‘Margaritaville’ singer Jimmy Buffett, who turned beach-bum life into an empire, dies at 76
ByThe Associated Press and WFTV.com News Staff
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‘Margaritaville’ singer Jimmy Buffett dies at 76
ByThe Associated Press and WFTV.com News Staff
NEW YORK, NY — Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavored song “Margaritaville” and turned that celebration of loafing into an empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, has died. He was 76.
“Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,” a statement posted to Buffett’s official website and social media pages said late Friday. “He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”
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.
“Margaritaville,” released on Feb. 14, 1977, quickly took on a life of its own, becoming a state of mind for those “wastin’ away,” an excuse for a life of low-key fun and escapism for those “growing older, but not up.”
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.
“What 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,” Spin magazine wrote in 2021. “The 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 you’re not even sure when.”
The song — from the album “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” — 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.
“There was no such place as Margaritaville,” Buffett told the Arizona Republic in 2021. “It 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.”
Music critics were never very kind to Buffett or his catalogue, including the sandy beach-side snack bar songs like “Fins,” “Come Monday” and “Cheeseburgers in Paradise.” But his legions of fans, called “Parrotheads,” regularly turned up for his concerts wearing toy parrots, cheeseburgers, sharks and flamingos on their heads, leis around their necks and loud Hawaiian shirts.
“It’s pure escapism is all it is,” he told the Republic. “I’m not the first one to do it, nor shall I probably be the last. But I think it’s really a part of the human condition that you’ve got to have some fun. You’ve 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 it’s worked out.”
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. Buffett’s incredible ear for hooks and light grooves were often overshadowed by his lyrics about fish tacos and sunsets.
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Rolling Stone, in a review of Buffett’s 2020 album “Life on the Flip Side,” gave grudging props. “He continues mapping out his surfy, sandy corner of pop music utopia with the chill, friendly warmth of a multi-millionaire you wouldn’t mind sharing a tropically-themed 3 p.m. IPA with, especially if his gold card was on the bar when the last round came.”
Buffett’s 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 Café 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 décor, 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 o’Clock Somewhere Bar & Grill and LandShark Bar & Grill.
There also was a Broadway-bound jukebox musical, “Escape to Margaritaville,” a romantic comedy in which a singer-bartender called Sully 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, “Down To Earth,” in 1970 and issued seven more on a regular yearly clip, with his 1974 song “Come Monday” from his fourth studio album “Living and Dying in ¾ Time,” peaking at No. 30. Then came “Margaritaville.”
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 “Margaritaville.” 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.
“And I kind of came up with that idea of this is just like Margarita-ville,” Buffett told the Republic. “She kind of laughed at that and put me on the plane. And I started working on it.”
He wrote some on the plane and finished it while driving down the Keys. “There was a wreck on the bridge,” he said. “And we got stopped for about an hour so I finished the song on the Seven Mile Bridge, which I thought was apropos.”
Buffett also was the author of numerous books including “Where Is Joe Merchant?” and “A Pirate Looks At Fifty” and added movies to his resume as co-producer and co-star of an adaptation of Carl Hiaasen’s novel “Hoot.”
Buffett is survived by his wife, Jane; daughters, Savannah and Sarah; and son, Cameron.
