When that drum beat kicks in at the outset, smiles grow across every knowing listener’s face. But then again, while a very recognizable track, “the one about piña colada” does still carry with it some lyrical confusion.
Who wrote ‘Escape’ (The Piña Colada Song)?
If you’ve ever confidently declared that Jimmy Buffett was the one who wrote ‘Escape’ (the real name for The Piña Colada Song), you’re not alone. The laid-back tropical vibes, mentions of fruity drinks, and amusingly romantic soft-rock practically scream Buffett. But you’d be wrong.
The actual author of the 1979 hit wasn’t Buffett, but Rupert Holmes, a British-American singer-songwriter and playwright. Holmes wrote and recorded Escape himself. And yes, he also sang it. The confusion has followed him for decades. Here he is in action…
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The making of ‘Escape’ (The Piña Colada Song)
One of the things I love about this song – and there’s plenty – is that Holmes never intended to write a song about the famous rum, pineapple, and coconut cocktail delight. The original lyric was “If you like Humphrey Bogart…” But as he said in a later interview, it didn’t sing right. So he replaced it, almost randomly, with “If you like piña coladas.” The rest, including the iconic ad-in-the-personals twist ending, flowed from there.
Oh, and if you haven’t already realized, the song was originally titled just ‘Escape,’ but as it climbed the charts, listeners started calling radio stations asking for “that piña colada song.” So the label added a subtitle: “Escape (The Piña Colada Song).” It became the last No. 1 hit of the 1970s, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1979 and again in early 1980.
And for the newer generations the song was relived in the likes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Final Destination Bloodlines, Grown Ups, and my personal favorite… Guardians of the Galaxy. Enjoy it once again.
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Whatever happened to Rupert Holmes?
Holmes was always seen more focusing on Broadway rather than beach bars, and after Escape, he moved on to writing musicals and even won a Tony Award in 1986 for The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
It’s also worth noting that Buffett, for all the links to him, never actually claimed the iconic song as his own, nor did he ever perform it. But the misconception runs deep. Some streaming playlists have even misattributed it over the years, and many fans on social media still argue the point today. You are now not one of them.
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