By Henry Austin and Phil Helsel - NBC News
Jimmy Buffett, the musician and singer who captivated millions of fans with his folkloric compositions about life and love on paradisiacal tropical beaches, with an icy cocktail always at hand, died Friday at age 76.
"Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1 surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs," says a statement on his website, "lived his life as a song until his last breath, and will be missed immeasurably by so many."
The statement did not explain where he died or from what cause. The singer had postponed concerts in May, and explained on social media that he had been hospitalized. He is survived by his wife, Jane Slagsvol, his two daughters, Savannah and Sarah, and his son, Cameron.
Buffett, who baptized his musical style as "drunken Caribbean rock 'n' roll", is undoubtedly best known for Margaritaville, which was published in 1977 and launched him to fame in the United States and the history of American music.
This song inspired an entire brand, including restaurants and tourist accommodations, a radio station, clothing and other apparel, and food and beverages such as beers, tequila and salsas. It also helped him become the millionaire: Forbes magazine this month quantified his fortune at 1,000 million dollars.
In his song A Pirate Looks at Forty, Buffett explained that he "made enough money to buy Miami, but he squandered it very quickly, it was never meant to last, it was never meant to last."
Buffett was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Hey Good Lookin', a cover of the Hank Williams classic, and for It's Five O'Clock Somewhere, a duet with country superstar Alan Jackson.
Hollywood star Miles Teller was one of many who paid tribute to him after his death, posting several photos with Buffett on the social network X (formerly known as Twitter), along with lyrics of his songs. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys also took to this network to write: "Love and mercy, Jimmy Buffett."
His fans, who affectionately called themselves parrotheads, were also quick to pay tribute to the musician, who was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi on Christmas Day 1946, but grew up mostly in Mobile, Alabama.
Many cited One Particular Harbor to remember the artist: "But there is a bay in particular, so far away but so close at the same time, in which I see the days fade until at last disappear."
He found "his true voice" in Florida
After learning to play guitar in college (he studied in Auburn, Alabama, and ended up graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi), he began playing in the streets of New Orleans until forming his first band.
He then moved to Nashville, Tennessee to work at Billboard magazine and try his luck as a singer, according to his biography. But it was in Key West, Florida, in the 1970s that he "found his true voice," according to his website.
Country singer Jerry Jeff Walker allowed him to stay at his home in Coconut Grove, Miami, and from there they drove in a 1947 Packard car to Key West, he told students at a University of Miami graduation ceremony where he received an honorary doctorate in May 2015.
"Needless to say, my life took a big, wonderful turn to South Florida, which has a lot to do with why I'm here today now," he explained at the event, wearing beach sandals under his academic gown.
Jimmy Buffett performs after the premiere of "Jurassic World" in Los Angeles in 2015. Matt Sayles/Invision/AP
With the Coral Reefer Band he recorded 27 studio albums (four went platinum and eight went gold) in a touring career that spanned five decades. He also appeared in films and on television, wrote fiction and non-fiction books; and saw his play become a Broadway musical, Jimmy Buffett's Escape to Margaritaville, which opened in 2017.
He appeared in the movie Jurassic World as a visitor to the dinosaur park who ran with a daisy in each hand, according to the IMDB film website. And he acted as a special guest in the movie Blue Bloods, playing himself and an identical double who posed as him to scam people.
Buffett wrote numerous books, including Tales from Margaritaville, A Pirate Looks At Fifty, and Where Is Joe Merchant?.
In a recent interview, the singer said his life as a reader was due to his mother, Mary Lorraine Buffett, who also wanted him to be a writer. "I think he knew that for us to read it would allow us to see that the world was much bigger than where we grew up, which was an excellent gift," she explained.
He also dedicated part of his time to social works, creating a non-profit organization called Save he Manatee Club to protect these docile marine mammals from the injuries caused by boats and the damage caused by humans.
In an interview in Men's Journal magazine in 2017, Buffett was asked what he had left to do before he died: "Four things: learn hang ten [a surf pirouette]; go into space; going to Pitcairn Island [in the Pacific Ocean], where my ancestors come from; and go to Antarctica."