Jimmy Buffett

Did you know?!

1. First role

   Buffett put out his first album, the folk rock record Down to Earth, in August 1970. It had a country tinge and sold 324 copies.

2. A change of course

   In 1970, Buffett relocated to Nashville to advance his country music career. Music work was hard to find, so he took a job as an editorial assistant for Billboard, and he was the first to report that Flatt and Scruggs had disbanded.

3. Getting ready for a role

   Buffett said he wrote most of Margaritaville in six minutes, and the song, meant to portray Key West tourists negatively, instead increased tourism to the city.

4. Behind the award

   In 2003, Buffett did a partial duet with Alan Jackson on "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere." The song held the top spot on the Hot Country Songs charts for eight weeks, a record at the time, and earned Buffett his first award in a 30-year recording career.

5. A first

   Buffett's album License to Chill, which came out on July 13, 2004, moved 238,500 copies in its first week according to Nielsen Soundscan. It was his first time topping the U.S. pop albums chart.