The Barefoot Man, born George Nowak, is an entertainer and songwriter who performs primarily in the Cayman Islands, specifically on the largest island of Grand Cayman. He has composed about 2,000 songs and has recorded nearly 500 of them. The Barefoot Man and his Band performed for many years at the now defunct Holiday Inn on the Seven Mile Beach of Grand Cayman. He now performs primarily at the Reef Resort and at The Wharf in Grand Cayman. The Barefoot Man has been commonly compared to other island performers and songwriters like Jimmy Buffett.About Barefoot Man
Barefoot's songs are predominantly risqué parody, pun and double entendre put to reggae, calypso and sometimes country or pop beats.
The Barefoot Man and Band was featured in the 1993 film, The Firm, starring actors Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman. For this film, George Nowak wrote the song "Money, Money, Money" which appears on the film's soundtrack. The song was performed and recorded by the band that he performed with at the Holiday Inn on Grand Cayman.
He currently lives in the village of Breakers on the island of Grand Cayman and still performs for tourists several nights per week. He is also a contributing writer for several island publications.
Early years Nowak was the son of a German merchant seaman who abandoned ship when George was very young. George's mother remarried, this time to an American serviceman and they moved to Wilmington, North Carolina where he attended high school. He graduated in 1968 and immediately moved to Nashville to "...write a country hit...to buy (his) own Island."
Nowak details events from his life, including his early years in the book Which way to the Islands? – a collection of short stories and photos. In this book George reveals that during the Vietnam War (circa 1968), he went by the alias Barefoot Man while living "off the radar" in a club trading work for room and board since he could not procure a work permit with this name.
Barefoot Man Albums (Released as Records and / or Cassette Tapes) Album name Year released Serial No. The Galleon Beach Hotel Proudly Presents the Barefoot Man 1971 BM-001 Calypso Story – Live at the Galleon 1973 BR-T57380 The Galleon's Barefoot Man Sings for You: Songs from the Cayman Islands 1973? BM-003 Barefoot and Company 1975 BA-1024 Cayman Memories 1977 BR-1005 Happy Days in the Cayman Islands 1978 BR-1006 Come Scuba Do With Me 1978 BR-1007 Barefoot and Andy 1979? BR-5704 Dirty Foot 1979 BR-5787 Cayman Holiday 1980 GN-5884 A Decade on an Island 1981 BR-1008 Scuba Do II 1981 BF-5939 Typical Tropical 1982? BF-6137 Barefoot's Island Favorites 1983? C-1827 Tropical Beachcomber 1983 BFM-1212 Island Party! 1984 ??? Barefoot's Best 1985/86? BR-1014 Strictly Calypso 1987? C-1940 Like the Reggae Beat 1988? C-2036 Caribbean Favorites Vol. II 1989? C-2220 Best of Calypso 1989? C-2759 Feelin’ Hot, Hot, Hot 1990? C-2865 Scuba Do III 1990? C-3038 Back to the Islands 1990 C-4287 Calypso Collection 1991 C-4927 Strictly Calypso REISSUE 1992? C-5622 Christmas on an Island 1993? C-5807 Rum and Calypso 1992 ??? Rum & Coconut Water 1994 ??? Island Life 1994? C-7054 Island Fever 1995 C-7933/C-8007 You Jamaican Me Crazy 1996 C-8768Margarita Daze 1998 C-9469
Barefoot Man Albums (Released Primarily as CDs) Album name Year releasedCalypso Gold – Best of the Best, Volume 1 1996?Hot Hot Hot Collection – Best of the Best, Volume 2 1997Under The Coconut Tree 1998Barefoot's Best of the Best, Volume 3 1998We Need a Vacation 1999Three Coconuts 2000Dirty Belly Button 2002Loud Shirts 2003Just Another Sunset 2003Gone Coconutz 2005Best of Scuba Do 2005In the Bahamas 2006Time Flies When You're Havin' Rum 2008Only the Good Stuff 2008Shoeless Classics, Volume I 2009Shoeless Classics, Volume II 2009Thong Gone Wrong 2009Bahamas Best 2009Children of the Caribbean 2009Dirty Foot 2010Horses on the Beach 2010One Way Ticket to the Beach 2011You Had to be There 2012Sand Dollars 2013Beach Bummin' Around 2014Why Didn't I Think of That? 2016Best Ever CD from the Cayman Islands ???Beyond the Reef ???The Ballad of Richard Le Noir (Big Black Dick) and More Fun Rummy Calypso's ???Calypso Classics ???Fake Boobs and Belly Buttons ???Hot, Hot, Hot ???Loud Shirts and Coconuts ???Reggae 'n Rum ???
References
External links Official website