I wasn't a Parrot Head, but I loved his music. Apology in advance if the NYT article linked below is subscriber-only, but I'm it in the hope that it isn't. It describes his very colorful life in excruciating detail. Jimmy Buffett, Roguish Bard of Island Escapism, Is Dead at 76
He's having a Cheeseburger in Paradise! I wasn't really a big fan of his music beyond Margaritaville.
I can understand that. I like the upbeat "Caribbean" sound of the steel guitars on SiriusXM when I'm driving as a complement the softer sounds of the Sinatra station.
I disagree a bit. I have always loved listening to Jimmy Buffet and been to a couple of his concerts. But as great an entertainer as he was, and as much as he loved good times...there was a lot more to him, including ambition and smarts. This article (long) kind of sums it up; https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/09/02/jimmy-buffett-margaritaville-singer-dead/ “I remember, years ago, seeing kind of a has-been country singer working — when I first moved to Nashville — working in a bar in a Holiday Inn,” he told “60 Minutes.” “And it was obvious that it had been somebody that’d been there and come back down, and I never wanted to make that run back down. ‘Remember me back in 1977? I had this one hit, “Margaritaville.”’ I did not want to be one of those people.”
I agree both with George and Stu (How's that for a "fence-sitting" moderate?). His upbeat music evoked pleasant thoughts of the "good life" on Caribbean beaches. Stu's linked article plus the NYT article I linked describe his keen intelligence and business savvy, which enabled him to build a billion dollar empire. Side note: I'm not surprised that he died of skin cancer following a life in the sun. That's been my bane going back to my college days as a lifeguard, but since my first bout with Mose surgery in the 90s, I've taken precautions which I hope will stave off Jimmy's fate.
My favorite Buffet song is "Permanent Reminder of a Temporary Feeling". I think of it every time I see a tattoo which is about 6o times an hour these days. "Fruitcakes" is a close second.