Castleton Communication

Linnea Spelman
Mass Media & Society
Participant/Observation
May 8, 1997
Dr. Sanjukta Ghosh


I first came across the term, Parrot Head, four years ago when my husband and I moved 
to Killington, Vermont.  I was waiting tables at Casey's Caboose when I met my first 
Parrot Head.  The bartender had just returned for the winter season and was relating 
her most recent adventures in Margaritaville.  The term, Parrot Head, may cause some 
confusion.  You may be wondering if Parrot Heads are a tropical version of Dead Heads. 
 In many respects they are distant cousins.  Parrot Heads are fans of Jimmy Buffett.
Jimmy Buffett is a popular folk singer.  He began recording under his own name in 
1970.  Buffett has remained popular for the last twenty-seven years and in that time 
has recorded twenty-four albums, written two fictional books, two children's books 
in conjunction with his daughter and the score for a musical.  He is best known for his 
1977 hit song "Margaritaville," which has become the Parrot Head national anthem. 
 
Buffett is considered the poet laureate of Florida hedonism.  Webster's Dictionary 
defines hedonism as a doctrine in which pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief 
good in life.  Webster's Dictionary also considers hedonism a way of life based upon 
the principles listed previously.  Buffett defines this lifestyle for his fans.  
Buffett defines hedonism through his music.  Many of the songs are semi-autobiographical. 
 In some cases Buffett is telling a story that someone else has shared with him. 
 Buffett tells stories describing life in the Keys.  The songs cover topics such 
as the antics of tourists, his relationships with friends and family, and the adventures 
he has had living and traveling in the Caribbean.  
Parrot Heads are not always easily recognizable.  The majority of Buffett fans live 
ordinary lives.  They come from many different backgrounds and range in age from 
sixteen-to-sixty-five.  However, when Buffett tours in concert, the Parrot Heads 
begin to "phlock."  
A Buffett concert is similar to a miniature Mardi Gras.  Everyone wears a costume. 
 There is no official Parrot Head dress code. The fans have proudly taken tastelessness 
to the absolute limit.  The most common features of their wardrobe consist of Hawaiian shirts and leis.  However, they can be seen wearing hats shaped like parrots, fins, 
beer steins, lobsters and fish.  This outrageous attire is usually only worn at concerts 
or other Buffett related events.  Wearing an outlandish costume is a way for the 
fans to escape their daily working routine.  By donning a costume they are able to 
partake, for a few short hours, of lifestyle that they fantasize.  
Parrot Heads have a distinctive diet.  Their diet is defined by the songs Buffett 
has written about food.  Their principal source of nutrition is a cheeseburger.  
The beverage of choice is a margarita, but other boat drinks can be substituted. 
 Most of the drinks are made with rum.  Fans share information about what the best boat drinks 
are and how to make them, where to find the best cheeseburgers across the country 
and how to cure tequila -induced hangovers.  A steady trade in bootleg tapes is also 
rampant.  
Parrot Heads have their own language which can only be deciphered after repeated exposure 
to Buffett's music.  Many of the titles of songs have been reduced to abbreviations. 
 To the outsider SOASOAS, OPH, and CIACIL are utter nonsense.  However, a Parrot 
Head knows that these abbreviations all represent the title songs of the albums, Son 
of a Son of a Sailor, One Particular Harbor and Changes in Attitudes, Changes in 
Latitudes.  Fans repeatedly refer to Bubba, which is Buffett's nickname.  This is 
the name of a club that he once played.  Parrot Heads will frequently add a "ph" to the beginning 
of words.  This is an abbreviation of Parrot Head, which shortens references such 
as Parrot Head friends, Parrot Head flocking and Parrot Head festivities to phriends, phlocking, and phestivities.  
Fans are able to communicate to one another via a variety of electronic newsletters 
such as the Coconut Modem.  Buffett sponsors his own newsletter called the Coconut 
Telegraph.  This is the only official Buffett newsletter.  Many fan clubs put out 
their own newsletter detailing their activities and events happening in the region.  The 
newsletters also address issues such as old versus new music and whether or not Buffett 
has sold out to the music industry.  The newsletters also carry stories about subscribers' experiences at Buffett concerts.
The Church of Buffett, Orthodox and the Lost Troubadour Society are both clubs that 
cater to the older fans.  These clubs where born, because a number of the older fans 
do not care for Buffett's newer music.  The goal of organizations like these is to 
let Buffett know of their dislike of his new music in the hopes that he will return to 
his roots.  There are several fan clubs that are nationally recognized.  The Parrot 
Head Club, which is a regional organization and Parrot Heads in Paradise, which networks 
these smaller organizations are both non-profit.  These clubs are service oriented. 
 They are primarily concerned with environmental and community issues.  Many of the 
clubs are involved in organizations such as the Save the Manatee Club, Memory Walk 
for Alzhiemers and the World Parrot Trust.  The clubs also provide a variety of social 
activities which the members may participate in.    Club members are able to purchase 
group concert tickets through Buffett's management.  However, they are required to 
