American singer and songwriter Jimmy Buffett has died at the age of 76.
The musician best known for his hit Margaritaville died in his sleep, according to a report.
A statement on his account on X, formerly known as Twitter, said: “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 until his last breath and will be missed immeasurably by so many.”
Buffett popularized beach bum soft rock and turned the bun’s celebration into an empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions.
Buffett was born on Christmas Day 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and grew up in the port city of Mobile, Alabama. He graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg and went from busking on the streets of New Orleans to playing Bourbon Street clubs six nights a week.
He released his first record, Down to Earth, in 1970. He has performed on more than 50 studio and live albums, often with his band Coral Reefer, and is constantly on tour. He has received two Grammy Award nominations, two Academy of Country Music Awards, and one Country Music Association Award.
Margaritaville, his biggest hit, was released in 1977. The song is an unhurried portrait of a loafer on his front porch watching tourists bask in the sun as the shrimp pot begins to boil.
It became a coastal standard and inspired a generation of fans – known as Parrotheads – who celebrated the easy life.
Spin magazine wrote in 2021: “Getting Pluto and mending a broken heart becomes a profound meditation on the often painful inactivity on the beach,” Spin magazine writes in 2021. Others. Waves rise and break whether there is anyone to witness it or not. Everything that means anything has already happened, and you don’t know when.
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The album’s track, Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at number 8. Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016 for its cultural and historical significance, it became karaoke. Consistent and helped brand Key West, Florida as a place with a unique musical sound and known around the world.
“There’s no place like Margaritaville,” Buffett told The Arizona Republic in 2021. “It was a place that was created in my mind, basically based on my experiences in Key West and having to get out of Key West and go on the road. Work and come back and spend time at the beach.
The song inspired restaurants and resorts, turning Buffett’s alleged desire for the simplicity of island life into a multimillion-dollar brand. He was ranked 13th on Forbes’ 2016 list of America’s Richest Celebrities with a net worth of $550 million.
