American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, author of the hit Margaritaville, has died at the age of 76. “Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1, surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,” read a statement posted on Mr. Buffett’s official website and on his social media channels. . “He lived his life like a song until his last breath and he will be missed by many,” it added.
The press release does not give more details about the circumstances of his death. But the disease had forced him to postpone concerts in May, Mr. Buffett having confided on social networks that he had been hospitalized, without giving further details.
“Margaritaville”, standard of karaoke in the United States
Born on December 25, 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Jimmy Buffett grew up in the port city of Mobile, Alabama. He released his first record, Down to Earth, in 1970 and released seven more at a steady pace. The song Come Monday, taken from his fourth studio album Living and Dying in ¾ Time, notably ranked in 1974 at number 30 on the charts in the United States.
Then came Margaritaville, the hit of a lifetime, released on February 14, 1977 and quickly becoming a hit. “What seems like a simple ditty about getting drunk and mending a broken heart turns out to be a deep meditation on the often painful inertia of beach life,” Spin magazine wrote in 2021.
Taken from the album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, the song spent twenty-two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, ranking at number 8. Hugely popular in the United States, where she became a karaoke standard and helped make Key West, Florida a distinct music and world-famous destination, she was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016 for its cultural and historical significance.
Throughout his life, Jimmy Buffett took part in more than 50 studio and live albums, often accompanied by his Coral Reefer Band, and was constantly on tour. He earned two Grammy Award nominations, two Academy of Country Music Awards and a Country Music Association Award. But music critics have never been kind to Mr. Buffett or his repertoire, including his “beach snack bar” songs like Fins, Come Monday, or Cheeseburgers in Paradise.
He was greeted at each of his concerts by his legions of fans, called “Parrot Heads”, who regularly came with parrots, toys, cheeseburgers, sharks and flamingos on their heads, flower necklaces around their necks and garish Hawaiian shirts, to celebrate his jovial music. “It’s pure escapism, that’s all it is,” he told the Arizona Republic in 2021. “I’m not the first to do it, and I probably won’t be the last. »
His style, a mixture of country, pop, folk and rock, has been enriched over the years with instruments and tones more commonly found in the Caribbean, such as steel drums. The leading music magazine Rolling Stones, in a review of the 2020 album Life on the Flip Side, showered him with praise, humorously commenting: “He continues to write pop music’s utopia with the warmth cold and friendly of a multimillionaire you wouldn’t hesitate to share an IPA [beer] with in a tropical atmosphere at 3 p.m., especially if his Gold card was on the bar when the last round took place. »
A beach brand that has become a financial empire
Jimmy Buffett’s most famous song has indeed allowed him above all to make his life an empire, inspiring the creation of restaurants, resorts and related products, transforming his supposed desire for the simplicity of island life into a brand. to several million dollars. In 2016, he ranked thirteenth among the richest American celebrities, according to Forbes, with a net worth of $550 million.
The evolution of Mr. Buffett’s brand began in 1985 with the opening of a series of Margaritaville-themed stores and restaurants in Key West, followed in 1987 by the opening of the first Margaritaville Café nearby. . Over the next two decades, dozens of such establishments opened in Florida, New Orleans and California.
The brand has since expanded into dozens of categories, including resorts, men’s and women’s apparel and footwear, a radio station, a beer brand, iced tea, tequila and rum. , home decor and food items like salad dressing, and even a cruise line “Margaritaville at Sea.” There is even a romantic musical, Escape to Margaritaville, based on the famous song.
