ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 10, 1996 TAG: 9602130133
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NASHVILLE, TENN.
SOURCE: JIM PATTERSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
As Jimmy Buffett squinted out at the audience during his tours, he started noticing a change in the mix of the crowd.
``In the past few years, you started seeing real small children,'' Buffett said in an interview from his Palm Springs, Fla., home.
That's a change from the standard Parrotheads - tropical-shirt-clad party animals who sing along to such Buffett standards as ``Cheeseburger in Paradise'' and ``Margaritaville.''
Buffett was alternately amused and delighted by his new generation of fans. And so was born ``The Parakeet Album'' - a children's album of Buffett tunes on the singer's own Margaritaville Records.
``I find it amusing that I used to be so controversial, and now I am family entertainment,'' said Buffett, adding that rappers have taken the heat off him with their misogynous and obscene lyrics. ``It makes me look real tame these days.''
Buffett does not appear on the record because of a contractual complication (he is signed as a solo artist to MCA; Margaritaville has cut a new distribution deal with Island). Still, ``The Parakeet Album,'' sung by students at the W.O. Smith Music School here, is imbued with his personality.
``The only thing I had to do was clean up a few lyrics, because kids are singing, you know,'' Buffett laughed. ``I'd take out a few references here and there, so we could make something a G-rated song.''
The W.O. Smith Music School, which has gotten generous support from the Nashville music industry, offers children music instruction for 50 cents per lesson. Part of the proceeds of ``The Parakeet Album'' will go to the school.
The kids earned the money. Five sing lead parts: Ashley Crutchfield, Charli James, Kirstin Anderson, Anna Gregory and Lisa Rutledge.
Producer Michael Utley draws unmannered performances and simple two- and three-part harmony from the youngsters. Among the more familiar to non-Parrotheads will be ``Cheeseburger in Paradise'' and ``Volcano.''
Gregory nicely pulls off Buffett's ``Little Miss Magic,'' a song narrated from a doting father's point of view. And Buffett opted to leave lyrics in ``Volcano'' that protest nuclear power:
``Don't want to land on no Three Mile Island
I don't want to see my skin aglow.''
``I left that in there for that purpose, because I wanted the kids to say, `Daddy, what was Three Mile Island?' It's something that might stir the inquisitiveness of kids to ask about things like that.''
Other Buffett songs are an easier fit for the children's concept. In light of ``The Parakeet Album,'' such songs as ``Jolly Mon Sing,'' ``Off to See the Lizard'' and ``Come to the Moon'' all seem like children's books waiting to happen.
From his experience as a parent, the singer thinks his offering could only be an improvement.
``When I see an advertisement for any piece of plastic ... on the market shaped into the form of a doll, ... I immediately hit the channel changer,'' Buffett said.
``To me, there's a difference between something like a record that's sort of pleasant ... and nonoffensive, and every piece of sugar-coated cereal or shoot-'em-up kind of cartoon characters out there.
``As difficult as it is to really find good entertainment in the music business today, it's even more difficult to find direct and simple and entertaining children's products as well.''
Buffett was born Christmas Day in 1946 in Mobile, Ala. He became a household name in 1977 when ``Margaritaville,'' the story of a wasted, drunken summer, rose to No.8 on the charts.
His chart success has dimmed since then, but Buffett has proven a sure-fire concert attraction. His followers call themselves Parrotheads, a variation on the Grateful Dead's Deadheads.
The Parrotheads apparently have started taking their children to Buffett shows. The singer says his own experience as a parent prepared him for the opportunity to reach another generation.
``It probably boils down to the fact that my songwriting has probably been affected by 16 years of cooking breakfast for my children and watching `Sesame Street.' Somehow or other, that has subliminally gotten into my songwriting process. And I guess maybe that's why they're picking it up,'' he said.
``I think some of them appeal to them in a story sense, and it's got a good beat and you can dance to it.''
Buffett said he will ``definitely'' record his own album of children's songs when he can make room on his schedule.
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Jimmy Buffett says his own experience as a parentby CNBprepared him for the opportunity to reach another generation.
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