When the Eagles Drafted Jimmy Buffett as Their Opening Act

Eagles contemporary Jimmy Buffett passed away September 1, 2023. The Time Passages family sympathizes with his family and everyone touched by him. Below is a story we published in our Eagles book, Up Ahead in the Distance, that fans might enjoy showing the lasting bond between Buffett and the Eagles. Enjoy!

The summer was winding down in August 1975, and the Eagles needed a show opener. They had finally finished their exhaustive support of the Rolling Stones’ Tour of the Americas ’75 that summer, and after a few shows in the Northeast, they headed south. They would need an opening act for their August 3 show in Columbia, South Carolina. Jimmy Buffett, then relatively unknown, got the call.

Buffett and the Eagles were rock artist contemporaries. He started his musical career at roughly the same time as the band, but his label — the Andy Williams-owned Barnaby Records — cast him as a country music artist. He eschewed that tag recording for ABC/Dunhill label and developed his signature “island escapism” sound with distinctly Floridian and Caribbean themes.

Buffett was defining his style as the Eagles took off in 1972, and with his Coral Reefer Band, he had developed a small but loyal cult following by mid-1975 when the Eagles became superstars. “One of These Nights” — both the single and the album — were #1 on their respective charts when the band reached out to Buffett. It was a welcome surprise for him, and he got more than he expected from the show.

“I was introduced to the band in the dressing room of the [Los Angeles] Coliseum,” Buffett recalled during his speech inducting the Eagles into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. “I don’t remember how I got on the bill, but I was just excited to be there. It didn’t matter that nobody had paid to see us or that they misspelled my name on the marquee. I was an opening act prepared to receive my fair share of opening act abuse from the promoter, the audience, and probably the headline act. But that didn’t happen that night.”

Buffett got an up-close, first-time look at the Eagles earlier on the day of the show when Tommy Nixon, one of the band’s road managers, invited him to watch the soundcheck.

“I sat there with all the members of the Coral Reefer Band in awe,” Buffett said. “And when it was over, we strolled back through the empty arena towards our dressing room, and I said…‘That is the kind of band we want to become.’”

The enormity of the opportunity wasn’t lost on Buffett, who added, “We were opening for the Eagles, the best American band of my generation and many to follow. Any band worth their salt started as an opener for somebody. Opening for the right band at the right time could be your stairway to heaven.”

Getting invited to the sound-check was unexpected, but there was another surprise. Just as he was leaving to go onstage, Glenn Frey and Don Henley walked into his dressing room, introduced themselves, and complimented his music.

“They said, ‘If there’s anything you need, just ask for it.’ It was a pleasant shock to say the least,” he said of that first meeting. In their short conversation, Frey told Buffett that he enjoyed his recent single, “A Pirate Looks at 40,” and then the duo wished him luck and disappeared out the back door.

Buffett took the stage and played with vigor, and he and his band drew polite applause from the crowd. It was a game-changing gig for him and set the wheels in motion that would help his career.

“I was able to watch and learn from them over the next few years,” he said. They played benefits together, and the Eagles introduced him to their manager, Irving Azoff, who eventually came to manage him, as well. When the band launched its Hotel California tour in March 1977, Buffett returned to the stage as their opening act, a role he would repeat often before their breakup in 1980 and one he would return to after their reformation in 1994.

The connections between them over the years were many. They were frequent opponents on the softball field as well. Buffett would have suited up for the Eagles in their legendary game against Rolling Stone magazine if he had not broken his leg one game earlier.

Frey and Buffett were neighbors in Aspen, Colorado, for a time, which led to the time in 1977 when they both appeared on stage together at Aspen High School following a Hunter S. Thompson interview at the school. The taped interview concluded with Buffett and Frey singing the then-new “Margaritaville” to the crowd, with hysterical modified lyrics that included being out of cocaine.

The connections to the Eagles didn’t end when the band broke up. Buffett tapped Timothy B. Schmit to play bass for his band in the breakup aftermath, and Schmit left a lasting legacy in his time supporting Buffett. Likening the devotion of Buffett’s loyal fan base to that of the Deadheads who faithfully followed the Grateful Dead, Schmit dubbed Buffett’s fans “Parrotheads” in jest. The name stuck.

Along the way the connections continued. J.D. Souther joined Joe Walsh and the Eagles in an impromptu session of “Rocky Mountain Way” at Buffett’s wedding in the fall of 1977. Buffett and Frey would vacation together sometimes, including one notable trip to the Caicos Islands when the pair dropped anchor in a peaceful cove on the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic to ride out some bad weather. Only three other sailboats were anchored there, and Buffett and Frey were happily anonymous, Crawdaddy reported. They were invited aboard one of those neighboring boats — and what music did they have below deck? Just cassettes of the Eagles and Buffett.

The history and affection between Buffett and the Eagles was punctuated with the band’s Rock Hall induction. They asked Buffett to give the speech, in which he recognized the generous camaraderie the band had shared with him over the years. He also credited their longevity.

“They are…one of the signature bands that began in the ’70s and is still alive and kicking ass. They have laughed, frolicked, cried, and fought. But most of all, they have beaten the odds and are as popular today as they were during that incredible summer back in 1972.

“And here I am today,” he said, grinning sheepishly, “still opening for this goddamned band.”