Was Skyway Drive-In Jimmy Buffett's 'Cheeseburger in Paradise' muse? ❘ Average Joe

While Jimmy Buffett's death Friday at age 76 sadly closes the book on his sold-out summertime performances at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, the singer and entrepreneur known for laid-back, beach-inspired party music will be long remembered by his "Parrothead" fan base in Northeast Ohio — and at least one area drive-in restaurant.

Local lore has it that one of his fan favorites, "Cheeseburger in Paradise," was inspired by his affinity for Skyway Drive-In in Fairlawn — but that's an urban legend which has been handily co-opted by various burger joints across the country (and some people even argue that, no, Akron-based rival Swenson's was the muse for "that American creation on which I feed").

The actual story behind the song, according to the publication American Songwriter, isn't as tasty as the idea of a local restaurant being the driving force behind a tune that's been played more than 45 million times on Spotify. In his own remembrance jotted down for box set liner notes, Buffett wrote about how he and his crew were sailing somewhere far more tropical than Cleveland and ended up being stuck on the water longer than expected with meager provisions in the galley. The story goes that they began yearning for burgers, and that daydream sparked ideas for the song.

What isn't a tall tale, however, is Buffett's weakness for Skyway. He's been widely celebrated for ordering Skyway for his entire crew when stopping in the area to perform. His final show at Blossom was Sept. 25, 2021 — and sure enough, "Cheeseburger in Paradise" was on the menu. Plenty of burgers from Skyway and other restaurants made their way into that show along with the usual assortment of Hawaiian shirts, flip flops and certain contraband that you'd expect for partying to the sound of The Coral Reefer Band. Perhaps less popular were the sobriety checkpoints that Buffett's shows typically inspired.

In 1988, during Buffett's 10th visit to Blossom, the Beacon Journal's Mark Faris wrote that Buffett almost correctly name-checked Skyway as a prelude to the tune:

"`Ya know,' he drawled, `I went over to France and pigged out a while ago, and since I got back, I've been kinda takin' care of myself — you know eatin' fruit and healthy stuff like that. Then I get to here to Akron, and get a whiff of those (goodies) over at the Sky-Line Drive-In and the next thing I know, I've gotten rid of all the fruit and find myself munchin' cheeseburgers.'"

So we may not have been the inspiration for his song, but the Akron-area can toast its legacy as one of Buffett's cheeseburger paradises.

Rest in peace, Jimmy.

When he isn’t toiling away as the Beacon Journal metro editor, you can occasionally find Joe Thomas musing about everyday life as the Average Joe. Reach him at jthomas@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Skyway Drive-In was a Jimmy Buffett favorite during Blossom visits