Jimmy Buffett obit

Jimmy Buffett, legendary 'Margaritaville' singer, dies at 76

The singer, who dubbed his brand of music “drunken Caribbean rock ‘n’ roll,” was also an astute businessman with a sprawling restaurant, resort and radio empire. 

He was not on the list.

Jimmy Buffett, the singer-songwriter who drew millions of fans with his folksy tales of living and loving on tropical sandy beaches, frozen concoction in hand, died Friday. He was 76.

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

The statement didn't say where Buffett died or provide a cause of death. The singer had rescheduled concerts in May, and Buffett said on social media that he had been hospitalized.

Buffett, who dubbed his brand of music “drunken Caribbean rock ‘n’ roll,” is arguably best known for “Margaritaville,” which was released in 1977 and launched him into national fame and into the history of American music. The song went on to inspire a brand, which included restaurants and resorts, a radio station, clothing and apparel, as well as food and drink items like beer, tequila, salad dressings and salsa. It also helped make him a billionaire, with Forbes this month placing his real-time net worth at $1 billion.

But in an apparent nod to his business pursuits in the song “A Pirate Looks at Forty,” Buffett sang that he “made enough money to buy Miami, but I pissed it away so fast. Never meant to last, never meant to last.” 

Buffett was nominated for two Grammy Awards, for “Hey Good Lookin’” — a cover of the Hank Williams classic — and “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” a duet with country superstar Alan Jackson.

Elton John was among several stars to pay tribute to Buffett, calling him a “unique and treasured entertainer,” in a post on Instagram Stories. “His fans adored him and he never let them down. This is the saddest of news, a lovely man gone way too soon,” John wrote.

Actor Miles Teller also posted several photos of him with the singer on X, formerly known as Twitter. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys also took to X, where he wrote, “Love and Mercy, Jimmy Buffett.” 

Fans, affectionately dubbed “Parrotheads,” were also quick to pay tribute to the singer, who was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on Christmas Day 1946. He was brought up mainly in Mobile, Alabama.

Many cited “One Particular Harbor” when remembering the singer: “But there’s one particular harbor/ So far yet so near/ Where I see the days as they fade away/ And finally disappear.”

After learning guitar at college — he attended Alabama's Auburn University before graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi — he began busking on the streets of New Orleans before going on to form his first band.

He later moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to work for Billboard Magazine and try his luck as a singer, the biography says. But it was in Key West, Florida, in the 1970s, that Buffett “found his true voice,” according to his website.

Fellow country singer Jerry Jeff Walker first let him stay at his Coconut Grove home, and then they drove in a 1947 Packard to Key West, he told graduating students at the University of Miami, where he received an honorary doctorate in music in May 2015.

“Needless to say, my life took a big and wonderful change towards South Florida, which has a lot to do with why I’m standing here today,” he said, while wearing flip-flops below the academic robes.

Touring and recording with the Coral Reefer Band, he would go on to make 27 studio albums — four went platinum and eight gold — in a career that spanned more than five decades.

Buffett also appeared on TV and movies, wrote fiction and nonfiction books, including “Tales from Margaritaville,” “A Pirate Looks At Fifty,” as well as “Where Is Joe Merchant?,” and his work became a musical.

He popped up in the film “Jurassic World” as “running park visitor with margarita drinks,” as IMDB put it. He carried two, one in each hand.

And Buffett guest-starred in the Tom Selleck show “Blue Bloods,” playing both himself and a virtual double who posed as the singer and scammed people.

A Broadway show based on his music, “Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville,” debuted in 2017. 

In a recent interview, Buffett said his life-long love of reading came from his mother, Mary Lorraine Buffett, who also wanted him to be a writer.

“I think she knew that for us to read we would see the world as a bigger place than where we grew up, which was a great gift,” he said.

He also dedicated some of his time to charity, starting the “Save the Manatee Club,” a nonprofit group that seeks to protect the large, docile marine mammals from boating injuries and harm by the actions of people.

In a 2017 interview with Men’s Journal, Buffett was asked what remained on his bucket list. “I have four things: Learn to hang ten. Go to space. Go to Pitcairn Island, where my Buffett ancestors are from. And go to Antarctica,” he said.

The singer is survived by his wife, Jane Slagsvol, two daughters, Savannah and Sarah, and son, Cameron.

