Grapefruit—Juicy Fruit
| "Grapefruit—Juicy Fruit" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Jimmy Buffett | ||||
| from the album A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean | ||||
| A-side | "Grapefruit—Juicy Fruit" | |||
| B-side | "I Have Found Me a Home" | |||
| Released | 1973 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1973 | |||
| Genre | Country/Gulf and western | |||
| Length | 02:57 | |||
| Label |
Dunhill D-4385 (U.S., 7") | |||
| Writer(s) | Jimmy Buffett | |||
| Producer(s) | Don Gant | |||
| Jimmy Buffett singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Grapefruit—Juicy Fruit" is a song written and performed by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was first released on his 1973 album A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean and was his third single from that album. The single reached #23 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart in September 1973.[1]
The song appears on Songs You Know By Heart, a greatest hits compilation that includes Buffett's concert favorites ranging from 1973 to 1979. It's played very frequently in concert, but is not a concert staple.[2]
History
Buffett wrote the song in Key West, Florida at a time when he would play in a bar called Howie's Lounge in the afternoon and work on a fishing boat at night. He would meet young tourist girls riding the Conch Tour Train and take them to the drive-in theater. They would have some purple passion mixed up in a jug, and if mixed correctly the dates would claim they couldn't taste any alcohol, to which Buffett would reply, "That's the point."[3]
On the live album You Had to Be There, Buffett mentions that one of the movies he took a date to see was Pay Day.
In "The Parrot Head Handbook, which accompanies the box set Boats, Beaches, Bars, and Ballads, Buffett says of the song: "The places was the Islander Drive-In theatre, and the movie was Payday starring Rip Torn. The girl was from St._Petersburg,_Florida, and she was running away from a bad boyfriend. The popcorn was salty, and the beer was cold.
Chart performance
| Chart (1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 23 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 47 |
Notes
- ↑ (September 29, 1973). "Billboard Top 50 Easy Listening", Billboard, p. 40. Convenience link.
- ↑ "Songs Played the Most" at BuffettNews.com.
- ↑ "Grapefruit—Juicy Fruit performance from Live by the Bay" on YouTube.