#92 – Twelve Volt Man
#92 – Twelve Volt Man
-by Stacy Garwood-
Ask any Jimmy Buffett fan what their favorite Jimmy Buffett song is, and you could get a hundred different answers. Ask Jimmy Buffett what his favorite Jimmy Buffett song is, and his answer would be Twelve Volt Man. It’s really that simple. It is documented multiple times over the years as one of his favorites, and he reported it as his favorite in at least one “it will last forever” video interview. I personally know a couple people that report it is their favorite Buffett song, and there are so many wonderful things about it, it’s easy to see why it is theirs, and Jimmy’s, favorite!
“Just ask for some palm trees, Tales from the South Seas, And I’ll make sparks fly ‘round your head…”
Twelve Volt Man was released on Jimmy’s 1983 album One Particular Harbour, yet another album full of classic Buffett songs, that have given the world classic Buffett imagery, such as a man on a beach with a blender and “songs” and a Die Hard operating the whole gypsy like process, under a sky filled with sparks and palm trees. This song was never released as a single, but it did not need to be, as it lives on in the hearts of Jimmy’s fan base forever.
This is one of the songs that JB has noted to be one of his favorite songs that he wrote, or “the favorite” in at least one interview that I found. There is no doubt it is a lovely song, and the fact that Jimmy singled it out, over a songwriting career that lasted more than fifty years, means it was exceptionally special to him. I know that it is exceptionally special to many of his fans. It is actually hard for me to imagine how, but it never was shared by me in the days and weeks after his passing, when I was doing a personal Facebook tribute that became the inspiration for this blog. It was on list after list, yet the time never seemed quite right. I can’t explain why it worked out that way, but in that very same unexplainable way, for the same reason, I knew now was the right time to dive into Twelve Volt Man.
“I never got a grip on penmanship, Could never make the small L’s flow, Seldom found the trick to arith-a-metic, Three plus two be faux pas, But ask for some palm trees, Or tales from the South Seas, And I just might turn your head…”
The inspiration for this story is pretty well documented. Jimmy has reported it multiple times in multiple interviews over the years, although the details vary from telling to telling, but always remain true to the fact that this song was inspired by a story that was told to Jimmy by Michael Nesmith.
Maybe the name Michael Nesmith sounds familiar, or maybe it doesn’t, but he was noted for being a member of The Monkees. Yes, those Monkees, the “Hey, Hey, We’re The Monkees” Monkees. But Mike Nesmith was a lot more than just a Monkee. He had a solo career that earned him a top-40 hit in the country genre, and an international hit with a song called Rio. Rio is an interesting song, because it is tied to one of the first ever music videos made. In 1974 Mike Nesmith founded a multimedia production company he called Pacific Arts, which became a pioneer in the music video concept. He was actually awarded the very first Grammy Award for Video of the Year in 1981. And the year before, in 1980, he created a television program called PopClips, which was one of the first programs dedicated to music videos. He was actually approached to help develop MTV because of his expertise, but he declined the offer. He also became a music and movie producer.
Prior to his music career, Nesmith joined the Air Force instead of graduating from high school and served in the Air Force as an airplane mechanic for three years, during which time he earned his GED. It was after his stint in the service that he started playing guitar, a gift from his parents. He also started writing poetry and songs, and eventually made the move to Los Angeles where he pursued a career as a folk artist. He recorded several singles before he was informed about the television show tryouts for a television series called The Monkees. He rode a motorcycle to the auditions, wore a wool hat (which would become a calling card of his character Mike) and pretty much won the role by being very nonchalant. The Monkees aired for two seasons, from 1966 to 1968, and included a feature film, and many of Nesmith’s original songs were used for the show/band during that time.
The Monkees did have some controversy in those years, including their second album release, which unknown to the actors/musicians, was not only released without their consent, but they did not play any of the instruments in the studio, having only done the voice work for some songs, in preparation for a coming album. There was an uproar from the four members of the group, David Jones, Michy Dolenz, Peter Tork and Nesmith. Legal action was raised by the four band members, and they won their suit, gaining artistic control over their music and all albums. These men were very clear that they were musicians first, and their musical product was important to them.
In many ways, The Monkees was a show that perhaps was trying to capture the energy of a certain four-member band from England that had taken the world by storm in the early sixties, a band called the Beatles. Nesmith’s deadpan portrayal of both serious as well as casual, made him a close ringer for the “Quiet Beatle” George Harrison. And make no mistake, the Monkees kicked up just as much fan appreciation as the Beatles, including being chased down streets by raving fans wanting any kind of interaction that they could get.
Another thing that Michael Nesmith is noted to have done is told a story to Jimmy Buffett, while they were working on a project, about an experience that happened to him in the Baja of Mexico. In Jimmy’s Parrothead Handbook, Jimmy sums up the story from Nesmith, as well as great details. Everything is better in Jimmy’s own words, so I will just include the quote direct from the source:
“Michael Nesmith once told me a story about a man he ran into down in Baja who is the unknown inspiration for this song. During the Baja race, Michael had broken down somewhere near East Jesus and went to a small village to wait for his repair team. He ran into an American, a fisherman who lived in a small hut with what he called his “essentials”. He had a collection of my albums, packaged margarita mix from America, an old Waring blender, and a tape player hooked up to a peculiar power system made out of a Honda generator and a Sear Die Hard battery. It seems he would fish all week, and on Friday night, he and his friends would hook up the blender and tape player and make margaritas while they sang along to my songs. This ceremony would last until the gas for the generator dried up. I got the inspiration to write this song when I was in Isla Mujeres, a small island near Cancun, where life had escaped most of the twentieth century. The tough part was rhyming Die Hard, but with a few inspiring margaritas, the word came. This is one of my favorite songs.
