MERGING WAKES

When I think back to my waterskiing years (so many years ago), I seem to remember crowded days on The River (that would be the Colorado River) when the river was full of boats trying to beat the heat of the day. Some times it was hard to deferential between all the wakes; merging together as they’re prone to do.

So, as we look at how Jimmy Buffett’s World has effected some of us, here’s an example of other people’s wakes merging with Jimmy’s:

In Johnny Cash’s autobiography Cash, he admitted “I don’t listen to music much at the farm, unless I’m going into songwriting mode and looking for inspiration. Then I’ll put on something by the writers I’ve admired and used for years (Rodney Crowell, John Prine, Guy Clark, and the late Steve Goodman are my Big Four)…

So, these wakes merging, is kind of like the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, or the Seinfeld episode when “George’s World’s Collide.” Let’s take a look at the four gentlemen that were such a big part of Jimmy’s life that Johnny Cash eluded to:

Rodney Crowell

Rodney wrote “Stars On the Water”

John Prine

John, Jimmy & Steve Goodman spent a lot of time together

Album Cover for Steve Goodman’s “Somebody Else’s Troubles”

(Jimmy is standing between John Prine and Goodman’s wife, Jesse. The Credits list him as “Marvin Gardens.”)

Guy Clark

Jimmy has Covered Guy’s “Boats to Build”

Steve Goodman

Steve was a close friends of Jimmy’s and he covered a number of Steve’s songs including

“Where’s The Party” / “This Hotel Room” / “Down to the Banana Republics”

Steve’s “How Much Tequila Did I Drink Last Night” – I’m surprised Jimmy never recorded a cover of this song

(Notice Jimmy in a Group Photo towards the end of the Video)

A Tribute to Steve Goodman

Arlo Guthrie sings Steve’s Best Know Song

Vintage Prine – Circa 1980

Up Late on a Friday Night, and ran across this Vintage John Prine Video

OPIE’S STEPBROTHER

When it get down to how long it took me to discover John Prine… I just kick myself in the ass every time I think about it. When I was following Jimmy and the Reefers around during Beach House on the Moon, I pulled into the Winter Leg of the Tour a week early at Mike Utley’s invitation. In the, by then expected, long string of luck I experienced on that whole trip the little beach hotel I picked out happened to be right across the street from the Suncoast Surf Shop. The Proprietor’s name is Joe Nuzzo, and from the time I saw an old picture of he and Jimmy Buffett sailing, I knew I was gonna like this guy. It turned out he was also a good friend of John Prine. As we talked through out the week, John’s name came up often. It was one of those things where you recognize the name and figure you know who the person is talking about. It was one of those situations. I knew Prine was a musician (dah, all the John Prine CD’s for sale on Nuzzo’s counter told me that), and automatically thought I’d heard him. Well, I was wrong and didn’t discover it until a good friend of mine, Susan Blankenship of Spooner Radio turned me on to John Prine a couple of months ago. Since then it’s been full tilt boogie trying to catch up on John’s Music. So, in the spirit of this Blog, where I talk about people and things that have come into my life because of Jimmy Buffett, I proudly introduce John Prine to those of you who might have not gotten to know him yet.