Singer-Songwriter Jimmy Buffett Has Died

Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who wrote such popular songs as “Margaritaville” and “Cheeseburger In Paradise,” has died. The musician beloved by a legion of Parrothead fans was 76 years old.

Buffett’s death was confirmed in a message posted on his website. The message stated:

“Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st, surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs. He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”

Jimmy Buffett was born on December 25, 1946, in Pascagoula, Mississippi. He was raised in Mobile, Alabama. As an adolescent, Buffett played trombone while attending grade school.

During one year spent at Auburn University, Buffett saw one of his fraternity brothers playing guitar and getting the attention of female classmates, which prompted Buffett to take up guitar.

Buffett’s grandpa, James Delaney Buffett, captained a steamship, and the Gulf Of Mexico region Jimmy grew up in was a source of inspiration when he began writing songs. According to Buffett’s website:

After graduation, Jimmy headed to Nashville to work for Billboard Magazine and to try his luck as a folk-country singer, releasing his first record, “Down To Earth” in 1970. However, it was a fateful trip to Key West, Florida with Jerry Jeff Walker in 1971 that would give Jimmy the inspiration to merge his musicality, wanderlust and storytelling.

Key West in the 1970s was not the tourist-friendly town it is today – it was the last outpost of smugglers, conmen, artists and free-spirits who simply couldn’t run any further south in the mainland United States. It was there that the young musician thrown into the midst of this eclectic mix found his true voice as a songwriter – telling the stories of the wanderers, the adventurers and the forlorn.

In 1974, his song “Come Monday” from the fourth studio album “Living and Dying in 3/4 Time” entered the Billboard charts, eventually peaking at #30. That year found Jimmy touring solo-acoustic and performing at well-known folk venues across the country, from the Troubadour in Los Angeles to Club Passim in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He hasn’t stopped touring since.

And then in 1977 came “Margaritaville.” A laid-back anthem about escapism and life in the tropics, the song spent 22 weeks on the Billboard chart, peaking at #8. It catapulted Jimmy to national fame and, nearly a decade later, inspired Jimmy to launch a business empire.

Other well-known songs written by Buffett include “A Pirate Looks At Forty,” “Fins,” “Volcano,” “Why Don’t We Get Drunk,” “Pencil Thin Mustache,” and “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.” In 2003, Buffett teamed with country singer Alan Jackson on the chart-topping hit “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.” He again had a topped the charts in 2011 with the Zac Brown Band on the song “Knee Deep.”

Buffett was known for performing energetic live shows and he toured throughout his career with his backing group the Coral Reefer Band. Parrotheads partied in parking lots before shows, many wearing island attire, blending margaritas and eating cheeseburgers. Concerts frequently incorporated the fans interacting with Buffett and his band.

Buffett was also a successful author and restaurant owner. Buffett recently announced a new album, Equal Strain On All Parts, with a release date expected later this year.