Jimmy Buffett, the singer-songwriter who constructed an empire off his catalog of escapist listening tunes, has died. “Jimmy handed away peacefully on the night time of September 1st surrounded by his household, buddies, music and canine,” reads a message posted on his web site and social media pages. “He lived his life like a tune until the final breath and will likely be missed past measure by so many.” Buffett was 76 years outdated.
Whereas a reason behind demise was not offered, Buffett had canceled a present in Charleston, South Carolina, in Might, having been hospitalized upon getting back from a trip within the Bahamas. “Rising outdated will not be for sissies, I promise you,” he mentioned in an announcement on the time. Buffett had beforehand canceled a handful of exhibits in October 2022 after one other sudden hospitalization.
Jimmy Buffett was finest identified for his free, laidback songs, which have been laced with mischief, and inspired a laissez-faire way of life with humor and colourful imagery. He constructed a passionate fan base of self-proclaimed Parrot Heads in america, a devotion that helped gas an enormous Margaritaville-branded empire of eating places, dwelling items, resorts, retirement communities, a jukebox musical on Broadway, and extra. On the time of his demise, Forbes had estimated Buffett’s web value to be $1 billion.
James William “Jimmy” Buffett was born on Christmas Day in 1946 and he grew up across the Gulf Coast of america. Buffett’s regional roots and some years in Key West, Florida, fueled the songs he began writing about lackadaisical characters in search of an escape. He drew vital affect from nation music in his twangy instrumentation, which remained a gentle presence at the same time as he carved out his distinctive “trop rock” lane later in his profession. And, regardless of its upbeat sensibilities, Buffett’s songwriting typically had a downcast edge that attested to the drudgery of on a regular basis life.
Like many musicians attempting to make it huge, Buffett hung out in Nashville and even labored for a time as a Billboard correspondent for the Music Metropolis. He launched his debut, Right down to Earth, in 1970. The following yr, a pal from Nashville, the outlaw nation singer Jerry Jeff Walker, introduced Buffett to Key West, altering the trajectory of his music, profession, and life.
Buffett’s time within the Florida locale, and, in reality, a while away from Key West, finally led to his defining tune: “I got here to Austin so much in these days. I made it there by getting these school bookings and getting on Willie [Nelson]’s second Fourth of July picnic,” Buffett recalled within the wake of Walker’s demise in 2020. “I performed Citadel Creek many instances. I feel it was after a kind of exhibits, the subsequent morning I had a hangover and I needed to fly dwelling that afternoon. I went to El Rey, a Mexican restaurant on Anderson Lane for lunch. I had a margarita, which helped with the hangover, and within the automobile on the way in which to the airport the refrain of a brand new tune began to return to me. I wrote slightly extra on the airplane and completed the remainder of ‘Margaritaville’ again in Key West.”