New York – Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beachy soft rock with the runaway hit “Margaritaville” and turned escapism into a restaurant, resort, and branded empire of laid-back food and drink, has passed away at the age of 76.
In a statement posted late Friday on Buffett’s official website and social media pages, it was announced, “Jimmy passed away peacefully on the evening of September 1st, surrounded by his family, friends, music, and dogs.” “He lived his life to the fullest, right up until his final breath, and many will remember him fondly.”
The announcement refrained from revealing the place or circumstances surrounding Buffett’s passing.. He had been forced to reschedule music concerts in May due to illness and confirmed his hospitalization in a social media post but did not provide details.
Released on February 14, 1977, “Margaritaville” immediately became an anthem, embodying a carefree mental state for the “wasted away” and offering an excuse for those living the “growing older” lifestyle. “I’m older now, but not much.”
The song, from the album “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes,” spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching as high as number 8. In 2016, it earned its place in the Grammy Hall of Fame due to its profound cultural and historical impact. It became a karaoke standard and helped brand Key West, Florida, as a mecca for music and a world-famous destination.
Buffett conveyed to The Arizona Republic in 2021, “There simply was no Margaritaville before this.” “It sprang forth from my imagination, primarily serving as an escape when you depart the Western horizon, leave behind your encounters, and embark on the journey once more.”Top of Form
Music critics were not always very kind to Buffett or his catalog, which included sandy beach bar songs like “Fins,” “Cheeseburgers in Paradise,” and “Margaritaville.” But his legion of devoted fans, known as “Parrotheads,” regularly turned up at his music festivals donning toy parrots on their heads, cheeseburgers, sharks, and flamingos around their necks, leis, and high Hawaiian shirts.
During an interview with Republic, he once stated, “It’s all about pure escapism.” “I’m not the pioneer in this, and I may not be the final one either.”. But I think it’s a part of the human condition that you have to have some fun. Whatever you do, you have to get away from it for a while, whether it’s for livelihood or for other parts of life that drag you down. I try to make the work at least 50/50 entertaining, and so far, it’s worked.”
His signature Gulf Coast blend of country, pop, folk, and rock often incorporated Caribbean instruments and sounds like steel drums, trombones, and pedal steel guitar. The infectious rhythms and breezy melodies of his songs often had Buffett waxing poetic about fishing tacos and sunsets.
Rolling Stone gave Buffett’s 2020 album “Life on the Flip Side” a lukewarm review, suggesting, “He continues to paint a utopia of pop music with his sandy, sandy corners, delivering a multi-millionaire’s cool, buddy-buddy enthusiasm, which you won’t mind sharing the 3 a.m. IPA with, especially if his gold card is last call.”
Buffett’s developed brand began in 1985 with the opening of the first Margaritaville-themed store and restaurant in Key West, followed by the first Margaritaville Cafe in 1987. Over the next two decades, dozens of stores and restaurants were opened in Florida, New Orleans, and California.
Since then, the brand has expanded into a wide range of categories, including resorts, clothing and shoes for men and women, a radio station, a beer brand, iced tea, tequila, and rum, home decor, food items like Margaritaville Crunchy Pimento Cheese Bites and Margaritaville Cantina-Style Medium Chunky Salsa, Margaritaville cruise lines and restaurants, including Margaritaville Restaurant, JWB Prime Steak and Seafood, 5 o’clock Somewhere Bar and Grill, and LandShark Bar and Grill.
A Broadway-bound jukebox musical, “Escape to Margaritaville,” was also in the works, featuring a romantic comedy in which a singer-bartender named Tully falls in love with career-minded Rachel, who is on vacation with friends and staying at the Margaritaville Hotel where Sully works.
James William Buffett was born on Christmas Day in 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and his upbringing ranged from the coastal town of Mobile, Alabama, where his father worked at a shipyard. He earned a degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and embarked on a journey from driving buses in New Orleans to playing six nights a week in Bourbon Street clubs.
In 1970, he released his first record, “Down to Earth,” and went on to release seven more records on a regular annual clip, including the song “Come Monday” from his fourth studio album “Living and Dying in ¾ Time” in 1974, which reached number 30. Then came “Margaritaville.”
He performed in more than 50 studio and live albums, often with his Coral Reefer Band, and maintained a busy touring schedule. He earned two Grammy Award nominations, secured two Academy of Country Music Awards, and also clinched a Country Music Association Award.
Buffett was actually in Austin, Texas, when he got the inspiration for “Margaritaville.” He and a friend had stopped for lunch at a Mexican restaurant before she dropped him off at the airport for his flight west, so they started sipping margaritas.
Buffett told Republic, “And it just occurred to me that this is exactly like Margaritaville.” “She put me on the plane with a grin, and I started working on it.”
He scribbled some lyrics on the plane and finished it when he landed. He said, “There was a bar at the end of the pier.” “And we were stuck there for about an hour, so I finished the song on the Seven Mile Bridge, which I thought was appropriate.”
Buffett also penned multiple books, such as “Where Can You Find Joe Merchant?” and played a dual role as a co-producer and co-actor in the movies “A Buccaneer’s Gaze at Fifty” and “Hoot,” adapted from Carl Hiaasen’s novel.
In his family, Buffett had his wife, Jane; daughters, Savannah and Sarah; and son, Cameron.