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Jimmy Buffett NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - FEBRUARY 15: Jimmy Buffett participates in Arcade Fire's Krewe du Kanaval parade on February 15, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images) (ERIKA GOLDRING/Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Jimmy Buffett performs at Margaritaville Resort Times Square "First Look" at Margaritaville Resort Times Square on June 10, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images) (Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett Jimmy Buffett, Roger Waters and George Hamilton during 2006 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted by Graydon Carter at Morton's in Beverly Hills, California, United States. (Photo by E. Charbonneau/WireImage for Vanity Fair Magazine ) (E. Charbonneau/WireImage for Vanity Fair Magazine via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett Jimmy Buffett performs on April 6, 1983, in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Paul Natkin/WireImage) (Paul Natkin/WireImage via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 09: Jane Buffett and Jimmy Buffett attend the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 09, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic,) (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett Miami Heat fan Jimmy Buffett waits for the second quarter to start against the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday, May 22, 2013. (Michael Laughlin/Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) (Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett MIAMI GARDENS, FL - MAY 08: Jimmy Buffett poses with Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders for the renaming of Dolphin Stadium to LandShark Stadium on May 8, 2009 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images) (Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett 06/01/98 CREDIT: Gerald Martineau Park Hyatt Hotel 24th & M St, NW Jimmy Buffett interview Songwriter/singer Jimmy Buffett. (Photo by Gerald Martineau/The The Washington Post via Getty Images) (The Washington Post/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 10: Sean Payton, head coach of the New Orleans Saints, greets musician Jimmy Buffett following a game against the Dallas Cowboys at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 10, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans defeated Dallas 49-17. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 18: Musician Jimmy Buffett (C) and cast members arrive at Jimmy Buffett's "Escape To Margaritaville" L.A. Premiere Engagement at the Dolby Theatre on February 18, 2020 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images) (Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, daughter of Rita Hayworth, is joined by Jimmy Buffett at the 17th Annual Rita Hayworth Gala at the Waldorf-Astoria. The chartiy event raises money for Alzheimer's research. (Photo by Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images) (New York Daily News Archive/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett Unspecified - 1982: (L-R) Jimmy Buffett, Vasili Bogazianos appearing on Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images's 'All My Children'. (Photo by Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images) (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett 8-1987, 8/2/1987, JUL 29 1988, JUL 5 1989, JUN 26 1990 "Jimmy Buffet" Credit: The Denver Post (Denver Post via Getty Images) (Denver Post/Denver Post via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett Wantagh, N.Y.: Jimmy Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band performs at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theatre on August 10, 2021. (Photo by Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images) (Newsday LLC/Newsday via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett EAST HAMPTON, NY - AUGUST 11: Jimmy Buffett and James Taylor attend SONY CIERGE Lounge at the Social's James Taylor Concert at The Ross School on August 11, 2007 in East Hampton, NY. (Photo by NEIL RASMUS/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images) (Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 10: Kori Yoran, Jay Stein, Kylie Featherby, Chip Weiss, Tamara Baldanza-Dekker, guest, Sharif El-Gamal, David Crabtree, Jimmy Buffett and John Cohlan attend Margaritaville Resort Times Square "First Look" at Margaritaville Resort Times Square on June 10, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images) (Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 15: Jimmy Buffett and Pitbull onstage as Pitbull makes his broadway debut guest starring in the hit Jimmy Buffett Musical "Escape to Margaritaville" on Broadway at The Marquis Theatre on June 15, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic) (Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
Jimmy Buffett Jimmy Buffett and Alan Jackson perform the song "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere" (Photo by R. Diamond/WireImage) (R. Diamond/WireImage via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett Darrick Doener, Jeff Clark, Jimmy Buffett and Laird Hamilton attend Andrew Rosen, on behalf of Theory, Hosts a Post-Screening Dinner to Celebrate "Riding Giants" at the home of Andrew Rosen on July 2, 2004 in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images) (Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett LOS ANGELES - APRIL 4: The Late Late Show with James Corden airing Thursday, April 4, 2019, with guests Matthew McConaughey, Reba McEntire, Jimmy Buffett. (Photo by Terence Patrick/CBS via Getty Images) (CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 15: Jimmy Buffett and the cast during the curtain call at the Opening Night of The Jimmy Buffett Musical "Escape To Margaritaville" on Broadway at The Marquis Theatre on March 15, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic) (Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 18: Musician Jimmy Buffett (C) and cast members arrive at Jimmy Buffett's "Escape To Margaritaville" L.A. Premiere Engagement at the Dolby Theatre on February 18, 2020 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images) (Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett ATLANTA - SEPTEMBER 4: Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett performs with The Coral Reefer Band at The Omni Coliseum on September 4, 1976 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Tom Hill/WireImage) (Tom Hill/WireImage via Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 04: Multi-platinum selling music legend Jimmy Buffett (C) performs with the Broadway cast of the new musical ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE at the 2018 A Capitol Fourth at the U.S. Capitol, West Lawn on July 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Capital Concerts Inc.) (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Capital Concert)
Jimmy Buffett FRIDAYS - Show Coverage - Shoot Date: May 8, 1981. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
JIMMY BUFFETT (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
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