Jimmy Buffett, a singer-songwriter who made beach bum soft rock popular with the escapism song “Margaritaville” and converted that celebration of lazing into an empire of restaurants, resorts, and frozen concoctions, has passed away. 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 announcement omitted the location of Buffett’s death and his cause of death. Buffett confirmed in social media posts that he had been hospitalized but did not elaborate, saying that illness had forced him to change the dates of concerts in May.
“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 a leisurely portrayal of a lounging man watching tourists sunbathe on his front porch as a pot of shrimp starts to boil. The singer is regretting a past love, has a new tattoo, and probably has a hangover. A lost salt shaker is out there somewhere.
“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 and reached its highest position of No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Due to its cultural and historical significance, the song was accepted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016. It also helped establish Key West, Florida as a musical destination with a distinctive sound.
“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.”
Buffett’s purported desire for the ease of island life became a multimillion-dollar brand thanks to the song, which quickly became the inspiration for restaurants and resorts. With a net worth of $550 million, he came in at number 13 on Forbes’ list of the richest celebrities in America in 2016.
