based largely on Caribbean-flavored pop that celebrated the Florida Keys, sunshine and nightlife. His name became synonymous with a laid-back subtropical party vibe, and his fans were known as Parrotheads.
The title of Buffett’s most popular song showed up on restaurants, clothing, booze and casinos. He became involved in such products as Landshark Lager, the Margaritaville and Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant chains, boat shoes, salsa, hummus, tortillas, dips, tequila and blenders. The Margaritaville cafe on the Las Vegas strip was said to be the top grossing restaurant in the nation.
“I’m not about to apologize for being a good businessman,” Buffett told The Washington Post in 1998. “Too many people in music have ruined their lives because they weren’t. I’m not a great singer, and I’m only a so-so guitar player. I started running the band years ago because nobody else could, and I turned out to be good at this stuff. There’s never been any grand plan to this thing. I’m making it up as I go along. ... Just trying to work the system while maintaining my ‘60s anarchic soul.
When then-Heat coach Pat Riley asked Forte if he knew the man he had ejected, Forte didn’t recognize the name. He asked if Forte had ever been a Parrothead. “He thought I was insulting him. He wanted to give me a technical,” Riley said. Buffett’s 1992 collection titled “Boats, Beaches, Bars, and Ballads” became one of the best-selling box sets ever and his annual summer concert tours with his Coral Reefer Band became major events, drawing thousands of Parrotheads who would dress up in Hawaiian shirts, leis, funny hats and other mellow party accessories. Some would follow Buffet’s tour from city to city.