Margaritaville singer Jimmy Buffett dies aged 76

The American musician - whose hit ode to "wastin' away" in a tropical paradise spawned a restaurant franchise and more - passed away "peacefully" surrounded by family.

Musician Jimmy Buffett, best known for his hit song Margaritaville, has died at the age of 76. Source: Getty / Rick Diamond

Key Points

• American musician Jimmy Buffett "passed away peacefully" surrounded by family and friends on Friday.
• The singer-songwriter's breakthrough came with his 1977 hit Margaritaville.
• Buffett went on to open a chain of restaurants named after the song, along with a record label and more.

American musician Jimmy Buffett, best known for his songs Margaritaville and Come Monday in the 1970s, has died at the age of 76.

The singer-songwriter "passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs", according to a statement released on Buffett's website.

"He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many," the brief statement concluded. Buffett's cause of death was not disclosed.

Illness had forced him to reschedule concerts in May and Buffett acknowledged in social media posts that he had been in hospital but provided no specifics.

James William Buffett was born in December 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi. He began his musical career in Nashville, Tennessee in the late 1960s, releasing his debut album Down to Earth in 1970.

Buffett continued to release folk and country albums at a prolific pace throughout the next few years. But his breakthrough came in 1977 with the song Margaritaville, a tropical-tinged ode to "wastin' away" in a beach paradise - written about Buffett's experiences in Key West, Florida.

Buffett performing in 1976, a year before he had a hit with Margaritaville. Source: Getty / Tom Hill

The song is the unhurried portrait of a loafer on his front verandah, watching tourists sunbathe while a pot of prawns is beginning to boil. The signer has a new tattoo, a likely hangover and regrets over a lost love. Somewhere there is a misplaced salt shaker.

Released on his seventh studio album, Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, Margaritaville went to number eight on America's Billboard Hot 100 charts, and number one on its Easy Listening chart.

The song remains Buffett's highest-charting solo single, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016 for its cultural and historic significance.

"There was no such place as Margaritaville," Buffett told the Arizona Republic in 2021. "It was a made-up place in my mind, basically made up about my experiences in Key West and having to leave Key West and go on the road to work and then come back and spend time by the beach."

The song's producer, Norbert Putnam, described Buffett playing it for him in a 2003 interview with Sound on Sound.

"One day in the studio, he comes in and starts telling me about a day he had in Key West. He was coming home from a bar and he lost one of his flip-flops and he stepped on a beer can top and he couldn't find the salt for his Margarita," Putnam said.

"He says he's writing lyrics to it and I say, 'That's a terrible idea for a song.' He comes back in a few days later with Wasted Away Again in Margaritaville and plays it and right then everyone knows it's a hit song."

Buffett opened a chain of Margaritaville-themed restaurants. Source: Getty / Robert Alexander

Buffett toured heavily over the following decades, also branching out heavily into business. He opened the Margaritaville Cafe in Key West in 1987 - the first of almost two dozen casual dining establishments bearing the song's name that Buffett would go on to open.

Other business ventures of Buffett's included a label called Margaritaville Records and a casino in Atlantic City. He also wrote several books - three of which made the New York Times Best Seller fiction list.

Over the years, Buffett remained a prolific recording artist. His 32nd studio album was announced earlier this year.