The night that changed Jimmy Buffett’s career

Jimmy Buffett passed away on September 1, 2023 at the age of 76. Few artists have had the following that Buffett has, not to mention the business savvy to capitalize on his songs and create such a successful commercial enterprise.

Jimmy Buffett was born in Mississippi and raised in Alabama. He didn't head to Key West until 1971, when he was 24 years old. Prior to heading back south, Jimmy was traveling throughout the country, playing songs in bars and lounges, trying to stay one step ahead of the bills—waiting for that big break to get a record deal and make himself a star.

In the spring of 1969, Jimmy Buffett was living in the small college town of Brookings, South Dakota. Brookings is just 60 miles north of my hometown (Sioux Falls) and a frequent stop when traveling on Interstate 29.

In '69, Jimmy Buffett was playing what some might refer to as the “Holiday Inn circuit” performing in lounges at hotels. Buffett was using South Dakota as his home base as he traveled throughout the Midwest. Brookings is also the home of South Dakota State University. Jimmy was just 22 years old and the mid-sized town was full of a lot of university students to hang out with and places to perform.

It's hard to say how long Jimmy Buffett would have stayed in Brookings. But one fateful night in June of 1969 sealed Buffett’s fate and changed his life forever.

That night, a large thunderstorm developed on the prairie, bringing heavy rain, hail and high winds. Buffett was living as frugal as a musician could and was renting a small trailer in a trailer court on the outskirts of town. The storm packed a punch and when a strong tornado developed, it tossed and rocked the tiny trailer, startling the young singer.

He wrote about it in his book "A Pirate Looks at 50," and reveals that the storm rattled him so much that he left South Dakota the very next day. Jimmy headed back south, married his girlfriend, and within a month got a record deal in Nashville, launching the start of a very successful career.

It sounds like that tornado was the much needed "kick in the pants" Jimmy Buffett needed to get on with his life!

Many people who were in Brookings, South Dakota at the time, remember seeing Jimmy perform and got to know him while he lived in that little trailer. Some people felt that Buffett was in no hurry to go anywhere, just living day to day and enjoying himself, partying and singing around the area.

But no one was surprised when he left immediately after riding out a tornado in the middle of a stormy prairie night. Have a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend. Rob

TheRockandRollProfessor.com

Thanks to Tom Lawrence for some online comments and notes which validated and assisted me in this short blog. Here's his most recent article that is a must read for Buffett fans: Click here