The late soft rock legend Jimmy Buffet’s laid-back vibe became synonymous with the Florida Keys.
Now the “Margaritaville” singer’s legacy will continue to live on in the Sunshine State.
And Ron DeSantis created one tribute to Jimmy Buffet that leads to paradise.
Ron DeSantis signs law renaming road to Key West after Jimmy Buffet
The late singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffet built a massive following and created a lifestyle based on his easygoing tropical rock sound.
He passed away last September but the tributes are still pouring for the “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” album songwriter.
Buffet was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi, but he became most famously associated with Key West, Florida during his long musical career.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that would pay tribute to Buffet by renaming a portion of a Florida Scenic Highway that leads to Key West.
Now Florida State Road A1A, that runs from the Georgia border down the Atlantic coast to Key West, will be known as the “Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway.”
Buffet named his 1974 album A1A and sang about the road in the song “Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season” on the same album.
“In his album notes, Jimmy Buffett explained that ‘A1A is the beach access road that runs occasionally on and off U.S. 1,’” the bill’s legislative analysis stated. “It can take you to some of the prettiest beaches in Florida east of St. Augustine, right through the middle of ‘Wrinkle City’, better known as Miami Beach, and ending suddenly 90 miles north of Havana and four blocks from my house.”
Jimmy Buffet was an example of the American dream
State Representative Chuck Clemons (R-FL), one of the bill’s sponsors, said that Buffet’s life represented the American Dream.
“(Buffett was) a poet, a writer, a musician, an environmentalist, a businessman,” Clemons said. “While we don’t begrudge any other state — like, let’s say, Alabama — from trying to claim (him) . . . In our minds, however, will always rightfully be remembered as one of history’s greatest Floridians.”
“Over the course of the last 50-plus years, he went from busking on the streets in Key West for nickels and dimes to being the architect of diverse, big, big enterprises all over the globe,” Clemons continued. “And his success is the American dream. His success is a testament to what can be built with just six strings, an idea and talent that lends itself to a catchy song.”
DeSantis signed another bill creating a new “Margaritaville” vanity license plate named after Buffet’s 1977 hit song.
This is the second vanity plate inspired by Buffet.
Florida’s Save the Manatees license plate was inspired by his charity, Save the Manatee Club, which he launched in the 1980s.
Portions of the proceeds of each license plate go toward the charity.
Drivers can travel the Jimmy Buffett Highway past some of the most iconic beaches in Florida that served as inspiration for some of the late singer’s music.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
