So who is the real Jimmy Buffett

[Scuba Jeremy]

I never got to meet him when he came and played the benefit show at the Cheeseburger in Paradise here in Downers Grove, but I watched him all night. When he did arrive, he met privately with the winners of the benefit auction that paid for the best table in the house, and chatted with them for about five minutes alone or so. I was busy getting drinks together for the tables I was responsible for, and we (the staff) were not encouraged to "hang around and stare", so to speak. But my friend came up to me and said "Psst : he's in the kitchen!". So I dropped a couple of Margaritas off and cautiously headed into the kitchen to scope the scene. (we weren't serving food, really. Mostly bar drinks, as there was a buffet table set up, so we really had no business in the kitchen.) He was joking with the kitchen staff a bit, thanking them for the excellent work so far. (Jimmy's a fan of our food - he helped approve the menu) He seemed to make it a point to talk with everyone, not just the managers, or other rich looking people. It just seemed like he was really very happy to be there, it wasn't just "a job" or something. So that was about as close to Jimmy as I've ever been - just a few feet. He's a little dude! I guess he just always looks much taller on stage.

When he left the kitchen and went towards the stage, all heads turned, and everyone along the path to the front of the restaraunt got to shake his hand, and a few people had everything from T-shirts to license plates signed by Jimmy. The man can put on a show! From there on out, he was typical Jimmy on stage, always the entertainer. I just thought it would be nice to point out that behind the scenes, he was still cool enough to acknowledge the little people that make his enterprises work.

[Beach Blonde]

My "ex" told me years ago that he had smoked pot with him at a mutual friends house around Sausilito in 1974. Jimmy brought his guitar and sang and told stories way into the early morning's light.

Over the years, I have come to believe most of this story, because in 1974 he was in the San Francisco area..... BUT,

I just can't believe the pot part of this story.... Everyone knows that Jimmy would do nothing illegal.

[carolinagirl]

CG, your little sig line creature just freaked me out! I can't stop looking at it and laughing! It's so cute and unexpected!

Gosh, Ceol... I've been waiting a LOOONG time for someone to notice that. Thanks, I thought my kitty was cute, too. Somebody said to fix your AV, I wasn't sure if that was aimed at me since I don't know what an AV is, but mostly people don't wait long enough to see what happens to the little X!

[finsup]

I'm 17 and work at the local airport restraunt here in central florida where I get to meet a lot of people. There is a guy that is always there and I got to talkin to him one day about music and stuff and he said something to the effect of the only damn music you kids listen to these days is that rap sh**. I was like no sir, I'm a die hard Buffett fan! He goes, " Jimmy Buffett?" I said yea. The he said, " That mother f***er still owes me rent money from when he lived down in the keys in the 70's." So that sparked a pretty good conversation. haha To make a long story short him and buffett shared a house together in key west. It was him, buffett and buffett's girlfriend. I asked him what his girlfriend's name was at the time and he said Jenny. Well at the Indy concert he made a reference to a Jenny leading into the intro of "In the Shelter". So I figure the story is true. He said all in all Buffett was a cool guy who didnt take crap from anybody.

Theres my little buffett story.

Phins!

[Fragile Magic]

I was at this show in Charlotte and witnessed what happened...I had my binoculars glued to my face and saw a Jack Daniels bottle land right at JB's feet! JB closed the show down early and I for one didn't blame him!!! It was a very close call and I would not expect him to stand up there on stage and accept such crass behavior...John Boy and Billy didn't tell the true story (they were REALLY wasted and probable didn't know what happened...I was sitting about 6 rows below them) and a lot of people never got the straight scoop...leading to a lot of misunderstanding about the shorter than usual concert...

I have a friend that met him quite a few years ago (the 70s) and although I'm not sure of the exact nature of their encounter, he said Buffett came off as a real a**hole.

Although not a personal encounter, another friend, attending one his concerts in the 80s said Buffett kept admonishing the crowd for singing along with his songs, saying he couldn't hear himself from the stage. My, how things have changed.

I also am not sure of the nature of this incident but John Boy and Billy from the syndicated John Boy and Billy's Big Show radio program apparently were witness to less than polite behavior during one of Buffett's appearances in Charlotte a few years back. They turned this into some comedy bit on their program but since I haven't listened to them in years, I'm no longer sure what it was about but I do recall Buffett either explaining or apologizing for the incident.

Despite what I listed above, my impression has always been that he's quite the Southern gentleman (this coming from just observing his public behavior, as I've never met him either). The incidents I cited were quite a few years ago and who knows, maybe my friend just caught him during a bad moment. I know I would love the opportunity someday just to shake his hand and thank him for all the years of great music he has brought me and my family. If that never happens, it'll be ok but it sure would be nice.

[carolinagirl]

I'm 17 and work at the local airport restraunt here in central florida where I get to meet a lot of people. There is a guy that is always there and I got to talkin to him one day about music and stuff. He said all in all Buffett was a cool guy who didnt take crap from anybody.

Theres my little buffett story.

Phins!

Great story, Phins... You could probly write a book about the characters you meet in an airport restaurant....Keep the stories comin'! Wonder what JB thinks of that former roommate now...