A Final Farewell to The Florida Fiddler

It seems only fitting that a Jimmy Buffett lyric comes to mind as Marco Island bids a fond farewell to a favorite son, J. Robert Houghtaling, the Florida Fiddler, the island’s Artist of the Year in 2016.

"In the tropics they come and they go," Buffett sang in his song Cuban Crime of Passion. And J. Robert, whose Jimmy Buffett act got him in the door at Marriott's Marco Beach Hotel 35 years ago, has decided it’s time for him to go.

Of course, nothing lasts forever. And all good things must come to an end. But for many Marco Islanders, news of J. Robert’s decision to go was shocking and heartbreaking. Perhaps they thought they’d have him forever.

The affable entertainer, known near and far as the Florida Fiddler, has touched many lives. He leaves behind his Marco Island home and Mangrove Music Studios, both nestled among the mangrove trees he loves to sing about. “This has been a beautiful home,” J. Robert said wistfully, “the mangrove mansion.”

Possessed with an active mind that is a wellspring of creativity, J. Robert’s musical tentacles reach far and wide. On October 2nd, he was the subject of a WGCU special, Three Song Stories. His musical explorations include film score credits on national TV shows, including Big Bang Theory and Madame Secretary. His film score for the award-winning PBS documentary, The Great Florida Cattle Drive: Unbroken Circles, is a masterwork. A BMI artist, he has written thousands of songs. His Florida Fiddler Show brought him fame on Marco Island.

J. Robert, 76, will be remembered here for the music he made in the community. It was only fitting that he recently returned to the scene of many of his best concerts, Margood Harbor Park on Goodland, to say goodbye to a small gathering of his unbroken circle before leaving Marco Island for his next act in Idaho. But try as he may, even the Florida Fiddler couldn’t make the gathering a cheerful one. There were plenty of laughs, for sure, and memories were shared, but for the most part everyone was holding back tears.

“Yeah,” J. Robert admits, "I know I was. It’s because we're all connected. I'm not used to saying goodbye, you know, I don't want to get used to it."

J. Robert is returning to Idaho, with wife Debra and son Martin, to be with his mother-in-law and his wife’s family. As important as music is to him, family is even more important. It always has been.

"We're moving our family,” J. Robert said from outside Mangrove Music Studios last week, “we’re moving out of love. You know, our motivation is family. And they kind of come first once in a while. When Deb and I came down, she was on a three-year contract. She'd stick around three years and see how it worked out. Well, 35 years later, it's my turn to go see her folks for 35 years. She gets her folks for 35 years. That's what I like to say. She'll be 15 minutes away from her mom. Her brothers and their families are just up the road an hour. So, I get to relax for a while and just take care of the family. As soon as I get there, I'll reset up my studio and I can touch bases with musical friends all over the world. As a matter of fact, I've kept good contact with my Idaho musicians. I go there for a celebration every couple of years.”

But that doesn’t mean he won’t miss Marco Island.

“Everybody's been so supportive of me and my family,” he reflects. "I've loved being here. I've had my sailboat for 35 years. I've gone swimming every morning in the Gulf - just go right down the street here a couple of miles - you know it's pretty nice. It's been such a wonderful gift, this community. I've supported the YMCA for years. Even playing around with the yard, gardening. We're native Florida gardeners here. Yeah, it's always been a wonderful thing.

“What I'll miss the most is the people. Yeah. Just calling somebody up. I'm sorry to say, my honky tonk days have been done for a while, so I don't go out much. I'm going to miss my neighbors. It's amazing how if you quit working for a while, you just settle into fun things like getting together with the neighbors, gardening, going down to the dog park almost every day. It's a whole 'nother world.”

Many names and faces run through his mind as he thinks back over his three and a half decades on the island: Alan Sandlin, Frankie Ray and Mary Ellen, Roger Raymond, and many others.

Mitch Peters was my musical Godfather,” J. Robert said. “He showed me the ropes. He showed me booking. He showed me the way.”

He also played with another local legend, Stan Gober, from Stan’s Idle Hour in Goodland.

"I started playing Jimmy Buffett songs at the hotel Marriott in the 1980s,” J. Robert said. “While I was playing there, Stan came in. He wanted to scoop me up for out there. So, I started playing behind Stan, it was just me and Stan up there. We were the band. I said, 'Stan, you know, back out west in a little town, a place called Stanley, Idaho, we started getting crowds like this, so we built a stage.' He says, ‘Well, where would you put it?' I just put it right there, you know. So, the old chicken hut that I played in is still over in that corner as you come in. Yeah, but we built a stage and I got him a couple of his first bands."

So, J. Robert gave Stan the idea to build the now famous stage in the parking lot of Stan’s in Goodland? How about that!

"I just said, man, you can maximize your money here,” J. Robert said. "And he loved that. He gave me a boat to stay on. You know, the hotel gave me a room and a free swimming pass, but Stan gave me a boat to sleep in. I'd have to pump it out all the time, but I'd go to sleep by the moon. Moon and stars over Goodland. It was just great."

Many of his friends were at his farewell gig at Margood.

“We're going to miss you, J. Robert,” Frank Carroll said as he sang a song to his old friend. “He’s like a brother. J went to the Bahamas with me. He fit right in. What a good guy. He's a true brother. There is a special place in heaven for you, brother. I've traveled all over with my business and met thousands of people. You know, you can count the friends you have on one hand if you're lucky. And J, you're right up there at number one. You're going to be greatly missed.”

Longtime friend Tara O’Neill reminded J. Robert of his first gig on Marco Island.

"J. Robert and I have been friends for over 30 years,” Tara O’Neill said, "and he has always told me his very first gig was at Quinn’s at the Marriott. The very first people he met at his very first gig, his first friends he made on Marco Island, were my two brothers, Sean and Brian, who were twins and equally rambunctious. The O’Neill’s adopted you right away, J. Robert, and we're giving you up with a lot of reluctance.”

Among J. Robert’s gifts as a musician is his ability to accompany fellow musicians. In his Florida Fiddler shows at Margood, and years earlier at the Marco Players Theater, he would magically step in with his fiddle and within a couple of notes lock in his musical radar with his musical guest. And there was also his gift of assembling a musical lineup and pulling the right strings throughout the show. No wonder the crowds on Goodland were usually Standing Room Only.

"It's just been so fun,” J. Robert reflects, “featuring writers, the great writers. Yeah, a couple of them may be amateurs, but guess what? They're still great because people absolutely loved it after they told their story and sang their songs. During the songs, you could hear a pin drop and afterwards, the crowd would just erupt. People have all these songs they’re carrying around in their hearts and they're all about Florida. So, I'm going to have a hard time taking the Florida Fiddler show up to Idaho, but maybe it'll just be a sequel or something, I don't know. I've enjoyed doing the Florida Fiddler Show. It's full of history and heritage.”

J. Robert’s family goes back generations in Florida. But just how many is uncertain.

"My grandmother would claim five generations,” he said, "I don't know. I'm going to have to look it up. Yeah, research it.”

In a line from Unbroken Circles Ballad, J. Robert writes: "These are the days, yes these are the days…unbroken circles go on forever. Away, we’re bound away. We shall gather by the river. These are the days. A land remembered is not forgotten. These are the days.”

"There's so many reasons not to go,” J. Robert muses. “But, yeah, it's a new horizon. It'll be fun. It'll be a whole new adventure just being with Debra's folks. I'm taking Debra home."