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

Good Story...Terrible Narrator

Really enjoyed the story, as I've been a long-time Buffett fan. The history, from his grandfather through his career to present day, was entertaining and interesting.

The narrator obviously did not put forth any effort to research the book or it's geographical base before recording. As a Gulf Coast native, it was incredibly frustrating to hear him mis-pronounce so many place names and phrases, all of which are highly pertinent to the story and the area where much of it takes place. Conch (Conch Republic, Conch Train, etc.) is pronounced "conk", not "con-CH"...Gautier, Mississippi is pronounced "Gau-shay", not "Gaw-tee-air"...Mobile, Alabama is pronounced "Mob-eel", not "mobul", like a mobile home...and the list goes painfully on. For his lame attempt to recreate a Cajun accent, he should be permanently banned from travel south of I-20. To paraphrase one of Jimmy's songs..."Don't try to describe the ocean if you've never seen it (or heard it)!"

Overall, I'd recommend the book, but it would probably be better as a traditional book, or as an e-book, than to endure the narrator.

Answered a bunch of questions

This one was entertaining start to finish. Been a parrothead since the early 70's ( about the first time I heard Come Monday) and learned a bunch of stuff I didn't know.

Getting to Know Jimmy Buffett

If you enjoy Jimmy Buffett, and you want to get to know him better. You will want to listen to this book!!