US singer Jimmy Buffett famed for song 'Margaritaville' dies 'peacefully' aged 76

US singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularised beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavoured song Margaritaville, has died aged 76.

A statement posted to Buffett's official website and social media pages late on Friday read: "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 till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”

The statement did not say where Buffett died or give a cause of death.

Illness had forced him to reschedule concerts in May and Buffett acknowledged in social media posts that he had been hospitalised, but provided no specifics.

Margaritaville was released on Valentine's day in 1977 and quickly took on a life of its own.

The song - from the album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes - spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at No 8.

Margaritaville was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016 for its cultural and historic significance, became a karaoke standard and helped brand Key West, Florida, as a distinct sound of music and a destination known the world over.

“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.”

The song soon inspired restaurants and resorts, turning Buffett’s alleged desire for the simplicity of island life into a multimillion brand.

He landed at No. 13 in Forbes’ America’s Richest Celebrities in 2016 with a net worth of $550 million (£436m).

However, music critics were never very kind to Buffett or his catalogue, including the sandy beach-side snack bar songs like Fins, Come Monday, and Cheeseburgers in Paradise.

But his legions of fans, called Parrotheads, regularly turned up for his concerts wearing toy parrots, cheeseburgers, sharks and flamingos on their heads, leis around their necks and loud Hawaiian shirts.

“It’s pure escapism is all it is,” he told the Republic.

“I’m not the first one to do it, nor shall I probably be the last. But I think it’s really a part of the human condition that you’ve got to have some fun.

"You’ve got to get away from whatever you do to make a living or other parts of life that stress you out. I try to make it at least 50/50 fun to work and so far it’s worked out.”

His special Gulf Coast mix of country, pop, folk and rock added instruments and tonalities more commonly found in the Caribbean, like steel drums.

Buffett’s incredible ear for hooks and light grooves were often overshadowed by his lyrics about fish tacos and sunsets.

James William Buffett was born on Christmas day 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and raised in the port town of Mobile, Alabama.

He graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and went from busking the streets of New Orleans to playing six nights a week at Bourbon Street clubs.

He released his first record, Down To Earth, in 1970 and issued seven more on a regular yearly clip, with his 1974 song Come Monday from his fourth studio album Living and Dying in ¾ Time, peaking at No 30, before his biggest hit Margaritaville.

He performed on more than 50 studio and live albums, often accompanied by his Coral Reefer Band, and was constantly on tour.

Buffett earned two Grammy Award nominations, two Academy of Country Music Awards and a Country Music Association Award.

He was actually in Austin, Texas, when the inspiration struck for Margaritaville, after he and a friend had stopped for lunch at a Mexican restaurant.

The pair were waiting at the airport for Buffett's flight home to Key West and began drinking margaritas. “And I kind of came up with that idea of this is just like Margarita-ville,” Buffett told the Republic.

“She kind of laughed at that and put me on the plane. And I started working on it.” Buffett wrote part of the song on the plane and finished it while driving down the Keys.

“There was a wreck on the bridge, and we got stopped for about an hour so I finished the song on the Seven Mile Bridge, which I thought was apropos,” he added.

Buffett also was the author of numerous books including Where Is Joe Merchant? and A Pirate Looks At Fifty, and added movies to his resume as co-producer and co-star of an adaptation of Carl Hiaasen’s novel Hoot.

He is survived by his wife, Jane, his daughters, Savannah and Sarah, and son, Cameron.

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