The Eli Young Band is adding some big star power to their 2016 single, “Saltwater Gospel.” Jimmy Buffett just joined the four-man group for a new version of the tune, “Saltwater Gospel (Fins Up Version), which immediately resonated with the “Margaritaville” singer.
“We knew the first time we heard the song, we knew right away that there was something special with the tune,” lead singer Mike Eli told SiriusXM‘s Storme Warren. “At the time, we were kind of making some transitions to a new label, and this song didn’t necessarily do what we knew it could. Every time we play that song, the fans sing it loud, like it was a huge hit, and that’s because you guys supported it so much.
“Coming back around, the label said, ‘Look, what do you think about doing something with ‘Saltwater?” he added. “We said, ‘We want to see if we can ask Jimmy Buffett to be on the song. Do you think that could maybe be an option?'”
Not only was it an option, but Jimmy, who had been introduced to the Eli Young Band by songwriter Mac MacAnally, immediately said yes when the invitation was issued.
“I just love the song, and like Mike said, it’s got a hook there that you just can’t deny,” Jimmy said. “Listen, I was lucky enough to get a couple myself. When somebody has good bait, you know it, and they were already hooked. There were a lot of people hooked on that song. Mac called me and said, ‘They’re talking about maybe doing [a collaboration]. Would you do it? I said, ‘Of course I would.’ Timing, like Mike said, was fine. It worked out really fast.”
After Mac shared the Eli Young Band’s music, the 73-year-old was eager to work with the quartet.
“I started listening to them and heard that song when it came out,” Jimmy recalled in a statement. “I thought that’s a very cool song, because it immediately got my attention since I am a child of the Gulf Coast, having grown up around Mobile Bay and every stretch of water between Key West and Corpus Christi.
“I also love the Texas side to them, as someone who spent a lot of time in my early solo career running around playing colleges, bars and honky tonks in Texas,” he continued. “So of course I said, ‘yeah, I’d love to do this’ and thought it was a great idea. I can’t wait to go out and play it with EYB on the road when it’s safe and we can have fun and go down to the Saltwater Gospel!”
The Eli Young Band is working on a new studio album. Download “Saltwater Gospel (Fins Up Version)” by visiting the Eli Young Band’s website.
