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‘Bubbles Up’: New Jimmy Buffett Video Will Bring A Tear To Your Eye

Author Phil Harris
Musician Jimmy Buffett speaks to the media at the Broadway opening night of "Big Fish" at Neil Simon Theatre on October 6, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

When Jimmy Buffett passed away on September 1st of Merkel cell carcinoma at the age of 76, Parrot Heads were understandably distraught. However, consolation came in the form of the news that their would be one more Jimmy Buffett album. The posthumous Equal Strain On All Parts will be released on Friday, November 3rd. And now there’s even a new video for one of the upcoming album’s 14 songs.

The music video (below) for “Bubbles Up,” written by Jimmy Buffett and Will Kimbrough, premiered Monday, October 30th on CMT. The nostalgic clip for the uplifting and encouraging song shows Jimmy in his element: enjoying life on the ocean, performing with his friends, and generally just doing what he loved. You may need a tissue.

Some of Jimmy Buffett’s closest friends performed on the new album, including Emmylou Harris (“Mozambique”) and Paul McCartney (“My Gummie Just Kicked In”). The opening track, “University of Bourbon Street,” features the iconic Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Buffett loved New Orleans and even lived there for about year after graduating from college in 1969.

So what does “Bubbles Up” mean? It’s a scuba diving term used to train people underwater. As Paul McCartney put it, Jimmy Buffett had turned that phrase into a metaphor for life: “When you’re confused and don’t know where you are just follow the bubbles – they’ll take you up to the surface and straighten you out right away.”

Phil Harris is 50% of "Phil & Mel in the Afternoon" on K104.7. He has been with the station since 2013 and on the air in Charlotte since 2000. Before coming to the Queen City, Phil worked for radio stations in Pittsburgh, Austin, and Seattle. In addition to the weekly "Throwback Threesome" music video feature, Phil writes about things that matter to Charlotte sports fans and pet owners. He happens to be both.

Jimmy Buffett: The Sun Sets On An American Icon

The pirate flags are at half-mast in Margaritaville as Parrot Heads mourn the loss of their captain. Jimmy Buffett has passed away at the age of 76. According to a

pic.twitter.com/hQ7BwPJFVz

— Jimmy Buffett (@jimmybuffett) September 2, 2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social media post, the prolific singer-songwriter and lifestyle tycoon died peacefully on the night of September 1, 2023, and was “surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs.” TMZ reported that Buffett’s death was the result of lymphoma caused by skin cancer. Let’s look back on the life of this American icon with another Throwback Threesome.

Playing His First Notes

James William Buffett came into this world on Christmas Day, 1946 in the Gulf Coast town of Pascagoula, Mississippi, where a bridge was named after him in 2015. Growing up in nearby Mobile, Alabama, young Jimmy was enthralled by his grandfather’s tales of the seafaring life. Those nautical themes would later find their way into much of Buffet’s work.

Buffett first picked up a guitar in college. After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi with a journalism degree, he went to Nashville and was hired as a reporter for Billboard magazine. That job gave Jimmy access to the movers and shakers in the music business who would give him his start as a recording artist.

Following the disappointing reception of his debut album in 1970, Buffett made a pivotal trip to Florida where he met up with fellow troubadour Jerry Jeff Walker. According to Rolling Stone, the two friends decided to drive from Miami to Key West. It was there, while watching the sunset, that Jimmy realized he had found a new home and source of inspiration.

Jimmy Buffett Finds His Sea Legs

With the release of his album A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean in 1973, Jimmy Buffet began crafting an image and entire lifestyle around sun, sand, and saltwater. He became a sort of beach bum poet laureate with such odes to laid back living as “A Pirate Looks at Forty,” “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes,” and his signature song, “Margaritaville.” The latter would also become an umbrella for Buffett’s lifestyle brand that began with restaurants and eventually included a clothing line, resorts, casinos, cruises, and retirement communities. Jimmy Buffett also wrote bestselling books and even ventured onto Broadway.

In addition to his wife, Jane Slagsvol, and three children, Jimmy Buffett left behind a worldwide community of fans. The term “Parrot Heads” was first uttered by Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit while he was a member of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band. It was an accurate way to describe the tropical-tinged Deadhead-like loyalty of the audiences at Jimmy’s sold-out concerts.

If there’s a silver lining to be found in the sad news of Jimmy Buffett’s passing, maybe it’s that he has finally been reunited with his “lost shaker of salt, salt, salt!”

Throwback Threesome: Jimmy Buffett

  • Come Monday (1974)

    Released as the second single from the 1974 album Living & Dying in ¾ Time, “Come Monday” was Jimmy Buffett’s first Top 40 hit, reaching number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. According to Songfacts, Buffett wrote the song to his future wife, Jane Slagsvol, while he was on tour. That’s her in the video, along with Jimmy’s truck and boat. Jane and Jimmy tied the knot in 1977, separated in the early 1980s, reconciled in 1991, and remained married until his death in 2023.

  • Margaritaville (1977)

    Jimmy Buffett wrote his signature song after having his first margarita cocktail at a Mexican restaurant in Austin, Texas. “Margaritaville” was released as the first single from Buffett’s 1977 album, Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It remains his highest charting solo single. The first video below is live footage from 1978. The second was shot at a 1993 concert in Minneapolis with the Parrot Head party on full display.

  • Cheeseburger in Paradise (1978)

    As with so many of Jimmy Buffett’s songs, Parrot Heads love singing along to this one. “Cheeseburger in Paradise” was the first single from Buffett’s 1978 album Son of a Son of a Sailor and reached number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100. According to Songfacts, the catchy tune inspired a restaurant chain, which operated from 2002 to 2020. At its peak, there were more than 30 Cheeseburger in Paradise locations in the U.S. and one in Australia.

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