Right there, in Jimmy’s very own words, “this is one of my favorite songs”, a theme for him that remained true over the years of his career.
“Hey I know this Joe down in Mexico, he went there to work on his tan, For years he’s been plugged into blenders and songs, They call him the Twelve Volt Man, He don’t need no charge card, Just give him a Die Hard, And he’ll make sparks fly ‘round your head…”
I have heard the location for this mystery man as both the Baja of Mexico as well as the Yucatan, but since this written statement by Jimmy mentions the Baja reference for his location, which is what I am going with for this story. I would guess the Yucatan reference ties back to the location of the island near Cancun, which lies on the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, as the place that Jimmy was suddenly inspired to pen this beautiful song. But honestly, no matter where the inspiration for the “twelve volt man” came from, it could have been on just about any tropical beach with no electricity a person could think of, in the Caribbean, or in the Pacific or in the South Sea’s, such as the songs lyrics talk about. It’s an anywhere beach with an anywhere hero, our twelve volt man.
Oh, yes, among other things, Michael Nesmith had a bit of a hobby as a racer. In 1969, he raced his motorcycle on the Baja 1000, and in the eighties, he raced a Class 8 truck in the Baja 1000, which is probably when he broke down and discovered the inspiration for Jimmy’s song. Jimmy reports that Nesmith and he had also discussed a Margaritaville movie, but that was something that did not pan out. Still, Michael Nesmith was quite an interesting human, and had far more going on in his life than acting in a comedy show tied to a four-piece Beatles-like band. What I found out in looking into Nesmith’s role in Twelve Volt Man is that he was a pretty interesting guy.
I am not sure what year that story was relayed to Jimmy, but he wrote the song and recorded it for a 1983 album. One Particular Harbour is the album that was Jimmy’s first foray into the world of producing, and it was coproduced by Jimmy and longtime friend and Coral Reefer Band member Michael Utley.
More of the history and inspiration for this song is captured in Jimmy’s 2020 Video Series with his youngest daughter, Directed By Delaney. Those were such beautiful gifts to the fan base during the pandemic, a wonderful way to still connect to Jimmy and his music, while everyone was changing gears and settling into a different pace of life for a while. It allowed Jimmy a chance to talk about and relearn in some cases, some of his older songs, to tell us what inspired the songs, about the people and places mentioned in the songs. The songs were based on fan survey of Jimmy’s songs that people didn’t know that well, but also played off the title of JB’s first greatest hit album Songs You Know By Heart. This lovely video series, about a million times more powerful now, in the wake of Jimmy’s death, spawned another great pandemic gift from Jimmy, the reworked acoustic album Songs You Don’t Know By Heart, which has a newer version of Twelve Volt Man, just as beautiful as his first recording, while being slightly up-tempo from the original.
“I never had the clout to know one out, But hittin’ is the name of my game, Stranded on third as the coaches conferred, So close to my first claim to fame, Just give me the steal sign, And I’ll make home plate mine, And I just might turn some heads…”
One thing that Jimmy alludes to in mentions of Die Hard is getting something to rhyme with it. He also mentions the line “he don’t need a charge card, just given him a Die Hard” as one of his favorite lines that he ever wrote. In the Directed By Delaney video, he talks through the process, and really this whole song is a series of beautiful and fun rhymes, and also allows us to touch on another of Jimmy’s favorite past times. Baseball, which Jimmy loved to watch, or soft ball, which Jimmy loved to play, especially in the late seventies and early eighties when this song was written. I love those references because not only is the lyrical structure fun, but it also touches on subjects that meant a lot to Jimmy.
Another thing he touches on in that interview is how he enjoyed the chord structure of the song, which was unusual sound for his songs. He talks about how he liked to listen to Joni Mitchell and that she always had chords that were “simple but very strange”, something he was inspired by when writing this song. When he is getting ready to play it for the video, he says he had to find “the real, right chords” and “it’s so much fun to play”. It’s so much fun to listen to, as well.
Honestly, this is just one of “those songs”. The type of song that touches deep down into your soul and sticks. Sometimes the melody and lyrics will just play on repeat in my head, and I imagine sparks flying around my head like fireflies, gentle breeze rustling the palm trees and the camaraderie of listening to great music with friends in the dark of the night.
“Oh, just ask for some palm trees, And tales from the South Seas, And I’ll make sparks fly ‘round your head…”
So, for this one, thank you Michael Nesmith for the inspiration in the story, and as always, thank you Jimmy. Thank you for the beautiful song and the beautiful imagery and the beautiful vibration that touches our souls.
Stacy
Please enjoy Twelve Volt Man. I have included the link below. Enjoy!
1983 Studio Version:
2020 Acoustic Version:
Directed by Delaney Video:
These links are from Jimmy’s official YouTube channel, which I have no personal affiliation with.
Other links of interest:
Songs You Don’t Know By Heart–An Album Essay & Review – THE PAUL LESLIE HOUR
Baja 1000 Celebrity Racers | ATV Rider
Exclusive: Michael Nesmith Remembers Davy Jones (rollingstone.com)
