Coconut Telegraph Explained

Coconut Telegraph
Type:	album
Artist:	Jimmy Buffett
Cover:	Coconut Telegraph.jpg
Released:	February 1981
Recorded:	September 1980
Studio:	Muscle Shoals (Sheffield), Quadrafonic Sound (Nashville), Bennett House, (Franklin, Tennessee), A&R, (New York City)
Length:	32:46
Label:	MCA MCA-5169 (US, 12")
Producer:	Norbert Putnam
Prev Title:	Volcano
Prev Year:	1979
Next Title:	Somewhere over China
Next Year:	1982

Coconut Telegraph^[1] is the tenth studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released in February 1981 as MCA 5169 and was produced by Norbert Putnam.

Songs

In addition to songs written or co-written by Buffett (including one with J.D. Souther), the album includes the 1934 jazz standard "Stars Fell on Alabama" penned by Mitchell Parish and Frank Perkins and "It's My Job" written by Mac McAnally, the beginning of a long-term collaboration that would lead to McAnally becoming a member of Buffett's Coral Reefer Band.

Chart performance

Coconut Telegraph reached No. 30 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The song "It's My Job" hit No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles and would be Buffett's last appearance on that chart for over 20 years until his 2003 duet with Alan Jackson, "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere."

Track listing

Side 1:

1. "Coconut Telegraph" (Jimmy Buffett) – 2:57
2. "Incommunicado" (Jimmy Buffett, Deborah McColl, M.L. Benoit) – 3:39
3. "It's My Job" (Mac McAnally) – 3:10
4. "Growing Older But Not Up" (Jimmy Buffett) – 3:23
5. "The Good Fight" (Jimmy Buffett, J.D. Souther) – 3:25

Side 2:

1. "The Weather is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful" (Jimmy Buffett) – 4:06
2. "Stars Fell on Alabama" (Mitchell Parish, Frank Perkins) – 4:12
3. "Island" (Jimmy Buffett, David Loggins) – 3:54
4. "Little Miss Magic" (Jimmy Buffett) – 4:00

Personnel

The Coral Reefer Band:

• Jimmy Buffett – vocals, acoustic guitar
• Barry Chance – electric guitar
• Josh Leo – electric guitar
• Andy McMahon – organ, Fender Rhodes
• Harry Dailey – bass, background vocals
• Matt Betton – drums
• M.L. Benoit – congas and percussion, background vocals
• Greg "Fingers" Taylor – harmonica
• Michael Utley – organ
• David Briggs – piano
• Mac McAnally – background vocals on "It's My Job"
• J.D. Souther – co-lead vocals on "The Good Fight", background vocals on "It's My Job"
• Dr. Kino Bachellier – Shakers and French
• Freddie Buffett^[2] – background vocals
• Norbert Putnam – upright bass
• Dominic Cortese – accordion
• Deborah McColl – background vocals

Singles

• "It's My Job" b/w "Little Miss Magic" (Released on MCA 51061 in January 1981; his only Hot 100 single of the 80s, peaking at #57)
• "Stars Fell on Alabama" b/w "Growing Older But Not Up" (Released on MCA 51105 in April 1981)

Notes and References

1. In Live by the Bay, Buffett describes "coconut telegraph" as the Caribbean version of the grapevine.
2. A pseudonym of Jimmy Buffett.