Pencil Thin Mustache

Album: Living & Dying In 3/4 Time (1974)
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Songfacts®:

  • In this Western swing tune, Jimmy Buffett - who was born in 1946 - reminisces about the pop culture of his childhood. "The thing about writing a song like this is that the older you get, the more people there are who need an explanation of the characters in the song," he explained. "I shudder to think how old Sky King's niece Penny is today. It all started with that two-toned Ricky Ricardo jacket. I can't wait for them to come back."
  • Here's a rundown of the references in the song:

    Boston Blackie: Buffett wishes he had a pencil-thin mustache like Boston Blackie, a fictional crook-turned-private eye in a popular film series of the '40s starring Chester Morris. In the '50s, it spawned a TV show starring Kent Taylor, who sported a mustache - pencil-thin, of course.

    Ricky Ricardo: Desi Arnaz played Ricky Ricardo, a Cuban bandleader with a daffy wife, on the classic sitcom I Love Lucy. Buffett admired Ricky's stylish clothes, like his two-toned jacket.

    Andy Devine: A prolific character actor who played sidekick to Roy Rogers on film and Wild Bill Hickock on TV (in The Adventures Of Wild Bill Hickock). Buffett wishes he had Devine's autograph.

    Sky's niece Penny: Schuyler "Sky" King was the main character in the Western-themed adventure series Sky King, which ran from 1951-1959. Sky, a rancher and pilot, had a niece named Penny, played by Gloria Winters. According to the song, Buffett wrote her fan letters.

    Bandstand: Dick Clark's American Bandstand was picked up nationally in August 1957, when Buffett was 10 years old.

    Disneyland: The theme park opened in Anaheim, California, in July 1955 when Buffett was eight years old.

    Ramar of the Jungle: A '50s TV series starring Jon Hall as a medicine man in Africa and India.

    Errol Flynn: A popular actor known for playing the lead roles in swashbuckling films like The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and Captain Blood (1935). Buffett wishes he were as suave as Flynn (who was also a notorious ladies' man).

    The Sheik of Araby: A character in the silent film The Sheik (1921), starring Italian actor Rudolph Valentino, one of Hollywood's earliest sex symbols. The movie inspired the Tin Pan Alley hit "The Sheik of Araby."

    Brylcreem: A hair-styling product for men known for its catchy jingle "Brylcreem, a little dab'll do ya," which Buffett references at the end of the song.
  • This was the album's third and final single. It peaked at #44 on the Easy Listening chart.

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