Grapefruit—Juicy Fruit

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"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"
Released1973
Recorded1973
Length2:57
LabelDunhill
D-4385 (US, 7")
Songwriter(s)Jimmy Buffett
Producer(s)Don Gant
Jimmy Buffett singles chronology
"They Don't Dance Like Carmen No More"
(1973)
"Grapefruit—Juicy Fruit"
(1973)
"He Went to Paris"
(1973)

"Grapefruit—Juicy Fruit" is a song written and performed by American 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 No. 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 was often played live, but was not considered a concert staple.[2]

History[edit]

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 Islander 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 Payday.

In "The Parrot Head Handbook," which accompanies the box set Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads, Buffett says of the origin of the song: "The place 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[edit]

Chart (1973) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 23
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks 47

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ (September 29, 1973). "Billboard Top 50 Easy Listening", Billboard, p. 40. Convenience link.
  2. ^ "Songs Played the Most" at BuffettNews.com.
  3. ^ "Grapefruit—Juicy Fruit performance from Live by the Bay" on YouTube.