USA Weekend Magazine has an nice interview: “Jimmy Buffett: No trouble in paradise”
This summer, the music legend is back playing to sold-out stadiums. Here, he reveals how 40 years on the road have strengthened his family — and his ever-growing empire.
When Jimmy Buffett was trying to come up with a name for his annual tour, he got together with a group of buddies and bandmates to brainstorm. “We said, ‘What are we going to call this after 40 years? What do we do now that we’re still here?’ ” he says. “And that became this summer’s motto: The Year of Still Here.” …
But, despite appearances, Buffett is more than just an aging, flip-flop-wearing, margarita-soaked legend. He’s a wistful dad of two teenagers, thinking a few years ahead about life after kids. He’s also a romantic rock star who has defied the odds by staying married for 30 years (although he and wife Jane separated for seven years in the ’80s), the author of seven books (including a new novel, “Swine Not?”) and a concerned American who says our government has made a “mess” of things.
Buffett, describing himself as “an old hippie” and “Southern radical,” says now, “I’m an Obama person.” …
No, instead, he became a multimillionaire brand, with everything from his own Margaritaville flip-flops and blenders to themed restaurants and casinos (including two in the works in Atlantic City and Katrina-ravaged Biloxi, Miss.). In 2006, “Rolling Stone” ranked him as the seventh richest rock star of the year, estimating that he made $44 million. When he was in St. Barts last winter, he ran into an old chum who complimented him on one of his products: “Steven Spielberg waved me over and wanted to ask me a boat question and told me how much he liked my beer.”
Read the entire interview here and enter a contest to Win a trip to Parrothead heaven!
