my favorites are the sad ones. He has a way with a melancholy ballad, and often finds a way to give even upbeat material a strain of sorrow.
‘He Went to Paris’ is a highlight of Buffett’s 1973 album A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean, a record that leans more to the country side of his genre spectrum. It’s about the life of musician/artist Eddie Balchowsky, a war veteran who also shows up in songs by several other artists.
‘Fins’ appears on Jimmy Buffett’s ninth studio album, 1979’s Volcano. This is one of his most popular songs, though it made it to only #35 on the Hot 100. Buffett has never been huge on the charts, despite having one of the most fervent fan bases in popular music.
This song is about a midwestern woman who heads to the islands for escape only to find herself preyed upon by lascivious men, characterized as “sharks that can swim on the land.” It is one of eight songs Buffett played at just about every one of his many concert performances.
I don’t know how many artists have written at least two songs that inspired restaurants, but such is the appeal of Jimmy Buffett. I’ll get to his most famous brand later this week, but today I’ll celebrate ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise.’
This song appeared on 1978’s Son of a Son of a Sailor and reached #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 as the album’s first single. It later became track one on the smash greatest hits collection Songs You Know By Heart.
Meet Me In Montauk 