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During her conversation with Holler around her new album, Good Omen, Caroline Jones has delved into the impact the late great Gulf and Western innovator, Jimmy Buffett.
Buffett famously spotted Jones during a 2017 Hurricane Relief concert in Florida, with the ‘Come Monday’ hitmaker subsequently becoming a mentor of sorts to the fast-emerging artist. He signed Jones to his Mailboat Records imprint, and penned one of her first singles, ‘Gulf Coast Girl’, which boasts a star-studded cast of guests, including Buffett, Kenny Chesney, Mac McAnally and Lukas Nelson.
They've since teamed up for an array of subsequent duets, including a reimagined rendition of Buffett's philosophical classic, ‘Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On’, with Jones taking part in the emotional 2023 CMA Awards tribute to the Margaritaville icon.
While chatting to Holler, the ‘You're It For Me, Honey’ singer-songwriter pays tribute to Buffett, “I feel really grateful to have been in his orbit and to have been one of the people he took under his wing. It's a huge honor. He was notorious for not having openers, and I opened for him for a year and a half, which was a huge deal”.
Jones goes on, “He signed me to his record label, wrote a song for me and produced the music video. He just went above and beyond in terms of my career - I owe him a lot”.
The Connecticut native, who is now a key part of Zac Brown Band, as well as having a highly respected solo career, fondly recalls, “He believed in me. I always say, you know, I wish he was still around. There's so much that I feel like I could still learn from him and glean from him - because now I'm married, I have a child”.
She paints a vibrant picture of Buffett, who was synonymous with his infectious joie-de-vivre and his sunny, glass-half-full outlook, “He was just such a renaissance man, such a enigma, such a larger-than-life character, and I got to know him. I was 28 when I stopped touring with him, and I just wish he was still around. Because he was extraordinary, and he was such a unique blend of qualities - like, he was such a brilliant business person and had a brilliant marketing mind, but he was also such a true artist, such an underrated writer in terms of his depth”.
Jones warmly concludes, “He had literally dozens of interests that he wasn't just mildly passionate about. Like, he would throw himself in. He was a full-on plane pilot and sailor and surfer and author and poet and songwriter and hotel chain creator...There are so few people like that in the world, and I feel so lucky to have known him”.
It's a sentiment echoed by virtually everyone to have crossed paths with Buffett, who remains a beacon of light and positivity through his catalogue of sun-soaked anthems.
Alongside other close friends of Buffett, such as Mac McAnally, Zac Brown and Kenny Chesney, Jones continues to fly the ‘Bubbles Up’ legend's pirate flag through her own music. There's a strong spirit of optimism and joy that permeates Jones’ discography, in particular her brand new album, Good Omen, which includes the galvanising ‘You're It For Me, Honey’ and the empowering ‘All The Things’.
Read Holler's full interview with Caroline Jones here.
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