How Jimmy Buffett's 'The View' Episode Caused Some Drama Behind the Scenes

The circumstances around Jimmy Buffett's performance made headlines in 2018.

In light of Jimmy Buffet's passing, fans are looking back at some of the music legend's most memorable moments. One moment that comes to mind was one of Buffett's final TV performances, which happened to stir up some controversy. Back in 2018, The "Cheeseburger in Paradise" singer appeared on The View in promotion of Escape to Margaritaville, the musical made up of some of Buffett's most iconic songs, like "Come Monday," "One Particular Harbor" and "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere." Musical star Paul Alexander Nolan accompanied Buffett, and the young musician's choice of guitar caused a stir behind the scenes.

The Escape to Margaritaville actor had to make one big change to his guitar for morning television, according to headlines at the time. Nolan's guitar included a drawing of a topless mermaid, and the View team had to head off Nolan and get him to censor the drawing. The mermaid ended up including a coconut bra made out of tape.

"His guitar, which features a drawing of a topless mermaid, was deemed too revealing for TV," a source told Page Six at the time. "They made him censor it with tape before being allowed to go on air."

That's not all the Jimmy-Buffett-related drama that went down around the appearance, though. The night before, members of the View staff went to Escape to Margaritaville and missed the opening curtain because they "got so caught up downing margaritas at the lobby bar," the Page Six source claimed.

Escape to Margaritaville is a jukebox musical, featuring Buffett's music. Only two of the 27 songs featured in the show are brand new. Nolan starred as a Buffett-like lounge singer. Comedian Mike O'Malley and My Name Is Earl creator Greg Garcia wrote the book (ie: script). The show had its world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego in 2017 before runs in New Orleans, Houston and Chicago. It premiered on Broadway with a cast that also included Lisa Howard and Alison Luff. While it is no longer on Broadway, it tours around the country and is available to license for local productions.

Other songs featured in the show are "Fins," "Why Don't We Get Drunk," "Son of a Son of a Sailor," "Margaritaville," "Volcano," "A Pirate Looks at Forty" and "Grapefruit – Juicy Fruit."

"Most of the songs people have heard," Buffett told CBS News around its release. "It's not like we're waiting to see if they're good or not. We're kind of OK, right? We don't want to go in there and do what they don't know!"

Buffett died on Friday night surrounded by his family and friends. TMZ reports the "Margaritaville" singer died after dealing with skin cancer and lymphoma.

"Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by family, friends, music and dogs," the official statement from Buffett's team read. "He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many."

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