Legendary musician Jimmy Buffett dies at 76
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Legendary singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett died Friday night at age 76. The musician was known for popular hits like “Margaritaville” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise.”
Buffett is credited with creating “beach bum soft rock,” The Associated Press reported. He “turned that celebration of loafing into a billion-dollar empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions.”
“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 reads. “He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”
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The statement did not list a cause of death or where Buffett was when he died. According to AP News, he did reschedule concerts in May due to an illness, but there are no details on what the illness was.
Who was Jimmy Buffett?
Buffett was born in Pascagoula, Missouri, on Dec. 25, 1946, The New York Times reported. He was raised in the Roman Catholic faith in Mobile, Alabama, where he played trombone at St. Ignatius Catholic School.
He started his career performing in local night clubs while studying at the University of Southern Mississippi where he graduated with a history degree. In the early 1970s, Buffett visited Key West, Florida, and fell in love with the island.
“When I found Key West and the Caribbean, I wasn’t really successful yet,” Buffett told The Washington Post during a 1989 interview. “But I found a lifestyle, and I knew that whatever I did would have to work around my lifestyle.”
“Margaritaville” was the first song to skyrocket his fame in 1977, Deseret News reported. Buffett also found success as an accomplished author, joining the ranks of Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck and only four other authors to “top both The Times’s fiction and nonfiction best-seller lists.”
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