Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band

Take the "three chord and a funny haircut" success formula for rock and tweak it slightly to "three chords and a funny shirt" for "gulf and western" musician Buffet, whose fantastic success in franchising would do the real Gulf and Western proud. Ecologist, private pilot and recording artist, Buffett's come a long way since plucking for change in Key West, but his fans show up to hear the menu of hits: "Cheeseburger in Paradise," and "Margaritaville."

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In four hundred words or less, this is what happened form early adolescence until now: I broke out of the grip of Catholicism and made it through adolescence without killing myself in a car. I flunked out of college. I learned to play the guitar, lived on the beach, lived in the French Quarter, finally got laid, and didn't go to Viet Nam. I got back into school, started a band, got a job on Bourbon Street, graduated from college, flunked my draft physical, broke up my band, and went out on the road solo. I signed a record deal, got married, moved to Nashville, had my guitars stolen, bought a Mercedes, worked at Billboard Magazine, put out my first album, went broke, wrecked the Mercedes, got divorced, and moved to Key West. I sang and worked on a fishing boat, went totally crazy, did a lot of dope, met the right girl, made another record, had a hit, bought a boat, and sailed away to the Carribean. I started another band, worked the road, had my second and last hit, bought a house...