Jimmy Buffett, the late “Margaritaville” singer with several ties to Cincinnati , was bestowed an honor from another Ohio city over the weekend.
Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has included Buffett among its 2024 inductees, honoring the singer posthumously with the musical excellence award. He’s joined by MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield in the non-voted category.
The tropical rock legend died at 76 years old in September 2023 from Merkel cell skin cancer.
However, a brief dive into Buffett’s history shows that his legacy lives on in Ohio, in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and beyond.
The term ‘Parrothead’ originated in Cincinnati
Buffett coined the term “Parrothead” while performing at a 1985 Cincinnati concert.
During the show at Timberwolf Amphitheatre at Kings Island, Timothy Schmit, a former member of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, noticed fans wearing parrot hats and Hawaiian shirts. He called them Parrotheads, a nod to the moniker for die hard Grateful Dead fans: Deadheads.