Jimmy Buffett’s legacy continues to live on in an upcoming album. On Friday (September 8), it was announced that Buffett’s final album, Equal Strain On All Parts, will be released posthumously on November 3. The album was recorded in 2023 prior to Buffett’s death in September and features a star-studded list of collaborators that includes Paul McCartney, Emmylou Harris, Lennie Gallant, Angelique Kidjo and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
Videos by American Songwriter
Co-produced by two of the members of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, Mac McAnally and Michael Utley, the album finds McCartney playing bass on “My Gummie Just Kicked In.” The song was inspired by a dinner party Buffett and his wife Jane had with McCartney and his wife Nancy when Nancy made a joke using the phrase that became the title of the song.
[RELATED: Elton John, Toby Keith, Blake Shelton, LL Cool J, and More Remember Jimmy Buffett]
“I was very happy to have played on one of his latest songs called ‘My Gummy Just Kicked In,'” McCartney shared in a tribute post to his late friend on Twitter. “We had a real fun session and he played me some of his new songs.”
In addition to “Gummie,” Buffett’s team has shared “Bubbles Up” and “Like My Dog.” The former track is a country-leaning anthem that offers hope and encouragement. The lyrics read, So when the journey gets long/Just know that you are loved/There is light up above/And the joy is always enough/Bubbles up.
“I told him that not only was the song great but the vocal was probably the best I’ve heard him sing ever,” McCartney added of “Bubbles Up.” “He turned a diving phrase that is used to train people underwater into a metaphor for life when you’re confused and don’t know where you are just follow the bubbles–they’ll take you up to the surface and straighten you out right away.”
The “Margaritaville” hitmaker passed away on September 1 at the age of 76 from a rare form of skin cancer.
Photo Credit: Jean-Philippe Piter/Courtesy of The Press House
