musical career that got in the way of it all.
Typical Buffett humor, I found. we owe it to them that
every single one is the
best show we can do.
We are lucky to get to do
what we do. Myself and
all the band.” In our con-
versation he uses “we”
a lot. I find it impressive
that after all his successes
he still doesn’t claim to be
the determining factor in
them. Make no mistake;
he is brilliant, as an en-
tertainer and a business
mogul. It’s just that he
doesn’t take himself that
seriously. And, he admits
that he is in fact, lucky.
As a singer-songwriter with forty plus years
of experience and 30 studio albums, Buf-
fett has accomplished more than most. I
asked him how he keeps doing what he’s
doing when he obviously doesn’t have to
anymore. Even stating to him, “I’m sure you
have days when you just don’t want to do
it. I mean we all have bad days at work.”
His answer to me was somewhat astound-
ing: "I've not really experienced many of
those. I've always had such a strong work
ethic. Growing up on a ship yard, working
hard and seeing my parents work hard too.
I know it takes a lot of work to make it, and
I've always tried to do that. I still remem-
ber when nobody came to the shows, and
it was still work, so this is good." I sense a
good bit of pride in Jimmy’s answer to this
question. He genuinely feels both blessed
and lucky to have accomplished all he’s
done, and he knows it’s because of his fans
and the people who support what he does.
"We love what we do. People work hard so
they can afford to come to our shows and We talk about the Alabama Gulf Coast,
where he grew up, and I tell him I have
eaten at his sister, Lucy’s, Gulf Shores res-
taurant, LuLu's, two times in the last three
days. He says, “I’m sure she appreciates
that.” He goes on about how she has done
such a great job with building her brand
and what she has accomplished, also
opening a successful second location in
Destin, and just really growing her brand
and name. "I am so proud of LuLu [as he
calls Lucy] and what she has done. She has
worked very hard to do it, and she really
loves it. He even tells me that right after our
interview he’s about to jump in his plane
and fly to Key West to help her celebrate
her birthday. At 70 Jimmy is Lucy’s older
brother, however you’d never guess he’s 70.
This is especially true when you notice how
much energy and excitement he portrays
about all his ventures, and all he still wants
to do. It’s like he’s a walking, talking, mix of
someone who’s done and seen it all, while
also being someone who still wants to do
8
June 2017
INSIGHT