provide a minimum level of community service throughout the year in order to receive this 
benefit.  The membership of these clubs consist primarily of middle-class, Caucasians 
between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-five.  
Buffett has a variety of different types of fans.  The majority of his fans live an 
ordinary life and use the concerts as a way in which stress and pressure can be released. 
 For a brief period they can pretend to live an exotic, carefree lifestyle.  Buffett represents a way of living that they are unable to pursue. He symbolizes a way 
of living in which each moment is lived to its fullest without worrying what tomorrow 
will bring.  Most of his fans assume this identity to forget about their daily lives 
for a few hours.  The concerts give fans a chance to let loose without fearing the social 
repercussions.  Their identity is lost in the throng.  The younger segment of Buffett 
fans cannot really be considered Parrot Heads, because they attend the concerts for the carnival atmosphere.  They are there to party.  The music is secondary to the 
celebration.  The third group of Buffet fans is composed of those rare individuals 
that are able to live the life that Buffett sings of.  This group of fans is composed 
of people that have left behind the daily grind and all its hassles and benefits for the 
uncertainty of living day-to-day.  They are found in resort areas teaching sailing, 
guiding fishing boats and tending bar.     
Buffett has an extremely unique relationship with his fans.  He cannot be called a 
popular artist yet he is extremely successful.  Buffett has had only one top ten 
hit yet each summer all of his concerts sell out.  One of the reasons behind his 
success is that Buffett is aware of the audience.  "My career's always been built around a relationship 
with the audience" said Buffett (Genz 7).  Buffett's concerts are very interactive. 
 The audience is invited to join in the singing and members of the audience are often invited on stage to share their talents.  Stories float around about how Buffett 
was at some bar and shared a few of his songs with the audience.  Fans visit bars 
he is known to frequent in hopes that he will show.  
Fans share their experiences that revolve around Buffett or the island lifestyle he 
sings about.  These experiences are continuously retold.  There are three main variations 
in the types of experiences fans share.  These variations can be categorized as insight, escape or hero worship.  The most common experience that fans share, describes 
how they met Buffett or met their spouse/significant other at a Buffett concert. 
 The second type of experience that fans share, details their escape from society. 
 This style of writing reflects  Buffet's short stories.  Often the experience involves 
taking a road trip to the Florida Keys or some other tropical paradise.  The third 
type of fan writing shares experiences that confirm an idea or concept expressed 
in one of Buffett's songs.  One story found in the Coconut Modem describes a nurse's experience 
while driving home from a Buffett concert.  An accident occurred and the nurse stopped 
to help.  The victim died in the nurse's arms.  She summarized her story by writing "In the words of Jimmy Buffett, we realized 'Life is just a tire swing, but the rope 
may break at any minute.'"  I feel that this is the most illuminating variety of 
fan writing.  The fans are able to apply Buffett's words to an experience and bring 
some order and meaning away.
I feel that Parrot Heads do constitute a subculture.  The culture is not very apparent 
the majority of the time, because the fans do not normally appear significantly different 
from the average person.  Parrot Heads can usually only be spotted at concerts.  A Buffett concert signals the fans to don their plumage and announce their presence. 
 If this was the only time that Parrot Heads ever got together, then their status 
as a subculture could be questioned.  However,  the number of years Buffett has been 
able to maintain a following suggests otherwise.  Parrot Heads are not as easily spotted, 
but once they have been discovered they are hard to miss.
The biggest factor that contributes to Parrot Heads as a subculture is the manner 
in which the group uses the media.  Fans find a portion of the Buffett repertoire 
that they can connect to and they apply that to their own lives.  Fans will rewrite 
the stories that Buffett tells with themselves as the main characters.  They also try to live 
these stories by visiting the places mentioned in the songs.  This gives the fans 
a new perspective.  
The fans feel the need to form a subculture, because it fulfills a need within their 
lives.  I believe Parrot Heads have formed a subculture because it allows them to 
escape their working routine.  The music can change the atmosphere of a room from 
drab and gloomy to festive and gay.  In some respects I have lived the lifestyle that Buffett 
sings about.  There are days I really miss the freedom from responsibilities that 
living for the moment brought.  Whenever I start to think about returning to that 
lifestyle I play a little Buffett music.  The music transports me and after a while I am 
ready to return to my routine.  
Buffett fulfills a need in peoples lives.  Some people need to escape their daily 
routine so that they can return to work with a fresh attitude.  



1

Home  Programs Courses  Facilities  Faculty  Alumni  Student Work   News   Internships  Admissions 

e-mail CSC Communication Department

Last updated 8-4-02