SOUNDS OF SUMMER: Wind in Our Hair, Water in Our Shoes

When I was a kid, my family would often rent a houseboat on northern California's Lake Shasta. We'd spend a week during the summer cruising, fishing, swimming and hiking. It was the only time in my childhood I felt at all like Huck Finn, and every kid should get to do that at least once. As memorable as our lovely surroundings, though, was the music, and we always had the perfect boating soundtrack. My uncle Brent was probably the most canny family DJ, but my parents were usually in charge of making sure there was at least one Jimmy Buffett tape hanging around.

Jimmy Buffett. The guy's made a name for himself as America's great beach bum troubadour, but this image is rife with contradictions. First, he's originally from Alabama, though he eventually relocated to Florida. He may sing about his days as a young shoplifting mastermind, but he's a canny businessman with two restaurant chains. He seems like a chill guy, but infringe on his copyright and he'll sue your ass. And how can it be that the author of "Margaritaville," the theme song of mellow beach dwellers everywhere, once got ejected from an NBA game for using foul language?

Maybe he's just complex. His music isn't, though, which is part of its charm. Even before "Margaritaville" hit it big in 1977, Buffett had created and mastered the "gulf and western" sound that would define him. His classic third LP, A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean, is the best introduction. It's funny, it's catchy, it's mellow, and it's better if you'd had a few mojitos. Not sure if a steel guitar and a steel drum can coexist peacefully? Then you're not a Parrothead.

My favorite was always "Lovely Cruise." It sounds like Dean Martin singing a Willie Nelson song, only better. It's got some nice, lazy acoustic guitar, gentle harmonica, and some of the sweetest electric piano you'll ever hear. The first thousand times I heard it, I wasn't even old enough to get drunk while listening to it. This has since been corrected.

TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION: "Lovely Cruise" by Jimmy Buffett
AVAILABLE ON: Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes; iTunes