A number of Parrotheads and other Buffett fans have remarked, “It will take more than one musician to take Jimmy Buffett’s place.
The usual retort is, “No one can take his place.”
Two Alabama musicians who played with and wrote songs with Buffett will perform in his town of birth, Pascagoula, Miss., on Sunday.
Mac McAnally, born in Red Bay and now living in Sheffield, will team up with Will Kimbrough, a native of Mobile.
The concert will be in Pascagoula’s Grand Magnolia Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. Doors open at 6:30.
Details and tickets can be found here.
McAnally was featured in a tribute to Buffett at the annual CMA awards show Wednesday on ABC. He teamed up with Kenny Chesney to open the musical wake. Sitting on barstools, they sang Buffett’s autobiographical, "A Pirate Looks at Forty."
Chesney and McAnally both individually sang verses and then joined in harmony. It was a natural for Mac because he had been Buffett’s vocal harmonizer for decades.
In Mac’s rendition, he changed the words of the song – “just a few friends” to “Jimmy made a whole world of friends.”
Mac is a member of Buffett’s band, the Coral Reefers. He has sung, written songs, arranged songs and recorded songs with Buffett since a pirate turned 40.
Mac announced that he and the Coral Reefers will continue the Buffett legacy and continue performing. Speculation is that the lead voice on Buffett songs will alternate between Mac and Will Kimbrough.
One of Buffett’s most popular songs at his concerts was not his song, and few knew it. Buffett sang the third verse on Alan Jackson’s #1 hit, “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.” In concerts, Mac would sing the Alan Jackson verses and Buffett sang his own one verse.
Will Kimbrough has been added to the Nov. 12 show. Kimbrough was born and got his musical start in Mobile with “Will and the Bushmen.” After years of local performances, he moved to Nashville and is a studio musician popular with the recording stars.
In addition to his unique singing voice, Kimbrough is a versatile guitarist described as a cross between Eric Clapton and Chet Atkins.
Pascagoula was where Buffett was born. He and family moved to Mobile as a young’un, and he graduated high school from Mobile’s McGill Institute. He got his start playing at the Admiral’s Corner, the bar in the historical Admiral Semmes Hotel in downtown Mobile.
The City of Pascagoula dedicated “The Jimmy Buffett Bridge” to their native son, and Buffett came.
Now, his music and musical progeny are coming back. The music has not died,
Jim Zeigler is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
