After high school graduation, Jimmy enrolled at Auburn University. He failed out the following year, but his experience there would play a major role in defining his destiny. During freshman year, he picked up a guitar for the very first time—not because he had a passion for music, but because his fraternity brother was playing one to get girls' attention! He may have left Auburn, but the guitar would be part of his life forever.
After that, Jimmy paid his way through community college and the University of Southern Mississippi by working as a shipyard welder and busking on weekends for tourists in New Orleans. After graduating in 1969, he married his college girlfriend and moved to Nashville to chase his music dreams.
He thought it was his big break—but all it led to was disappointment. His debut album—1970's Down to Earth—sold just 324 copies. As for the second? The record label literally lost the master tapes.
And little did he know, things were about to get very interesting. Jimmy's friend Jerry Jeff Walker—the singer-songwriter behind "Mr. Bojangles"—invited him down to Key West, Florida. Jimmy fell hard for the salty air, the misfit characters and the freedom of it all. He spent his days working on a fishing boat and sang for tips at dive bars by night. It was at one of those bars where he met his future wife Jane Slagsvol in 1971. The University of South Carolina student was there on spring break—and Jimmy's heart was on fire.
Slowly but surely, Jimmy stopped trying to be a Nashville country star—and started writing songs about his life in Key West. His 1974 song "Come Monday" became his first Billboard Hot 100 hit. "A Pirate Looks at Forty" followed later that year. In 1977, "Margaritaville" climbed all the way to No. 8 on the Billboard charts and he married his longtime love Jane—both changing his life forever.
Jimmy Buffett in August 1977—six months after 'Margaritaville' hit radio.Over the next four decades, Jimmy grew that song from a hit single to one of the most beloved brands in American history. He recorded nearly 30 studio albums, sold over 20 million records, wrote multiple New York Times bestselling books and built a billion-dollar Margaritaville empire of restaurants, resorts and merchandise. He performed nearly every summer to legions of devoted fans known as Parrotheads—a "big, boisterous family," as his wife Jane would later call them.
Jimmy Buffett and wife Jane in 2006Photo by Carley Margolis on Getty Images
As his wife Jane wrote in her tribute: "Jimmy was love. Every cell in his body was filled with joy. He smiled all the time, even when he was deeply ill. And his sense of humor never wavered. Jimmy was always the optimist, always twinkling, always making us laugh."
Throughout his life, Jimmy Buffett chose joy in the face of every storm—and that's why he's today's quote of the day.
Quote of the Day by Jimmy Buffett
This quote comes from Jimmy's 1989 bestseller Tales from Margaritaville. We can all agree how easy it is to focus on the negative things in our lives. But his words remind us that choosing to focus on the positive requires no more effort—because happiness isn't something we find; it's something we choose. Whether he was failing out of Auburn or dealing with his nightmare of a label in Nashville, Jimmy chose to be happy. Even when he received the devastating diagnosis of Merkel cell carcinoma and battled it for years, Jimmy did not let it break him—he chose to focus on the joy in his life.
Everyone faces failures, disappointments, heartbreak and loss. But on the darkest days, choosing to focus on something positive will help you endure the hardships you face. And when you choose joy during those horrible times, can you imagine how much joy you will feel on the brighter days? Jimmy understood this so deeply that he built his entire life and career around it. As he wrote in his memoir, "Some of it's magic, some of it's tragic, but I had a good life all the way."
Just like Jimmy sang in "Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On": "If a hurricane doesn't leave you dead, it will make you strong. Don't try to explain it, just nod your head. Breathe in, breathe out, move on."
More Quotes From Jimmy Buffett
"Wrinkles will only go where the smiles have been.""Searching is half the fun: life is much more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party.""If life gives you limes, make margaritas.""It's important to have as much fun as possible while we're here. It balances out the times when the minefield of life explodes.""Older and wiser voices can help you find the right path, if you are only willing to listen."Related: Next Up:
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