Jimmy Buffett fans, lawmakers continue songwriter’s journey with new experiences

Jimmy Buffett’s music and lifestyle captured the hearts and imaginations of fans worldwide and sparked a movement that spans generations. His songs created a casual lifestyle of seafaring, beachcombing and wayfaring for the masses.

Following his death on Sept. 1 at age 76, lawmakers and fans began looking for ways to honor the legendary musicmaker.

“Jimmy never missed an opportunity to entertain and inspire us in his lifetime,” said Randy Hines, a Parrothead from Ocean Springs. “We should honor him in any way we can.”

In Buffett’s hometown of Pascagoula, the city’s annual Christmas parade on Dec. 1 will be a tribute to “Son of a Son of a Sailor,” who was born on Christmas Day. Anyone who wants to participate in the parade can register with Main Street Pascagoula at mainstreetpascagoula.com.

As news of Buffett’s death spread, local fans, called Parrotheads, flocked to Pascagoula to visit the singer’s childhood home and the small bridge on the beach bearing Buffett’s name.

“They were leaving flowers, margarita glasses, shakers of salt and flip flops on the beach,” said Susannah Northrop, executive director of Main Street Pascagoula.

Other mementos like small bottles of tequila, leis, jars of peanut butter and cans of sardines, also were left on the beach and outside the modest Buffett family home.

A month after Buffett’s death, many of the trinkets remain at the two locations, except the glass objects, which have been removed for safety reasons, Northrop said.

There’s been an outpouring of support throughout the nation, too.

Jimmy Buffett honored: Click here to read the full Senate resolution

The U.S. Senate, led by Mississippi’s Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, passed a resolution Oct. 4 honoring Buffett and Florida lawmakers introduced legislation to rename the state’s A1A highway the “Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway.” “A1A” was the title of a Buffett album, released in 1974, and Florida’s coastal highway.

“One of the great Mississippi-born musicians, Jimmy Buffett taught a generation of Parrotheads how to pass time in Margaritaville and enjoy paradise,” Wicker said in a news release. “Jimmy was a generational talent and entrepreneur who made his native state proud. With this resolution, we raise a glass to honor the life and legacy of this musical pioneer.”

Jimmy Buffett highway? Click here to read Florida House proposal to rename Highway A1A

Some fans in New York City went to Times Square’s Margaritaville to connect with the spirit of Buffett after learning of his death.

“I’m from Miami, so of course it was a big part of my life, and I live in Dallas now and we have a lot of Parrotheads there,” Lori Cecil told the New York Post. “I was sad when we heard the news. Just sad. All I can say about it is we lost a great one.”

Buffett was a prolific songwriter who had a global following of fans who call themselves Parrotheads or sometimes Parrot Heads. His fans enjoy the relaxed, beach-bum vibe found in his music.

Even his Christmas songs make listeners feel like they have sand in their shoes and wind in their hair.

Buffett turned his casual lifestyle-in-song into a multimillion-dollar industry that included his Margaritaville chain of restaurants, hotels and retail stores. He was named to the Forbes list of billionaires for the first time this year.

Opinion: Emory Oxford College Chaplain writes that Jimmy Buffett restored him to wholeness.

While “Margaritaville” is Buffett’s only song to make Billboard’s Top 10 list at No. 8, he wrote plenty of others that resonated with fans, including 12 other songs that appeared on Billboard’s Top 100.

“It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (17); “Knee Deep” (18); “Come Monday” (30); “Cheeseburgers in Paradise” (32); “Fins” (35) and “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” (37) made it into the Top 50.

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