Jimmy Buffett celebrated life like a song

American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett who died on September 1, will be remembered not only for his music, which celebrated the joys and charm of island escapism but also for his creativity and business acuity.

James William Buffett aka Jimmy passed away peacefully surrounded by his family (wife, two daughters and a son), friends, music and dogs. He was 76. “He lived his life like a song and till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many,” a statement on his official website said.

Indeed, life was a song for Jimmy who had several hits to his credit with one of his earliest numbers ‘Margaritaville’ remaining popular to this day.

Released in 1977 as part of his album ‘Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes’, the track soon became Jimmy’s top hit and signature song. ‘Margaritaville’ with its country, folksy feel was pure escapism alluding to a state of mind, rather than a certain place, signifying a carefree attitude about life’s worries.

The music and the lyrics quickly resonated with music lovers, taking the song to number one on the US’ Billboard Adult Contemporary chart as well as to the number one slot in Canada. It attained a peak position of number eight on the Hot 100. ‘Margaritaville’ earned Jimmy national fame, and about a decade later inspired him to launch a business empire, eventually becoming the name and basis for his entire franchise.

Four and a half decades on, the opening lines of Jimmy’s hit song remains popular and identifiable:

Nibblin’ on sponge cake
Watchin’ the sun bake
All of those tourists covered with oil
Strummin’ my six string on
my front porch swing
Smell those shrimp they’re
beginnin’ to boil…

In a career spanning over 50 years with nominations for two Grammy awards, Jimmy who dubbed his music as “drunken Caribbean rock ‘n’ roll” had other hits that include ‘Fins’, ‘Come Monday’, ‘Son of a Son of a Sailor’, ‘It’s 5 o’clock Somewhere’, ‘Trip Around the Sun’, ‘Volcano’ and some more.

Not surprisingly, Jimmy’s popular signature blend of folk, country and Caribbean music coupled with his “beach bum” lifestyle attracted a loyal following of millions of fans who called themselves “Parrotheads”. They went to his concerts wearing Hawaiian shirts, beach linen pants, flamingo hats, and toy parrots.

Many of these took to X (formerly Twitter) to pay tributes to their idol on hearing the sad news. “RIP to the troubadour of my youth,” wrote one while another wrote, “So many great memories at Jimmy’s shows. This is a hard one.”

Some of Jimmy’s songs such as ‘Jamaica Mistaica’, ‘Buffet Hotel’ and ‘A Pirate Looks at 40’ reflected his travels as a pilot and sailor. His less-known songs ‘He Went to Paris’ and ‘Death of an Unpopular Poet’ echoed the observational, storytelling skills that Jimmy developed in his early career as a journalist for the ‘Billboard’ magazine. In fact, these songs came in for praise from the legendary Bob Dylan, according to Jimmy’s website.

A Broadway musical ‘Escape to Margaritaville’ based on Jimmy’s songs debuted in 2017.

Music apart, the gifted Jimmy was a successful author whose works of fiction and non-fiction — ‘Tales from Margaritaville’, ‘A Pirate Looks at Fifty’, ‘Licence to Chill’ etc — became bestsellers. What made Jimmy a financially successful musician was his business acumen, enabling him to build a diversified lifestyle brand business including Margaritaville hotels, restaurants and retirement communities. He became a billionaire in 2023, according to Forbes.

Born as James William Buffett on Christmas Day in 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Jimmy homed in on music despite earning a bachelor’s degree in
history.

He attributed his audience-connect and charisma to his early years of singing and playing in the streets and bars of New Orleans. Performers who took themselves very seriously made him edgy and he believed that “the job of singing for a living was descended from the profession of court jester”.

With 36 albums under his belt, Jimmy continued to perform regularly even as he battled a rare type of cancer. He was hospitalised in May this year but made a surprise appearance at a show in July, embodying his carefree lifestyle through music until the end.

The world may have lost Jimmy but he will live on forever through his wonderful, laid-back treasure-trove of music. As US President Joe Biden aptly said in his tribute: “An American music icon who inspired generations to step back and find the joy in life and in one another.”