Pencil Thin Mustache

"Pencil Thin Mustache" is a song written and performed by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released as a single (b/w "Brand New Country Star") on Dunhill D-15011 in August 1974.

"Pencil Thin Mustache"
Cover of the German 7 " single
Single by Jimmy Buffett
from the album Living & Dying in ¾ Time
B-side"Brand New Country Star"
ReleasedAugust 1974
RecordedWoodland Sound Studio, Nashville, Tennessee, October 1973
Studio?
Venue?
GenreRock, country, Gulf and Western
Length2:47
LabelABC Dunhill
Songwriter(s)Jimmy Buffett
Producer(s)Don Gant
Jimmy Buffett singles chronology
"Come Monday"
(1974)		 "Pencil Thin Mustache"
(1974)		 "A Pirate Looks at Forty"
(1974)
Audio sample
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It was first released on his 1974 album Living & Dying in ¾ Time. It "bubbled under" the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 101 and reached No. 44 on the Easy Listening chart.

The song, written in a Western swing style,[1] is a nostalgic look by Buffett back at the popular culture of his childhood. The title refers to the type of mustache worn by the film character, Boston Blackie. Buffett refers to a number of other persons, characters, and products of the period including Ricky Ricardo, Andy Devine, Sky (King)'s niece Penny, American Bandstand, Disneyland, Ramar of the Jungle, Bwana, Errol Flynn, the Sheik of Araby, and Brylcreem. The lyrics also say that in the 1950s, "only jazz musicians were smokin' marijuana".[2]

Buffett has stated that "the thing about writing a song like this is that the older you get, the more people there are who need an explanation of the characters in the song. I shudder to think how old Sky King's niece Penny is today. It all started with that two-toned Ricky Ricardo jacket. I can't wait for them to come back."[3]

"Pencil Thin Mustache" is a popular song with Buffett fans and is often played at concerts but is not part of "The Big 8" songs that he has played at almost all of his concerts. Recorded live versions of the song appear on You Had to Be There and Buffett Live: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays.

Billboard described the song as "very well done and quite funny."[4]

Chart performance
Chart (1974) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 101
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 44
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles[5] 58
Canadian RPM Top Singles 75
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks 22

Notes
  1. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 117. ISBN 9780743201698. Jimmy Buffett Western swing.
  2. http://www.songlyrics.com/jimmy-buffett/pencil-thin-mustache-lyrics/
  3. "Pencil Thin Mustache lyrics". BuffettWorld.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  4. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. September 21, 1974. p. 54. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  5. https://www.billboard.com/music/jimmy-buffett/chart-history/CSI/2
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gollark: The real solution is a very powerful laser. Not only will it slow down via radiation pressure, but when the front of the train ablates it'll slow down further.
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