Jimmy Buffett

A Good Life All the Way

By: Ryan White

Narrated by: Gibson Frazier

A candid, compelling, and rollicking portrait of the legendary pirate captain of Margaritaville—Jimmy Buffett.

In Jimmy Buffett: A Good Life All the Way, acclaimed music critic Ryan White has crafted the definitive account of Buffett’s rise from singing songs for beer to his becoming a tropical icon and inspiration behind the Margaritaville industrial complex, a vast network of merchandise, chain restaurants, resorts, and lifestyle products all inspired by his sunny but disillusioned hit “Margaritaville.”

Filled with interviews from friends, musicians, Coral Reefer Band members, and business partners who were there, this book is a top-down joyride with plenty of side trips and meanderings from Mobile and Pascagoula to New Orleans, Key West, down into the islands aboard the Euphoria and the Euphoria II, and into the studios and onto the stages where the foundation of Buffett’s reputation was laid.

Buffett wasn’t always the pied piper of beaches, bars, and laid-back living. Born on the Gulf Coast, the son of a son of a sailing ship captain, Buffett scuffed around New Orleans in the late sixties, flunked out of Nashville (and a marriage) in 1971, and found refuge among the artists, dopers, shrimpers, and genuine characters who’d collected at the end of the road in Key West. And it was there, in those waning outlaw days at the last American exit, where Buffett, like Hemingway before him, found his voice and eventually brought to life the song that would launch Parrot Head nation.

And just where is Margaritaville? It’s wherever it’s five o’clock; it’s wherever there’s a breeze and salt in the air; and it’s wherever Buffett set his bare feet, smiled, and sang his songs.

Aging Parrothead

This is a great read for anyone interested in learning more about Mr.Buffett.
It does get a little wordy in some spots but overall I enjoyed the book.

All of it

This has been one of my favorite books written about one of my favorite songwriters

A+

This story is good even if you're not a Buffett fan. Ride your own wave. Don't give up. Keep working.

Long time parrot head

I very much enjoyed the reading, a long time Jimmy Buffett fan. I sing and play his songs and dream of the good times.

Fantastic description of Buffetts incredible life.

An accurate explanation of Jimmy's life from early life thru his wordly success. We get introduced to many fellow musicians, friends and locations Jimmy met along his way.