Filmography

Film

Year        Title        Role       Notes

1973     Introducing Jimmy Buffett             Himself documentary short

1973     Tarpon  Unknown role    documentary

1975     Rancho Deluxe   Himself also composer

1978     FM         Himself

1984     Repo Man           Additional Blonde Agent              

1986     Live by the Bay  Himself concert film; also executive producer

1986     Doctor Duck's Secret All-Purpose Sauce  Himself direct-to-video

1991     Hook     Shoe-Stealing Pirate        cameo

1994     Cobb     The Armless Guy              

1995     Congo   727 Pilot             

1998     Hemingway: Take Nothing            Himself direct-to-video; documentary

1999     Music Bridges Over Troubled Water          Himself documentary

2000     Tales from MargaritaVision          Himself direct-to-video; also executive producer

2004     Bridge to Havana              Himself documentary

2006     Hoot      Mr. Ryan              also producer and composer

2006     Sun Dogs                             documentary; producer

2007     Live in Anguilla  Himself direct-to-video; concert film, also producer

2008     Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson       Himself documentary

2009     Scenes You Know by Heart            Himself direct-to-video; concert film, also producer

2012     Basically Frightened: The Musical Madness of Colonel Bruce Hampton     Himself documentary

2012     OnePeople: The Celebration        Himself documentary

2015     Jurassic World   Running Park Visitor with Margarita Drinks (Himself)        uncredited

2017     Parrot Heads      Himself documentary

2018     Up the Stairs      Principal Anderson          short film

2018     Billionaire Boys Club        Police Captain   

2018     The Wall's Embrace         Himself documentary short

2019     The Beach Bum Himself

2020     Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President         Himself documentary

TBA        Under the Volcano           Unknown role   

 

Television

Year        Title        Role       Notes

1974     Your Hit Parade Himself one episode

1978     Saturday Night Live          Himself one episode

1981–92              The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson              Himself eight episodes

1981     Fridays  Himself one episode

1982     I Love Liberty      Himself TV special

1982     SCTV Network   Himself one episode

1977–1984         Austin City Limits              Himself two episodes[76][77]

1983–85              Late Night with David Letterman Himself two episodes

1984     Nashville Now   Himself one episode

1987     Cinemax Sessions             Himself one episode

1988     Breaking All the Rules                     TV film; composer

1989–2020         Today    Himself eight episodes

1991     Voices That Care               Himself TV special

1992     New Orleans Live!            Himself TV concert special

1992     Hurricane Relief Himself TV concert special

1993     Johnny Bago                       eight episodes; theme music composer

1994–2008         Late Show with David Letterman                Himself five episodes

1995–2003         The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Himself six episodes

1997     Music for Montserrat     Himself TV concert special

1998–2005         Late Night with Conan O'Brien    Himself two episodes

1998     Elmopalooza      Himself TV special

1998     Brian Wilson's Imagination           Himself TV documentary

1998     From the Earth to the Moon        First Journalist   one episode

1998     Time & Again     Himself one episode

2002     Closeups              Himself one episode

2004–06              60 Minutes         Himself two episodes

2004–08              Live! with Regis and Kelly              Himself three episodes

2005–13              The Ellen DeGeneres Show          Himself two episodes

2008     Cubs Forever: Celebrating 60 Years of WGN-TV and the Chicago Cubs        Himself TV special

2009     Late Night with Jimmy Fallon       Himself one episode

2010     CMT Crossroads Himself one episode

2010     Bridge School News         Himself one episode

2010     Jimmy Buffett & Friends: Live from the Gulf Coast              Himself TV concert special

2010     CMT Insider        Himself two episodes

2010     The Gulf Is Back Himself TV concert special

2011–20              Hawaii Five-0     Frank Bama         recurring guest star; seven episodes

2013     Boston Strong: An Evening of Support and Celebration     Himself TV concert special

2013     Kokua for the Philippines               Himself TV concert special

2014–22              The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon  Himself three episodes

2017     NCIS: New Orleans           Himself one episode

2017     The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival         Himself TV special

2018     CBS News Sunday Morning          Himself one episode

2018     The View              Himself one episode

2018     Megyn Kelly Today           Himself one episode

2018     Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen         Himself one episode

2018     Buried Treasure Himself TV film

2019     The Late Late Show with James Corden   Himself one episode

2019     Wheel of Fortune             Himself two episodes

2020     Celebrity Page    Himself one episode

2020     Willie Nelson: American Outlaw Himself TV special

2022     Blue Bloods        Dickie Delaney

Himself  one episode