Michael Edward Utley is an American

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

for

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...

Coral Reefer Band The Coral Reefer Band is the touring and recording band of American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. The band's name alludes to both coral reefs (in line with Buffett's tropical-themed music) and "reefer" (slang for marijuana). Origins Current ...

. He is the musical director of the band. Born in Blytheville in Mississippi County,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, he graduated from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

where he was initiated into the

Sigma Chi Fraternity Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...

. He was recognized by Sigma Chi as a Significant Sig in 2017. Early in his career, Utley worked with the house band for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Criteria Studios Criteria Studios is a recording studio in North Miami, Florida, founded in 1958 by musician Mack Emerman. Hundreds of gold, platinum, and diamond singles and albums have been recorded, mixed or mastered at Criteria, for many notable artists and ...

backing performers such as

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

Jerry Jeff Walker Jerry Jeff Walker (born Ronald Clyde Crosby; March 16, 1942 – October 23, 2020) was an American country music and folk singer-songwriter. He was a leading figure in the progressive country and outlaw country music movement. He was best ...

, and the

Allman Brothers Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame southern rock band, formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Allman Joys, an early band formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Gregg Allman Band People *Allman (surname) ...

and in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

playing with

Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on '' Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and t ...

and

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...

. Jerry Jeff Walker recruited Utley to play

keyboard instrument A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers which are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital piano ...

s on Buffett's first major label album, ''

A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean ''A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released on June 4, 1973, as his first album for Dunhill. It was the first album to feature Buffett's trademark mustache. ...

'', in 1973. Utley continued to work with other performers in the mid-1970s while appearing on Buffett's subsequent albums until Buffett's 1977 breakout ''

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes ''Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes'' is the seventh studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. This is his breakthrough 1977 album, which remains the best-selling studio album of Buffett's career, and con ...

'' when he joined the Coral Reefer Band full-time. Utley has title credit on several albums, the first being an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

record with fellow Coral Reefer Band member

Robert Greenidge Robert Greenidge (born 28 April 1950 in Success Village, Laventille, Trinidad) is a steelpan player. He is a member of popular music singer Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band and the instrumental group Club Trini. Greenidge has also collaborated ...

titled ''Mad Music''. Utley has gone on to produce or co-produce a number of Buffett albums beginning with '' One Particular Harbour'' in 1983. He has toured with the Coral Reefers ever since. During the song "

Volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

," Utley's name is mentioned. Right before the first solo, Jimmy Buffett says "Mr. Utley." This leads into the solo.

Discography

*Robert Greenidge & Michael Utley (as Club Trini). ''Mad Music'' MCA 5695. (1986). re-released on CD (11/05). *Robert Greenidge & Michael Utley (as Club Trini). ''Jubilee'' (1987). re-released on CD (12/05). *Robert Greenidge & Michael Utley (as Club Trini). ''Heat'' (1988). *Robert Greenidge & Michael Utley (as Club Trini). ''Club Trini''. (1996). *Robert Greenidge & Michael Utley (as Club Trini). ''Back in Town''. (1999). *Robert Greenidge & Michael Utley (as Club Trini). ''Margarita Cafe: Late Night Live''. (2000).

References

*Steve Eddington
"His Attitude about Music Hasn’t Changed."
''Front Porch Magazine''. July 2007. Accessed 1 October 2007. *Brian Berusch
"Passing Through Town... Jimmy Buffett's Longtime Keyboardist, Michael Utley"
''Bon Hawaii''. September 2009. Accessed 30 June 2016.
"Michael Utley"
Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame. Accessed 30 June 2016.

References

1947 births Living people People from Blytheville, Arkansas Record producers from Arkansas American session musicians Songwriters from Arkansas University of Arkansas alumni American rock keyboardists American rock pianists American male pianists American organists American male organists 21st-century American keyboardists 20th-century American pianists Coral Reefer Band members 21st-century American pianists 21st-century organists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century American keyboardists American male songwriters {{US-keyboardist-stub

Discography

See also

References

References