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The song Margaritaville passes 4 million performance mark. Based on a recording time of three minutes, the song has surpassed over 200,000 hours of airplay - 21 years. Performance figures are determined from the logged reports of approximately 500,000 hours of airplay submitted by U.S. radio networks, plus local AM and FM outlets, and a census of six million hours of television.

In January, 1998 CF Martin & Co. honored Jimmy with a Limited Edition Signature Model Guitar. "Characteristics personally specified by Jimmy make this model perfectly suited for both stage performance and studio recording. Inspired by his fondness for the Florida Keys, Buffett chose a graceful windswept palm tree for the headstock of his signature model." A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each guitar was donated to the W.O. Smith Nashville Community Music School. The school provides music instruction, instruments and learning materials to children from the Nashville area.

Beach House On The Moon was recorded at Mac McAnally's La La Land studio in Muscle Shoals, AL. and Jimmy's Shrimpboat Sound in Key West.Jimmy kept a journal during the recording process, sharing thoughts and deeds, dinners and desserts. Most of the notes were made available to Coconut Telegraph readers. Reflections, lyric changes and reminiscing all combine in a personal narrative rather than any chronological accounting of the making of an album. A view of the entries follow:

01/14/99: We came to Muscle Shoals for a change, and because my band had been down last year to do Pete's record and said that the room had the magic. You listen to stuff like that coming from people that you trust. We had also come because Mac and I had talked about doing some tracks with the legendary rhythm section of Roger Hawkins and David Hood. I won't go into detail, but tracks like "When a Man Loves a Woman" and "Respect" just to name a few are good enough for me. If you want to know more, there is plenty about the Muscle Shoals Sound in any rock 'n roll encyclopedia.

(And in Key West) 01/20/99: Less than a week ago, I was sitting in the corner of the honeymoon suite in Muscle Shoals working under the gray sky of a cold morning. Now the view from my window is a familiar one, the harbour of Key West. It is full season and the weather is perfect. The energy and feeling of the band that was created in Alabama is alive and well and ready to go again here in Key West.

The Margaritaville Store opens in Charleston. It incorporates elements of the Low Country in a way that sets it apart from the Margaritaville Stores in Key West or New Orleans. The interior wood is mostly from the Wando River. A 30-foot-tall mast scoured by the marshes of Drum Island rises up to a second floor skylight near the middle of the store. The store has a maritime feel from days gone by. The tall wooden mast rises past heating and cooling ducts draped in sail cloth. A tin roof cargo dock at the right rear of the store has a rustic feel. Old ship's cannons poke through the wall next to the cargo dock. Much time and effort went into the store's rehab, and it shows. Check it out next time you're in the low country. The Post & Currier in Charleston, SC. noted, "Store of the year: Jimmy Buffett opens Margaritaville Charleston in August on King Street, giving Lowcountry Parrot Heads the perfect place to replace their lost shaker of salt."

Margaritaville at Universal Studios Citywalk held their grand opening on March 4, 1999. An island in a sea of theme park attractions, Margaritaville serves as a respite from ubiquitous cartoon characters, a relief from Orlando's meteorological mood swings and a recluse for visitors unfazed by the latest advances in adolescent amusement. The acorn planted in Lands End Village in 1985 was now a mighty oak, well pine at any rate, and plenty of it. Fifteen thousand square feet, three bars, full stage, outside patio and balcony seating, state of the art sound / video system, and an erupting volcano. The oversize doors swing open, welcoming the visitor to Jimmy's Emerald City. You're not in Orlando anymore, you're in Margaritaville. The interior of the restaurant is a Jimmy Buffett / Florida Keys cyclorama, a pictorial primer of fictional facts and factual fictions - balseros to bridge tenders, sailors to seaplanes. Jimmy and the Coral Reeefrs inaugurated the balcony with a free performance at the opening. 12,000 lottery-winning ticket holders were allowed inside the ropes and thousands more lined the lake.

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