Jimmy Buffett’s Cause of Death Revealed

Beloved singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett died Friday at his home in Sag Harbor, New York, with an initial cause of death not being made public.

Saturday, Tribute on Buffett’s official website He has confirmed that he died after being diagnosed with Merkel cell skin cancer four years ago.

Buffett canceled a concert in May and was hospitalized, though details of his condition were not previously reported.

His last performance was a surprise gig in Rhode Island in July.

His empire was unique. His 1977 soft rock inspired by Key West, Florida celebrating the virtues of living on the beach His rock based on his song “Margaritaville” , Margaritaville included his cafes, restaurants and resorts. He enjoyed an enthusiastic fan base that called himself Parrotheads.

His mantra was “You grow old, but you don’t grow.”

Buffett was born on Christmas Day 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi and was raised there and in Alabama. He sailed on ships as a boy and this became a formative experience that would shape his future life, and he began learning guitar while attending Auburn University in Alabama.

Buffett released his first album in 1970. “Down to Earth” was a standard folk-rock example of the time, but Buffett’s stay in Key West as a yacht’s first mate and visit to St. led to the formation of escapism. , beach life approach.

After a few albums, Buffett found great success with the release of Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes (1977), which featured the hit single “Margaritaville.” A Top 10 hit, the song made it onto the RIAA’s Song of the Century list. More importantly, it spawned the Buffett persona, which made the tour and his brand as a whole hugely successful. It is often described as the most profitable song ever recorded.

It took 2004’s License to Chill to reach No. 1 among Buffett’s 29 studio albums. #1 on Billboard 200.

In April, Buffett released his 30th studio album, Equal Strain on All Parts, which remained unreleased at the time of his death.

Buffett had a number of successful compilation albums, including the best-selling Songs You Know by Heart (1985). The album includes every song listed in Buffett’s “Big 8”, songs fans expected to hear at nearly every live show. They are: “Margaritaville” (1977), “Come Monday” (1974), “Fin” (1979), “Volcano” (1979), “Pirates See Yosoji” (1974), ” Cheeseburgers in Paradise” (1978), “Why Don’t You Get Drunk” (1973), “Latitude Change, Attitude Change” (1977).

Despite his unparalleled success, Buffett has only made the US top 40 five times, not since the 1970s.

After performing in San Diego, New Orleans, Houston and Chicago, Buffett took the musical Escape to Margaritaville to Broadway in 2018. It had 29 previews and 124 regular performances, but it sank to so-so reviews. This was his second foray into the format, following his 1997 musical adaptation of the 1965 novel Don’t Stop the Carnival, in which he collaborated with novelist Herman Uk, in which Miami It was performed, and in 1998, an album containing songs from the work was released.

Buffett has played himself in dozens of movies and TV shows, but perhaps the most memorable is 2015’s “Jurassic World.”

Like politics, philanthropy was also part of Buffett’s lifestyle. He was an early vocal advocate of marijuana legalization (the island nation apologized after the plane carrying himself and Bono was shot down by Jamaican forces on suspicion of drug smuggling) and supported causes such as Save the Manatees. . Hurricane Relief Club.

He was a major fundraiser and supporter of the Democratic Party.

After an early marriage that ended in divorce in 1972, Buffett married Jane Slugsvol in 1977. The couple had two daughters and adopted children, all of whom survived.

In lieu of flowers, Buffett’s family has requested donations to the Jimmy Buffett Foundation Singing for Change, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and MD Anderson Cancer Center.