Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavored song 91裸聊视频淢argaritaville91裸聊视频� and turned that celebration of loafing into a billion-dollar empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, has died. He was 76.
91裸聊视频淛immy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,91裸聊视频� a statement posted to and social media pages said late Friday. 91裸聊视频淗e lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.91裸聊视频�
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.
91裸聊视频淢argaritaville,91裸聊视频� released on Feb. 14, 1977, quickly took on a life of its own, becoming a state of mind for those 91裸聊视频漺astin91裸聊视频� away,91裸聊视频� an excuse for a life of low-key fun and escapism for those 91裸聊视频済rowing older, but not up.91裸聊视频�
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.
91裸聊视频淲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,91裸聊视频� Spin magazine wrote in 2021. 91裸聊视频淭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 you91裸聊视频檙e not even sure when.91裸聊视频�
The song 91裸聊视频� from the album 91裸聊视频淐hanges in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� 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.
91裸聊视频淭here was no such place as Margaritaville,91裸聊视频� Buffett told the Arizona Republic in 2021. 91裸聊视频淚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.91裸聊视频�
The song soon inspired restaurants and resorts, turning . He landed at No. 18 in Forbes91裸聊视频� list of the Richest Celebrities of All Time with a net worth of $1 billion.
Buffett91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频渕usic brought happiness to millions of people. I91裸聊视频檒l always be grateful for his kindness, generosity, and great performances through the years,91裸聊视频� 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 91裸聊视频淔ins,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淐ome Monday91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淐heeseburgers in Paradise.91裸聊视频� But his legions of fans, called 91裸聊视频淧arrotheads,91裸聊视频� regularly turned up for his concerts wearing toy parrots, cheeseburgers, sharks and flamingos on their heads, leis around their necks and loud Hawaiian shirts.
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 pure escapism is all it is,91裸聊视频� he told the Republic. 91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 not the first one to do it, nor shall I probably be the last. But I think it91裸聊视频檚 really a part of the human condition that you91裸聊视频檝e got to have some fun. You91裸聊视频檝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 it91裸聊视频檚 worked out.91裸聊视频�
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. Buffett91裸聊视频檚 incredible ear for hooks and light grooves were often overshadowed by his lyrics about fish tacos and sunsets.
Rolling Stone, in a review of Buffett91裸聊视频檚 2020 album 91裸聊视频淟ife on the Flip Side,91裸聊视频� gave grudging props. 91裸聊视频淗e continues mapping out his surfy, sandy corner of pop music utopia with the chill, friendly warmth of a multi-millionaire you wouldn91裸聊视频檛 mind sharing a tropically-themed 3 p.m. IPA with, especially if his gold card was on the bar when the last round came.91裸聊视频�
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 91裸聊视频渓ived life to the fullest and the world will miss him.91裸聊视频� Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys wrote: 91裸聊视频淟ove and Mercy, Jimmy Buffett.91裸聊视频�
Buffett91裸聊视频檚 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 o91裸聊视频機lock Somewhere Bar & Grill and LandShark Bar & Grill.
There also was a Broadway-bound jukebox musical, 91裸聊视频淓scape to Margaritaville,91裸聊视频� 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, 91裸聊视频淒own To Earth,91裸聊视频� in 1970 and issued seven more on a regular yearly clip, with his 1974 song 91裸聊视频淐ome Monday91裸聊视频� from his fourth studio album 91裸聊视频淟iving and Dying in 戮 Time,91裸聊视频� peaking at No. 30. Then came 91裸聊视频淢argaritaville.91裸聊视频�
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 91裸聊视频淢argaritaville.91裸聊视频� 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.
91裸聊视频淎nd I kind of came up with that idea of this is just like Margarita-ville,91裸聊视频� Buffett told the Republic. 91裸聊视频淪he kind of laughed at that and put me on the plane. And I started working on it.91裸聊视频�
He wrote some on the plane and finished it while driving down the Keys. 91裸聊视频淭here was a wreck on the bridge,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淎nd we got stopped for about an hour so I finished the song on the Seven Mile Bridge, which I thought was apropos.91裸聊视频�
Buffett also was the author of numerous books including 91裸聊视频淲here Is Joe Merchant?91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淎 Pirate Looks At Fifty91裸聊视频� and added movies to his resume as co-producer and co-star of an adaptation of Carl Hiaasen91裸聊视频檚 novel 91裸聊视频淗oot.91裸聊视频�
Buffett is survived by his wife, Jane; daughters, Savannah and Sarah; and son, Cameron.
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
