Open Letter to Radio Margaritaville
For the last year or so, I've been hearing a lot of complaints about the difficulty of finding Trop Rock music on the radio. The problem finally caught my attention and I began to take note of my own unconscious and conscious habits in this regard. There is only one TR station that you can “take with you”. It was started by Jimmy Buffett as an internet station, and was one of the radio pioneers on the WWW. Many Parrot Heads invested in their satellite radios to tune in RadioMargaritaville.
There is a small problem. RadioMargaritaville.com, has strayed far afield of what we Parrot Heads find worthwhile. Recently a group of 20 plus Parrot Head Club members gathered for a party. The discussion turned to the topic of our favorite musical genre'. Most of us have been Jimmy Buffett fans long enough to remember when his music was the only music in that style available. There had been the music of the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, etc., but that's not the same at all.
Most of us go back to a time when one could only assuage their desire for 'Island Country' or 'Gulf and Western' music by buying Jimmy's latest vinyl or cassette offering. Seldom heard on the radio, and never heard in Upstate New York nightclubs, this music languished as a largely unknown entity. Sure, some people knew who Jimmy Buffett was. Wasn't he that nasal voiced hillbilly who sung “Come Monday' and “Margaritaville”?
“Margaritaville” wasn't as big a hit as “Monday”, but it had the greater impact, didn't it? That song has built an empire of clothing lines, paraphernalia, dining, and night-clubbing venues. It also built an entire music genre' 'Tropical Rock is an exciting and fast growing musical style, embraced by millions. Who knew?
The point, sans history lesson, is that the music known as 'Trop Rock' is burgeoning world wide, and becoming an entertainment force to be reckoned with. It's what Parrot Heads want to hear when they turn to Radio Margaritaville on Sirius-XM.
If we want to hear Bruce Springsteen, Willy Nelson, Bruce Hornsby, or Vince Gill, we know where to find them. It's frustrating to a 'boat drinker'. We've spent our money for a Sirius or XM receiver. We pay the broadcast fee to hear it. Then, we have to listen to the clutter of main stream Country, oldies, and other genres clogging up www.RadioMargaritaville.com . Trop Rock's presence is diminishing on the station that should be the main source of it. This genre' does not appear on broadcast radio if you live in the greater Northeast. We can't turn to a Miami, New Orleans, or Havana station, to fulfill our need for a tropical beat. Luckily for us T-Rock mavens, there are places we can go to salve our tropical souls.
There are now many internet stations one can click on to and find the music we love. In the past decade and a half, a great number of fine 'Trop Rock' musical acts have cropped up. They've become part of a bona fide and increasingly more recognized genre' of music that is gaining a firm foothold in the musical world. They are not Jimmy Buffett cover bands any longer. They are authentic stars of the genre' with a plethora of CDs, DVDs, and their own product lines available. They are now all over the web. Incidentally, they are producing some of the finest Trop Rock being recorded today.
A beginner searching for the genre' can simply click on www.Live365.com and find a large number of Trop Rock internet stations. You won't find it listed, but type trop rock in their search box at the upper right of the main page, and you'll get all the Caribbean Country, Tropical Rock, or Gulf and Western you want. Sadly, it may be a long while before the tropically deprived Northeast gets any broadcast 'Trop Rock' stations. Your computer, however, can offer relief when you're in your home or office.
If you are displeased that our musical mentor, Jimmy Buffett, has let his station stray from it's presumed purpose, please join me in e-mailing the station with your thoughts. Maybe if enough Parrot Heads and PHC's show their concern, we'll eventually notice a gradual return to the music that we all go there for. It's the music that built Jimmy's station in Key West, and if he's not more diligent, the lack of that music could be the station's downfall. After all, who but Parrot Heads are even going there? Who else even knows or cares about it's existence?
