From the New York Times: Celebrating Jimmy Buffett in His Hometown (No, Not Key West)
I make no claim to journalistic objectivity when it comes to Jimmy Buffett. I saw my first Buffett show at Foellinger Auditorium in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., in 1974 as he promoted his third album, “A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean.” I attended many more over the years.
I ran into him during Florida’s 1986 Senate race, when he campaigned for the Democrat, Bob Graham, and the state’s endangered manatees. Then, through our mutual friend (and my colleague) Maureen Dowd, we became friends for the last decade of his life, regularly chewing over national political developments and, later, his health issues. We had a lot in common as former altar boys, writers and musicians, with one of us being considerably more successful than the other.
His death, in 2023, left an immense void in Parrothead Nation, as his fans are known. But the newly opened “Jimmy Buffett Son of a Son of a Sailor Experience” at the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf, in Mobile, Ala., will provide some solace and bright memories. While Buffett will be forever linked to Key West, Fla., he is truly a son of Alabama’s Gulf Coast, the region that nurtured him and instilled in him a love of the sea and sand.
“The fact that it is sitting there on the same water he grew up on deepens the meaning I get from it, and I don’t think I’m the only one,” said Mac McAnally, Buffett’s longtime collaborator and a key member of his Coral Reefer Band. “I don’t think the connection will be wasted.”
The two-story, 6,000-square-foot permanent exhibition, opened in early October. It traces the arc of Buffett’s life from his boyhood in the region to his success as a live entertainer who popularized a new style of music and had millions of people yearning for a margarita and a tropical breeze. It includes childhood memorabilia along with guitars, clothing, handwritten lyrics, gold records, rare video footage, the wooden telephone booth from the cover of “Coconut Telegraph” and a replica of his Key West recording studio, Shrimp Boat Sound.
And there is a taste of the concerts that defined Buffett for the public and his die-hard fans.
“After touring with Jimmy for 35 years, it was hands down the best year-round summer job anyone could ever imagine,” said Mike Ramos, Buffett’s tour manager.