Far Out Friday Vinyl, Vol 1
Just in case you are wondering what exactly is, Far Out Friday, let me explain. This was something a friend and I came up with on Instagram to allow people to showcase their far out and very rare albums to the vinyl community. That being said, I decided to bring it here as well, as I hope, some of you will share your far-out albums with the Substack community.
If you want to join in, follow me on Instagram at VinylGroovesAndBrew and tag me with your most far out albums today, and every Friday, hereafter.
By now, you're probably wondering what a 1960s psychedelic rock group has to do with Jimmy Buffett. We'll let me explain this connection for your first installment of #FarOutFriday
Circus Maximus was a lesser-known psychedelic rock group that formed in the late 1960s. Their lead singer, Jerry Jeff Walker was a very talented folk musician who performed in Greenwich Village. He eventually made his way to Nashville and Miami and that's where our story begins.
Fast forward a few years as he settled in Coconut Grove (a suburb outside Miami), he rented out a room to a struggling country music artist who sold 324 copies of his first album, Down to Earth. Due to a lack of success the artist was subsequently dropped from his record label, Barnaby Records. This artist was also struggling as his first marriage was falling apart so Walker asked him if he wanted to head to Key West for a busking expedition.
The artist wanting a change of scenery, agreed. He liked it so much that he decided to stay down there and reinvent himself. His whole outlook changed, and he decided to adopt a more island approach to his music and his life. This change paid dividends as he was asked to play for drinks at the Chart Room Bar, and his popularity soared. This gave him a second chance to do what he loved, playing music.
In 1973, a twist of fate got this artist a record deal at ABC Dunhill after the passing of Jim Croce. Dunhill promoted this artist to replace Croce and his first album with the record label gathered quite a bit of success with songs, He Went to Paris, Why Don’t We Get Drunk, and Grapefruit - Juicy Fruit.
He ended up buying his first boat, Euphoria II, with the money he earned from the album and as they say, the rest is history.
Who's the artist, you ask? Jimmy Buffett.
Circus Maximus
Vanguard, 1968
Jimmy Buffett - A White Coat and a Pink Crustacean
ABC Dunhill, 1973
