Jimmy Buffett News

There's joy in Margaritaville today: Chief Parrothead Jimmy Buffett is chilling out on top of the album chart for the first time in his three-decade career.

Buffett's License to Chill ended rapper Lloyd Banks' two-week run at number one. According to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released Wednesday, License to Chill jetted to the top with 238,000 copies sold last week.

Buffett, who's known more for his party-hearty concerts than his studio releases, has scored only one Top 10 hit single since issuing his first album in 1970--his 1977 ode to hedonism, "Margaritaville." His other laid-back anthem, "Cheeseburger in Paradise," was a Top 40 hit the following year. His previous best album-chart showing came with his last studio album, 2002's Far Side of the World, which opened at number five.

Aside from his music-making empire, Buffett is an accomplished restaurateur and writer--he's one of only six authors to land both a fiction and nonfiction book in the top slot of the New York Times' bestseller list.

Last summer, Buffett experienced a musical resurgence after recording "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" with country star Alan Jackson. The single went to number one on Billboard's Hot Country Singles Chart, won a CMA Award for Vocal Event of the Year and earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Country song. It was Buffett's first Grammy nomination.

With Buffett on top, Banks' Hunger for More slipped down to number three, moving 111,000 copies. Usher's Confessions held tight at two with 125,000 copies.

The week's next best bow belonged to the Roots' Tipping Point. The Grammy-winning Philly outfit sold 109,000 copies at number four.

The soundtrack to A Cinderella Story wrapped up the Top 10 newcomers, landing at nine with 72,000 copies. The disc includes several tracks by the film's star, Hilary Duff, including a debut with her sister Haylie. While the soundtrack did well, the film had a less than fairy tale first week, coming in fourth at the box office.

Making a huge Top 10 comeback, Prince proved there's something to bundling CDs with concert tickets. With a break in his tour schedule, the Purple One watched his Musicology disc fall from number 15 to 64 on last week's chart. However, with the tour now back in full swing, the disc rocketed up 56 spots to number eight this week, going from 19,000 to 74,000 copies.

The rest of the Top 10 were holdovers: Gretchen Wilson's Here for the Party at five, Avril Lavigne 's Under My Skin at six, Big & Rich's Horse of a Different Color at seven and Los Lonely Boys' self-titled disc holding in the 10 spot.

Metallica 's Some Kind of Monster EP, released in connection with the band's documentary film by the same name, sold nearly 30,000 copies at 37. The disc includes two versions of the title song, six live tracks and two trailers for the movie.

Adam Sandler, who's currently in New Mexico shooting The Longest Yard (with Chris Rock and Burt Reynolds), opened at 47 with his new comedy disc Shhh...Don't Tell selling 24,000 copies. Reggae rapper Beenie Man followed at 51 with Back to Basics, while Rap-A-Lot emcee Devin the Dude opened at 55 with To Tha X-Treme.

Other notable debuts included Sparta's Porcelain at 60, Daddy Yankee's Barrio Fino at 67, Amanda Perez's I Pray at 90, the Polyphonic Spree's Together We're Heavy at 121 and They Might Be Giants' Spine stomping in at 130.

Here's a recap of the Top 10 albums for the week ended Sunday:

1. License to Chill, Jimmy Buffett
2. Confessions, Usher
3. Hunger for More, Lloyd Banks
4. Tipping Point, The Roots
5. Here for the Party, Gretchen Wilson
6. Under My Skin, Avril Lavigne
7. Horse of a Different Color, Big & Rich
8. Musicology, Prince
9. A Cinderella Story soundtrack, various
10. Los Lonely Boys, Los Lonely Boys