All of these albums would combine pop, bar-band rock, country, folk, and reggae influences with the professional production of Norbert Putnam.

The songs on the album were written or co-written by Buffett except for three covers: Steve Goodman's "Banana Republics", Jonathan Baham’s “Lovely Cruise” and Jesse Winchester's "Biloxi."

But then re-recorded yet again for the compilation album in 2002's Meet Me in Margaritaville: The Ultimate Collection making it (with "The Captain and the Kid") one of only two Buffett songs with three different studio versions.

In the song, the line "good times and riches and son-of-a-bitches, I've seen more than I can recall" was replaced with "good times and riches, some bruises and stitches, I've seen more than I can recall" for the radio edit single release of the title-track, with rather crude (and obvious) editing, although American Top 40 did play the original unedited version only once when it debuted at No.

[1] The Richmond Times-Dispatch wrote that "Buffett combines the voice and instrumentation of a West Coast country rocker with the attitude of an undergraduate who prematurely retired to Barbados.

[6] The Coral Reefer Band: 1977 saw Jimmy catch a big wave as he opened for The Eagles for several dates in March and a few in July.

In late June, Jimmy added new drummer Kenneth Buttrey to the band and they rehearsed for three nights in Sarasota, FL before embarking on a tour of the south that included a couple of shows opening for The Eagles again in Florida and Texas.

[7] Setlists changed nightly, mainly during an acoustic set that took place between "Makin' Music for Money" and "Margaritaville", but the structure was pretty consistent.