A Winning Team

What does a young man with musical talent do today to launch a career? A good beginning is to sign a contract with a Nashville music company, and that is just what Jimmy Buffet has done.

Jimmy has been singing since his freshman year in college, and has had quite a bit of success. He has sung not only on his college campus, Mississippi Southern, but also in New Orleans, Biloxi, and Mobile. While singing here, Jimmy met a Mobile songwriter, Milton Brown, who took him to Nashville and introduced him to the people at Russell-Cason Music Co. They had him cut a demonstration session, liked what they heard, and sent him the contracts, which he signed last week.

In addition to his music contract, last week Jimmy acquired another asset, his new bride, the former Miss Margie Washichek. Mobilians will remember Margie for her activities as Miss USS Alabama, Azalea Trail maid, and Gayfer's Teen Board model. Margie says that her friends have tagged her as Jimmy's "number one fan," and she explains her role in her husband's career this way;

"I'm fairly critical, so Jimmy plays his songs for me first and I tell him what I think of them. But of course, his word is final. I also lend him moral support, believing that he is very talented, and I have all the confidence in the world that he will be a great success in the field of music."

As for his music style, and the purpose he hopes to achieve, Jimmy says, "My music is contemporary, along the line of John Hartford and Joni Mitchell. I would like to project a message that people will listen to and think about. And today, Nashville has become the center of the recording industry; I have always had intentions to go, and I am very excited that Russell-Cason is there."

So Jimmy Buffett will busy himself in Nashville with writing and recording the music he enjoys most while his pretty young wife aids him with her encouragement and confidence. With Jimmy's talent and Margie's enthusiasm, it's hard to doubt that some day soon Mobile will see his face and name on record album covers, and perhaps even watch him perform on television.

It's not easy to beat a winning team.