1) Last summer, "5 O'Clock Somewhere" became his first number 1 hit.
2) This summer (this week, in fact), he has his first number 1 album ever, License To Chill.
Don't believe me? Check Billboard.
Does this mean that I can now say that I liked Buffett before he hit it big?
Probably not. He's been making music for 34 years. That's a long time without a #1 hit or album. And yet he still sells out every show, and has for years. Strangly, even though he's never done well on the charts, he's got several Platnum records. And somehow, for 34 years, he got less airplay then most of the stuff Dr. Demento plays on Sunday mornings. Until "5 O'Clock Somewhere," he had never won a single award for his music.
But the best part is that he does it because he loves it, and he never, ever forgets to thank his fans.