Singer/songwriter/author Jimmy Buffett uses his travels and storytelling skills to explain the world at large to his far-flung legion of fans, affectionately known as Parrotheads, many of whom are professionals by day, and turn into colorful, tropical, outrageously-outfitted characters at night when Jimmy comes to town. Certain Buffett songs even inspire their unusual wardrobe.

Jimmy's upcoming album, Buffet Hotel (one t), is scheduled for release in December. The title cut has a strong West African influence and was conceived during a trip to the “Festival In The Desert,” a music festival that takes place annually near Timbuktu, Mali. “It was one of the best musical experiences of my life,” said Jimmy. It was there that Jimmy ran across the Buffet Hotel, an old colonial era train station/hotel which was the venue for the music scene that exploded in Mali after its independence in 1960.

After Jimmy started writing for Buffet Hotel he decided to introduce three of the new songs into his 2009 set list. The three were “Summerzcool,” the quintessential beach song, which also became the tour name, “A Lot To Drink About,” a commentary on current events, and “Surfin' In A Hurricane,” the first surf song Jimmy has ever written.

A very special new music video DVD, Scenes You Know By Heart, was released on June 3, 2008. Jimmy's CD, Songs You Know By Heart, came out in 1985, and has sold over six million copies. Jimmy chose the best live performances of those songs from his concerts all over the world for this unique DVD. Says Jimmy, "If you think about it, looking at the show on video is really the only way I get to see what you see. I have spent many enjoyable hours watching you and us have fun and have put together these scenes you know by heart."

In addition to the 13 songs, there are two bonus cuts, "Hey Good Lookin" and "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere" (a #1 hit for which Jimmy received his first Grammy nomination for "Best Country Collaboration With Vocals" along with Alan Jackson). In the packaging is a 12-page booklet in which Jimmy explains how the footage was chosen and provides "a few thoughts about what we do and what we play that you might not be aware of."

Jimmy's newest book, Swine Not? (Little, Brown and Company), is a colorful novel about a Southern family determined to hide their pet pig in a fancy four-star hotel in New York City. It's a charming fable for all ages... a young boy and his pet pig and their adventures in the big city.

A Jimmy Buffett concert on a tropical island... just walk down the beach for a once-in-a-lifetime intimate performance. That's what a few thousand fans got to experience at Jimmy's Caribbean shows in the spring of 2007. Now everyone else can, too, with Live In Anguilla, a double CD and an 82-minute DVD that were recorded live at the Dune Preserve, Rendezvous Bay in Anguilla, in “Bankie Banx's backyard” and the site of the famous “Moonsplash Festivals.” The DVD was recorded in High Definition and in Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound, 16.9 aspect. The CDs include 30 songs, everyone's favorites, plus some special in-concert rarities like “Domino College,” “Waiting In Vain,” “When Salome Plays The Drum,” “King Of Somewhere Hot,” “Treat Her Like A Lady” and “Distantly In Love.”

Jimmy Buffett scored his second consecutive #1 debut album on the Billboard Country Chart with the release of his last studio record, Take The Weather With You, which combines a variety of styles and sounds from Nashville, New Orleans and Key West. Selling over 120,000 copies in its first week, it also debuted at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. It was certified Gold after less than three months.

The CD includes the single, “Bama Breeze,” a tribute to the historic bars along the Gulf Coast as well as a take on Mary Gauthier's "Wheel Inside The Wheel" with swampy rhythms crafted by Lafayette, Louisiana slide guitarist Sonny Landreth. Deeply affected by Hurricane Katrina, Buffett takes a philosophical look at the devastation of New Orleans in the ballad “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”

Throughout the recording of this album, Buffett brought together an excellent array of talented musicians such as the English rock band Gomez, on Neil and Tim Finn's (Crowded House) title track. Original Coral Reefer steel guitarist Doyle Grisham complements the enchanting sounds of Robert Greenidge (master steel drummer from Trinidad) as well as world-renowned percussionist Ralph MacDonald. Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro also appears on several songs.

The long-awaited Live At Texas Stadium CD, a collection of individual and collaborative live performances by musical legends Alan Jackson, George Strait & Jimmy Buffett, was released April 3, 2007. The recordings are from their 2004 mega concert event in Dallas.

Parrotheads had asked for it for years - a full length Jimmy Buffett concert on DVD. Jimmy's celebrated performances at Chicago's Wrigley Field on Labor Day Weekend, 2005, were released on Mailboat Records as a full-length show on two DVDs. Titled Jimmy Buffett - Live At Wrigley Field, the sold-out shows made history in the Windy City as Buffett's concerts were the first at the 92 year-old ballpark. Released in Dolby 5:1 Surround Sound and presented in 16:9 Widescreen format, the double disc set is approx. 2 hours, 45 minutes long and contains 26 favorite Jimmy Buffett songs, plus bonus footage and some cool surprises.

Florida author Carl Hiassen's Newbery award-winning novel, Hoot, was filmed in Florida, and released in May, 2006. It was produced by Jimmy Buffett and Frank Marshall, along with New Line Cinema, Walden Media and the Kennedy/Marshall Company, Hoot stars Luke Wilson and is directed by Wil Shriner. The mystery adventure revolves around a Montana boy who moves to Florida and unearths a disturbing threat to a local population of endangered owls.

