ORLANDO, Fla. — “You Had To Be There” is the name of Jimmy Buffett’s 1978 live album and also the sentiment of the party-fueled ’70s, a time when cameras and video recorders were much less pervasive.

While some of the stories of Buffett’s early days may have seemed lost to the pages of history, a documentary making its East Coast premiere at the Florida Film Festival hopes to share the memories of the living band members who witnessed Buffett’s meteoric rise to fame. Narrated by Jeff Bridges, “Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers” shares the “untold” story of Buffett’s original band, who first joined him in dimly-lit Key West bars and the coffeehouses of his early touring days.

“Everyone is familiar with Jimmy Buffett. You would be hard-pressed to go to any remote place on the planet and not understand who Jimmy Buffett is at some level,” said Ted E. Haynes, the film’s co-producer. “People don’t know the stories [of the Coral Reefer band], and they don’t know who those people are, so to be able to be stewards of their story about how they were involved in those early days is critical.”

The significance of these stories was underscored by the enthusiasm for this project shown by the former band members (and their siblings and children), producers, tour managers and musicians inspired by Jimmy Buffett, all of whom contributed to the story arc of the 90-minute film.

After meeting at the Key West Film Festival several years ago, Haynes and John H. Cunningham (the film’s director and co-producer) went out to dinner in Tampa and invited Roger Bartlett, the original guitarist in Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band. That fateful encounter led the pair to embark on their first collaboration and largest film project yet.

The following week, there was a benefit concert in Nashville, “Sing 4 Fing,” which paid tribute to the late Greg “Fingers” Taylor, Buffett’s longtime harmonica player. Just as quickly as the idea hatched, the filmmakers had a chance to interview seven people for the film all at once.

“I don’t recommend doing all of your preproduction for a feature film in one week,” Haynes said. “We got into Nashville and got some great content.”

The first part of the film focuses on Buffett’s early dreams, which were dashed when he went to Nashville in the hopes of becoming “an overnight success,” a goal that didn’t pan out. After a failed marriage and a chance encounter with folk singer-songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker, Buffett found himself whisked away to Key West, which provided the fertile ground to inspire many of his songs.

“End of the road kind of places attract a different kind of person to live there full time,” says Bartlett in the film.

“The island was full of eccentrics, outlaws and nomads, which collectively became the muse for Jimmy’s songs,” narrates Bridges.

A now well-known song was about Phil Clark, a New York City advertising executive turned smuggler who became the subject of “A Pirate Looks at Forty.” His personal experiences and encounters became the inspiration for many more future hits, including “Margaritaville,” inspired by the time he lost his flip-flops on the way home from a bar and cut his foot on a beer can tab.

The documentary also includes the story of how “Volcano” was written in about 15 minutes by Buffett and his friend, songwriter Keith Sykes, while exploring the island of Montserrat, where Buffett recorded his album of the same name.

“Those that couldn’t live that life felt like they were living. Jimmy was so honest and real with his life through his music,” said award-winning country music star Kenny Chesney in the documentary. The late Buffett, who died in 2023, was a longtime friend and mentor to Chesney.

Audiences at the Florida Film Festival can now live vicariously through the experiences of Buffett’s band through footage from the ’70s and ’80s touring days, plus stories shared in interviews. In total, the film features 600 archival materials, songs, videos and pictures.

“We had to cull down [25 hours of interview footage] to a 90-minute film, which 50% of is archives. It’s hard to figure out what to keep in and what to leave out,” Cunningham said. “It really reveals the band’s contributions to iconic albums, life on tour and how they helped to lay the foundation for the Parrothead phenomenon and Buffett’s legacy that followed.”

While Buffett was like the “captain of a pirate ship” who kept the band together, it was likely their support and influence that propelled his career to the heights it reached.

“The Coral Reefer Band took these songs and this music and gave it to the world in a way that no one else could,” Chesney said in the film. “Jimmy went out there, sitting on a stool; he might have done it. Who knows? But he didn’t have to because he had those guys.”

If you go

“Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers” has two screenings at the Florida Film Festival. The 5 p.m. April 12 screening at Enzian Theater is sold out online; a standby list will be released on the night of the event. The 6:30 p.m. April 17 screening at Regal Winter Park Village (510 N. Orlando Ave. in Winter Park) still has tickets for $13 each (plus a $2 fee). More information: floridafilmfestival.com.

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