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Our rock stars are dying and now this.
Jimmy Buffet passed away last night.
Even calling him a rock star isn’t right. Jimmy Buffet was an everyman, that was his persona, that was his vibe, and he turned it into a business that made him a billionaire.
His songs celebrated a laid back Key West lifestyle and he built an empire touring endlessly basically around one song in particular, “Margaritaville.”
Like the Grateful Dead and Phish, Buffet had followers before there were followers, fans who embraced his laid-back lifestyle. They called themselves “Parrotheads,” and like Deadheads Buffet’s concerts were group celebrations that fans would travel the country to be part of, to get high on his music as well as on plenty of alcohol and pot.
And Buffet never stopped touring, he even had a new album he’d sneak peek every Friday at his online site.
Early in the 1970s, Jimmy Buffett was a little-known singer/songwriter who while, drinking a Margarita in a bar (hair of the dog) the day after a particularly rough night in Austin, Texas, came up with the beginnings of a song that changed everything.
By 1977, “Margaritaville” was a Top 10 hit, a song that has become a pop culture staple. And its name is now a brand used in chain of businesses and products, including books, restaurants, a radio channel, a cruise line and 55-and-older living communities, that Buffett oversaw.
And on April 12th Margaritaville was inducted into The Library of Congress National Recording Library joining classics like Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” and John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
The song struck a chord with American culture, Buffett told the Library, with people looking for a song to make them feel good and be happy.
“You’re lucky enough at some point to put your thumb on the pulse of something that people can connect with,” he said. “It’s an amazing and lucky thing to happen to you, and that happened with ‘Margaritaville.’”
Jimmy Buffett leaves behind his wife Jane Slagsvol and his three children: Savannah, Sarah and Cameron
This from family…
“Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, music and dogs. He lived his like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”
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Jimmy Buffett – (1946-2023)
