HIGHLIGHTS: “Margaritaville” legend Jimmy Buffett died this past Friday at the age of 76. He’d been battling a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma for about four years.
FULL STORY: Summer is coming to a close, and sadly, it was our last with “Margaritaville” legend Jimmy Buffett.
Jimmy passed away on Friday at the age of 76. He’d been battling a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma. He’d been fighting it for about four years.
His last show was a surprise appearance in Rhode Island in early July.
Jimmy was born on Christmas Day in 1946 down in Mississippi. He grew up in Alabama . . . but returned to attend the University of Southern Mississippi.
After graduating in 1969, he performed in the streets and bars of New Orleans . . . and he became known as a FUN performer who didn’t take himself too seriously.
His biggest hit “Margaritaville” came out in 1977 . . . but around that time, he also put out “Come Monday”, “Fins”, “Volcano”, “A Pirate Looks at Forty”, “Cheeseburger in Paradise”, “Why Don’t We Get Drunk”, “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes”, and “Son of a Son of a Sailor”.
Later in his career, he made a major mark on country music, and shared in success with Alan Jackson (“It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere”) . . . Zac Brown Band (“Knee Deep”) . . . and Clint Black, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Alan Jackson, and George Strait (“Hey, Good Lookin'”).
In addition to music, he launched a massive hospitality business around Margaritaville . . . became a best-selling author . . . and led a devoted fanbase of “Parrotheads.” All that earned him a net worth of more than $1 BILLION.
Jimmy released more than 30 albums in his career, and a few weeks before his death, he was promoting an upcoming album called “Equal Strain on All Parts“. It’s unclear if that’s still coming out.
Paul McCartney posted a long tribute online, where he said, quote, “Right up to the last minute his eyes still twinkled with a humor that said, ‘I love this world and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it.'”
(You can find a TROVE of tributes to Jimmy, here, here, and here.)
(JimmyBuffett.com / Wikipedia / People)
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