KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Few men have ever appreciated cheeseburgers and Hawaiian shirts as much as Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid and trop-rock icon Jimmy Buffett.
As the Chiefs prepare to open the NFL season Thursday against Detroit, KSHB 41 digital reporter Tod Palmer asked if Reid was a fan of Buffett, who died Friday after a years-long battle with cancer.
WATCH | @Chiefs coach Andy Reid paid tribute to the late @jimmybuffett, who died Friday at age 76, via @todpalmer #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/O8PsD3YQ0J
— Tod Palmer (@todpalmer) September 3, 2023
“I saw him play a few times at the Greek Theater in LA,” Reid said. “Great, great guy.”
Buffett, a native of Mississippi who eventually called Key West home, rose to prominence with the 1977 release of the iconic “Margaritaville.” Other well-known hits include “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Why Don’t We Get Drunk,” “Pirate Looks at Forty,” “Come Monday,” “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” and “Fins.”
He spun off his beach-bum musical style in a chain of restaurants, food, apparel and other business ventures. He was also a New York Times best-selling author of fiction and non-fiction books, which made him one of the wealthiest musicians in U.S. history.
“Very few guys can be a great singer, writer of that and a writer, period, of books,” Reid said. “He did it all, man. Renaissance man. Then, he still sailed through the Bahamas.”
The Kansas City Parrot Head Club, a nod to Buffett devotees who were called “parrot heads,” paid tribute to the singer Saturday at a Monarchs baseball game.
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