Jimmy Buffett 

Papers, 1975-1993

10 Boxes, 5 linear feet

Biographical/historical note:

Musician, author. 

The grandson of a sea captain and son of a Navy shipbuilder, singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett's music and writings are full of references to sea life also by way of his drunken-sailor persona. Raised in Mobile, Alabama, Buffett moved to New Orleans after his high school graduation to attend college where he worked as a guitarist and vocalist performing folk music and composing his own music. In the late 1960s he moved to Nashville, to enter the music business.

 

While writing for Billboard magazine Buffett performed locally and signed a recording contract with Barnaby Records. He settled near Key West, Florida, living for a time aboard his ketch, island-hopping and smuggling marijuana. In 1977 his gold record "Margaritaville" was released. Tales from Margaritaville, a collection of humorous short stories and personal anecdotes, was published in 1990.

 

He had previously written a children's book, The Jolly Mon (1988), with his daughter Savannah Jane, but Tales from Margaritaville was his first full-length book. He followed it in 1992 with the novel Where is Joe Merchant? establishing his storytelling talents not only in music, but in literature. Although he still maintains his drunken-sailor persona in his work, he devotes a great deal of time and his work's proceeds to philanthropic activities. 

          (Source: Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2001. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: The Gale Group. 2002. (http://www.galenet.com/servlet/BioRC)

 

Summary:

 

Manuscripts, correspondence, videotapes, computer discs. 

 

The bulk of the Papers are drafts and galleys of Tales from Margaritaville and Where is Joe Merchant?, accompanied by notes and some related correspondence. The Papers also include five non-professional videotapes of performances, a contract for a concert at the Euphoria Tavern in Portland, Oregon, a list of fiction and non-fiction books with Buffett's favorites indicated, thank you letters for philanthropic activities, and a list of scholarship recipients at the Cincinnati Public Schools.

 

Arrangement:

Tales from Margaritaville (Boxes 1-2); Where is Joe Merchant? A Novel Tale...(Boxes 3-10); Videotapes (Box 2) and Miscellaneous Records (Box 10). 

 

 

Provenance: Acquired June 1, 1993, gift of the author. Literary rights are retained by Jimmy Buffett.

July 11, 2003

Subtitle: "A love triangle adrift in the Bermuda Triangle," by Terry McDonell and Jimmy Buffett. 109 pp.

Box 3:Early notes, drafts, working notes

Folder 1: Early autograph and typed research notes, plot ideas, etc., dating from October 1990 through June 1991. Includes preliminary letters to publisher.

Folder 2: Plot outlines, character sketches, early drafts (typescripts and disks), various dates, 1989-91.

Folder 3: Continuation of Folder 2.

Folder 4: Nine variant drafts of original Chapter 1, "I Fly Boats," (later the Prologue) with differing titles. Dated March 1990 to October 1990.

Folder 5: Seven variant drafts of the original Chapter 2, with differing titles, dated September 1990 to February 1991.

Folder 6: Six variants of "See You in C-U-B-A", originally labeled Chapter 3 (but became Chapter 2 in Published book), dated September 1990 to February 1991.

Folder 7: Four variant drafts of the original Chapter 3, "under the Lone Palm," or "the Lady I Can’t Explain," dated September to October 1990.

Folder 8: Working notes: Revised Outline, 3/24/91; "Down Island Dictionary"; Notes on characters and events, etc.

Folder 9: Working notes: Notes on characters, places, events, etc.


Box 4: Variant Chapters, 1990-1991

Folder 1: Seven versions of the original Chapter 4, "beyond the Low Water Mark," dated October 18to November 15, 1990.

Folder 2: Five versions of "Trying to reason with Hurricane Season," dated November 1990 to February 1991.

Folder 3: Four versions of "Colonel Cairo," dated November 1990 to December 1990.

Folder 4: Two versions of "Want What You Have," dated November 1991.

Folders 5, 6 and 7: From large folder labeled "Old Files to Key West": Early plot outlines, notes, many autograph corrections, fragments of chapters, etc., 1990-91.

Folder 8:

           "Pictures from the Past," 7/28/91

"Dream Body," 7/18/91

"Where Has the Time All Gone?" 7/12/91

"Find Your Ship, Find Your Oar," 7/12/91

"Bless Me Father," 6/21/91.

 

Box 5: Revisions, 1991

Folder 1:
"Pray for Me, Pablo Neruda," 4/15/91

"What Has Four Eyes and Two Barrels?" 4/19-22/91

"Suntans and Percodans," 3/26/91

"I’m Clean," 4/8/91

"God, Don’t Let Him Forget the Meatloaf," 4/4/91

"I’ll Be Your Pizza tonight," 4/15-18/91

"Stand by Your Passenger," 4/15-18/91

"Living and Dying in ¾ Time," 4/24/91

"First Things First," 7/28/91.

Folders 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6: Miscellaneous chapters, revised and replaced during 1991, many with notes and autograph corrections.

 

Box 6: "Big Book" Revisions

Folders 1, 2, 3 and 4:
"Big Book" (large black loose-leaf notebook version of Joe Merchant chapter outline and text as of October-November 1991).

Note: Chapters removed from notebook for archival preservation.

Folder 5: Additions and changes to various chapters during fall of 1991.

Folder 6: Additions and changes during December 1991, many autograph notes, corrections.

 

Box 7: Revisions to March 1992

Folder 1: Corrections, additions, notes, outlines and autograph changes, during December 1991 (continued from Box 6, folder 6).

Folders 2, 3, 4, and 5: Drafts of chapters, as above, dated January through March 1992.

 

Box 8: Copy edited typescript

Folders 1, 2, 3 and 4: Photocopy of complete copyedited typescript, April ?, 1992.

Folder 5: Correspondence between JB and editors re copyediting changes, schedule for publication, proposed cover blurb, etc. April-May 1992.


Box 9: Galleys, proofs
Folders 1, 2, 3, and 4: Successive sets of untrimmed, publisher’s galleys; many with inserted corrections. Dated May and June 1992.

Folders 5 & 6: Complete set of "Confirmation Proofs," trimmed, printed June 12-17, 1992.

 

Box 10: Where is Joe Merchant? (concluded) and Miscellaneous Records:

Folder 1: Trimmed galley pages, dated June 3, 1992, etc., with note: "Copy of what was messengered [sic] to C. Holmes, 6/19." With autograph corrections.

Folder 2:  Trimmed, "revised" galley pages dated June 9, 1992, etc.

Folder 3: Trimmed, selected galley pages, with final corrections, June 30, 1992.

Folder 4: Proof pages with graphic layout/text for preliminary pages of book, late June, July 1992. Originals returned to author August 6, 1992.

Folder 5: Two boxes (total 23 diskettes) of High-Density (1.44 MB) IBM-compatible diskettes, containing text of book.

 

Miscellaneous materials:

Folder 6: Biographical materials:
a) Contract for concert, Portland, Oregon, 1975, at the Euphoria Tavern.

b) List of books, fiction and non-fiction, with JB’s favorite books indicated.

Folder 7: Philanthropic Activities, 1992-93.

a) Thank-you letters to JB for financial assistance in hurricane relief for the Bahamas, and for Seacamp

b) Scholarships given to students of the Cincinnati Public Schools.

July 11, 2003