9-1-23
R.I.P. JIMMY BUFFETT
It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Jimmy Buffett.
I’m not sure where to begin, except to say his music is what saw me through much of the ’80s.
I was traveling around the world with my camera, a bunch of film, and a walkman. I ended up shooting stock in tropical locations nine months of the year because I was good at it and it paid really well. I became a “citizen of the world”, and his music was my soundtrack.
One of his songs that spoke to me was the hit “Come Monday,†from his 1974 album “Living & Dying in ¾ Time.†Years later he told David Letterman, “This is a song that kept me from killing myself in a Howard Johnson’s in Marin County. It hit, I paid the rent, got my dog out of the pound. … and the rest is history.â€
That song felt to me excatly like how I felt away from my girlfriend at the time. He was a fantastic storyteller and balladeer.
Jimmy passed away today from skin cancer at age 76. God bless him, and condolences to his wife, Jane and their three kids. It’s been a Lovely Cruise.
(Photo: Jimmy and his wife Jane, 1970s)