The movie's soundtrack was released on Mailboat Records, Buffett recorded a variety of songs for the CD, including a duet with Alan Jackson of the classic hit, "Barefootin'," some great covers: Warren Zevon's "Werewolves Of London" and Bruce Cockburn's "Wondering Where The Lions Are," a new reggae version of his own "Floridays" and an original tune "Good Guys Win," written especially for the movie by long time Buffett songwriting partners, Coral Reefers Mac McAnally and Roger Guth. Maroon 5, Toots And The Maytals, G Love and Brie Larson, among others, also contribute tracks.

Jimmy's previous release, Jimmy Buffett - Live At Fenway Park contains two CDs with 31 songs, and a bonus 14 song, 55-minute DVD of footage from both sold-out concerts held on September 10 and 12, 2004. A long-time baseball fan, Jimmy considers his shows at this celebrated stadium to be one of the highlights of his career. Yawkey Way was turned into a tropical locale and thousands of colorfully-dressed Parrotheads were thrilled to be on the legendary field and so close to the "Green Monster," which spelled out Jimmy's name.

Did Jimmy Buffett really help end the "Curse Of The Bambino"? Some Red Sox fans think he did, since the team went on to win their first World Series in 86 years, only a month after his "curse breaking ceremony" at Boston's historic Fenway Park.

In 2004, Jimmy released License To Chill, which debuted at #1 on both the Pop and Country charts, and was the first number one album of his career. The collection, which features duets with some of country's biggest stars including Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, George Strait, Toby Keith, Martina McBride and Clint Black among others, spent 15 weeks in the Top 10 of the Billboard Country Albums Chart, and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album's debut single,"Hey Good Lookin'," the old Hank Williams chestnut, featured Buffett with Jackson, Chesney, Strait, Keith, and Black and was a Top 10 country hit.

Jimmy released a number of records in 2003: Meet Me In Margaritaville: The Ultimate Collection, (which was recently certified double platinum) a two-CD retrospective, which spans 30 years of his career (1973-2003) and includes 38 digitally mastered/remastered selections; as well as four live double CDs from shows that were part of his 2003 summer tour: Cincinnati, Mansfield, MA (Boston), Auburn, WA (Seattle) and Las Vegas.

Additionally, a mini DVD was released in 2003, MiniMatinee #1, which contains six songs, including the hit, "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere."

In 2004, another live CD was released: Live In Hawaii.

Buffett has recorded more than forty records, most of which have gone gold, platinum or multi-platinum. His recording, Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads, is one of the biggest selling box sets in MCA Records history.

Jimmy's novel, A Salty Piece Of Land, was released in 2004, and immediately entered the New York Times Bestseller List. The New York Times said it "is very possibly Buffett's best work to date." The inital printing of the book included a free CD of an eponymous new, original song.

With Jimmy's three previous No. 1 best sellers: Tales From Margaritaville, Where Is Joe Merchant? and A Pirate Looks At Fifty, he is one of only nine authors in the history of the New York Times Bestseller List to have reached #1 on both their fiction and non-fiction lists. Other authors who have accomplished this are Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, William Styron, Irving Wallace and Dr. Seuss.

Wherever you are in the world, you can hear Jimmy's concerts broadcast live on his Internet radio station, Radio Margaritaville. Conceived along the lines of an early 70's FM station, promoting variety, spontaneity and working outside the box, radiomargaritaville.com is a haven for rhythm and roll. According to webcast raters Arbitron and MeasureCast, Radio Margaritaville has been one of the highest ranked web channels on the Internet.

Although Parrotheads are known for having a good time, their outrageous concert behavior and dress code is offset by their truly inspiring charitable efforts. Parrotheads from all over the U.S., two Canadian Provinces, even the Land of Oz, proudly refer to their joyful philanthropy as "Party With A Purpose." For years, hundreds of fan clubs have donated their time, their money, even their blood, all in a spirit of camaraderie.

Award info:

In 1977, Jimmy was nominated for CMA's “Single Of The Year” for the song, Margaritaville.

In 1998, Jimmy was presented with a Four Million Performance Award for the song "Margaritaville." This achievement, according to BMI, translates to more than 200,000 hours or 21 years of continuous play on U.S. radio networks, AM and FM outlets, and TV.

Jimmy and Alan Jackson won the 2003 CMA for "Vocal Event Of The Year" for "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere." And the song won again, for "Single Of The Year" and "Video Of The Year" at the 2003 Academy of Country Music Awards.

In 2004, Jimmy received his first Grammy nomination for "Best Country Collaboration With Vocals" along with Alan Jackson for their #1 hit, "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere." Also, in 2004, Jimmy was nominated for a People's Choice Award for Favorite Country Male Singer, as well as two Country Music Association Awards (CMAs): Music Video Of The Year for "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," and Musical Event Of The Year for "Hey Good Lookin'" from his License To Chill CD.

In 2005, Jimmy received his second Grammy nomination: Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for "Hey Good Lookin'" from the License To Chill CD. And there were two other 2005 nominations for "Hey Good Lookin'": Vocal Event Of The Year/Academy of Country Music, and Collaborative Video Of The Year/CMT Music Awards. Also in 2005, another CMA nomination - for Musical Event Of The Year for his duet with Martina McBride, “Trip Around The Sun” from the License To Chill CD.

In October, 2006 - Jimmy was the recipient of one of the nation's highest songwriting honors as he is inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame.

In 2007, Jimmy Buffett received a CMT Music Award nomination for Wide Open Video Of The Year for the video "Bama Breeze." This award is for the best video that was featured as part of CMT Wide Open Country, and is awarded to the artist (male, female or group/duo). Jimmy was also nominated, along with Alan Jackson and George Strait, for a CMA Award for Musical Event Of The Year for "Hey Good Lookin' Live".