“Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1 surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs. He lived his life like a song until his last breath and he will be sorely missed by so many,” says Jimmy Buffett’s official website. The singer-songwriter and performer of the famous song Margaritaville, died Friday at the age of 76. At this time, the causes of death are unknown.
Born on Christmas Day 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Jimmy Buffett has achieved 27 studio albums – including four platinum and eight gold. He rose to prominence in the late 70s with his seventh album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, featuring the title track Margaritaville, celebrating drinking, partying and relaxing on the beach. The song will ensure him fame and a more than comfortable income.
Hotel complex, amusement arcades, restaurant chain, radio station, beer brand, books… the title has become a brand that has propelled the singer to the head of a veritable empire. In 2023, Forbes magazine estimated his fortune at 1 billion dollars, recalls the New York times.
Jimmy Buffett also found success as a writer. His novels, not translated into French, Tales from Margaritaville (Contes de Margaritaville), Where is Joe Merchant? (Where’s Joe Merchant?) and his memoir A Pirate Looks at Fifty all reached No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
Over the course of a career spanning fifty years, the singer, a true one-man band, has frequented numerous television sets and embarked on the cinema, composing film music and appearing in a few feature films.