Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavored song B次元官网网址淢argaritavilleB次元官网网址� and turned that celebration of loafing into a billion-dollar empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, has died. He was 76.
B次元官网网址淛immy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,B次元官网网址� a statement posted to and social media pages said late Friday. B次元官网网址淗e lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.B次元官网网址�
The statement did not say where Buffett died or give a cause of death. Illness had forced him to reschedule concerts in May and Buffett acknowledged in social media posts that he had been hospitalized, but provided no specifics.
B次元官网网址淢argaritaville,B次元官网网址� released on Feb. 14, 1977, quickly took on a life of its own, becoming a state of mind for those B次元官网网址漺astinB次元官网网址� away,B次元官网网址� an excuse for a life of low-key fun and escapism for those B次元官网网址済rowing older, but not up.B次元官网网址�
The song is the unhurried portrait of a loafer on his front porch, watching tourists sunbathe while a pot of shrimp is beginning to boil. The singer has a new tattoo, a likely hangover and regrets over a lost love. Somewhere there is a misplaced salt shaker.
B次元官网网址淲hat seems like a simple ditty about getting blotto and mending a broken heart turns out to be a profound meditation on the often painful inertia of beach dwelling,B次元官网网址� Spin magazine wrote in 2021. B次元官网网址淭he tourists come and go, one group indistinguishable from the other. Waves crest and break whether somebody is there to witness it or not. Everything that means anything has already happened and youB次元官网网址檙e not even sure when.B次元官网网址�
The song B次元官网网址� from the album B次元官网网址淐hanges in Latitudes, Changes in AttitudesB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at No. 8. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016 for its cultural and historic significance, became a karaoke standard and helped brand Key West, Florida, as a distinct sound of music and a destination known the world over.
B次元官网网址淭here was no such place as Margaritaville,B次元官网网址� Buffett told the Arizona Republic in 2021. B次元官网网址淚t was a made-up place in my mind, basically made up about my experiences in Key West and having to leave Key West and go on the road to work and then come back and spend time by the beach.B次元官网网址�
The song soon inspired restaurants and resorts, turning . He landed at No. 18 in ForbesB次元官网网址� list of the Richest Celebrities of All Time with a net worth of $1 billion.
BuffettB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渕usic brought happiness to millions of people. IB次元官网网址檒l always be grateful for his kindness, generosity, and great performances through the years,B次元官网网址� wrote former President Bill Clinton on X, formerly Twitter.
Music critics were never very kind to Buffett or his catalogue, including the sandy beach-side snack bar songs like B次元官网网址淔ins,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淐ome MondayB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淐heeseburgers in Paradise.B次元官网网址� But his legions of fans, called B次元官网网址淧arrotheads,B次元官网网址� regularly turned up for his concerts wearing toy parrots, cheeseburgers, sharks and flamingos on their heads, leis around their necks and loud Hawaiian shirts.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 pure escapism is all it is,B次元官网网址� he told the Republic. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not the first one to do it, nor shall I probably be the last. But I think itB次元官网网址檚 really a part of the human condition that youB次元官网网址檝e got to have some fun. YouB次元官网网址檝e got to get away from whatever you do to make a living or other parts of life that stress you out. I try to make it at least 50/50 fun to work and so far itB次元官网网址檚 worked out.B次元官网网址�
His special Gulf Coast mix of country, pop, folk and rock added instruments and tonalities more commonly found in the Caribbean, like steel drums. It was a stew of steelpans, trombones and pedal steel guitar. BuffettB次元官网网址檚 incredible ear for hooks and light grooves were often overshadowed by his lyrics about fish tacos and sunsets.
Rolling Stone, in a review of BuffettB次元官网网址檚 2020 album B次元官网网址淟ife on the Flip Side,B次元官网网址� gave grudging props. B次元官网网址淗e continues mapping out his surfy, sandy corner of pop music utopia with the chill, friendly warmth of a multi-millionaire you wouldnB次元官网网址檛 mind sharing a tropically-themed 3 p.m. IPA with, especially if his gold card was on the bar when the last round came.B次元官网网址�
Tributes on Saturday came from all walks of life, from Hollywood star Miles Teller posting photos of himself with Buffett to former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, who wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Buffett B次元官网网址渓ived life to the fullest and the world will miss him.B次元官网网址� Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys wrote: B次元官网网址淟ove and Mercy, Jimmy Buffett.B次元官网网址�
BuffettB次元官网网址檚 evolving brand began in 1985 with the opening of a string of Margaritaville-themed stores and restaurants in Key West, followed in 1987 with the first Margaritaville Caf茅 nearby. Over the course of the next two decades, several more of each opened throughout Florida, New Orleans and California.
The brand has since expanded to dozens of categories, including resorts, apparel and footwear for men and women, a radio station, a beer brand, ice tea, tequila and rum, home d茅cor, food items like salad dressing, Margaritaville Crunchy Pimento Cheese & Shrimp Bites and Margaritaville Cantina Style Medium Chunky Salsa, the Margaritaville at Sea cruise line and restaurants, including Margaritaville Restaurant, JWB Prime Steak and Seafood, 5 oB次元官网网址機lock Somewhere Bar & Grill and LandShark Bar & Grill.
There also was a Broadway-bound jukebox musical, B次元官网网址淓scape to Margaritaville,B次元官网网址� a romantic comedy in which a singer-bartender called Tully falls for the far more career-minded Rachel, who is vacationing with friends and hanging out at Margaritaville, the hotel bar where Sully works.
James William Buffett was born on Christmas day 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and raised in the port town of Mobile, Alabama. He graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and went from busking the streets of New Orleans to playing six nights a week at Bourbon Street clubs.
He released his first record, B次元官网网址淒own To Earth,B次元官网网址� in 1970 and issued seven more on a regular yearly clip, with his 1974 song B次元官网网址淐ome MondayB次元官网网址� from his fourth studio album B次元官网网址淟iving and Dying in 戮 Time,B次元官网网址� peaking at No. 30. Then came B次元官网网址淢argaritaville.B次元官网网址�
He performed on more than 50 studio and live albums, often accompanied by his Coral Reefer Band, and was constantly on tour. He earned two Grammy Award nominations, two Academy of Country Music Awards and a Country Music Association Award.
Buffett was actually in Austin, Texas, when the inspiration struck for B次元官网网址淢argaritaville.B次元官网网址� He and a friend had stopped for lunch at a Mexican restaurant before she dropped him at the airport for a flight home to Key West, so they got to drinking margaritas.
B次元官网网址淎nd I kind of came up with that idea of this is just like Margarita-ville,B次元官网网址� Buffett told the Republic. B次元官网网址淪he kind of laughed at that and put me on the plane. And I started working on it.B次元官网网址�
He wrote some on the plane and finished it while driving down the Keys. B次元官网网址淭here was a wreck on the bridge,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎nd we got stopped for about an hour so I finished the song on the Seven Mile Bridge, which I thought was apropos.B次元官网网址�
Buffett also was the author of numerous books including B次元官网网址淲here Is Joe Merchant?B次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淎 Pirate Looks At FiftyB次元官网网址� and added movies to his resume as co-producer and co-star of an adaptation of Carl HiaasenB次元官网网址檚 novel B次元官网网址淗oot.B次元官网网址�
Buffett is survived by his wife, Jane; daughters, Savannah and Sarah; and son, Cameron.
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
