Jimmy Buffet Was So Much More Than an Entertainer. He Was an Inspiration
The music world just lost a one-of-a-kind legend
I woke with a start, my eyes rapidly darting around the room at the sudden interruption of what I had hoped would finally be a good night’s sleep. Turns out, my dog Loki was roaming the house and it was the soft click clack of his toenails on the wood floor that pierced my veil of peaceful slumber. I turned my head and glanced at the bedside clock. 2:31 a.m. and I was wide awake.
Insomnia and I are old friends. Once I wake up, my mind begins whirring like a machine. Random thoughts fly by like Formula 1 cars circling the track during a qualifying session. The struggle to get back to sleep is real and I break a lot of rules in an attempt to distract my mind enough to doze off once more.
That’s when I picked up my phone and saw a pop-up that brought my random thoughts to a screeching halt: “Margaritaville singer Jimmy Buffet dies at 76.”
Wait, what?
Nah. No way. It’s got to be fake news. Now I was really awake. I frantically scrolled through my news feed looking for confirmation of a hoax.
As I read on, reality began to sink in. The sad news was true. On Friday, September 1, 2023, the world lost more than an entertainer. Jimmy Buffet was a master storyteller and his medium was song.
Jimmy’s music got me through some of the hardest days of my life. His songs have always been there — a background melody accompanying me through the good and bad times, the celebrations and sorrows.
My daughter Delainey is named after a Jimmy Buffet song, ‘Delaney Talks to Statues’, a song about a father’s love for his daughter. His fun-loving tropical vibe blending Caribbean and country has a way of carrying me away me from my cares, mentally transporting me to the deck of a sailboat or beneath the shade of a palm tree on a tropical beach; the places I feel most at home.
Jimmy lived life on his terms. He didn’t get bogged down in the rules of the corporate music industry, choosing to plow his own path to success. He played his music, his way. Even though he had only one top-10 hit with Margaritaville, it didn’t matter.
Buffet was wildly popular and well-loved by his legion of ‘Parrotheads,’ a band of dedicated followers who hail from ports of call all around the world. In the end, Forbes estimated his worth at $1 billion proving that staying true to oneself is a good move, despite living in a world that encourages conformity and formulaic approaches.
In March my daughter Delainey and I had planned to see Jimmy perform live in San Diego. Seeing Jimmy Buffet play live was a bucket list item for both of us and we thought it would be an amazing mother-daughter bonding experience to boot.
Our plans were postponed when I fell ill the week of the concert and we talked about catching the next one, since he had a list of dates posted for his 2023 Second Wind tour. My daughter and I talked about wanting to see him soon, as he was growing older and we didn’t want to miss the chance to see him perform before he retired.
The sudden cancellation of his concerts in May and the news he had been hospitalized caught our attention. At the time he tweeted that after his California tour, he “had to stop in Boston for a check-up but would back in the hospital to address some issues that needed immediate attention.”
He provided an update shortly afterwards, saying he was heading home for a fishing trip with friends and to get himself “back in good shape.” He also said he was looking forward to announcing new show dates once he had recovered. My daughter and I rejoiced and began to look forward to the new tour dates being announced. Sadly, it was not to be.
As I continued to absorb the sad news over my morning coffee the ring of the phone broke through the somber silence. “Mom, Jimmy Buffet died.” my daughter tearfully blurted out before saying hello. “I’m so sad. He was so young.”
“I’m sad too, it’s hard to believe.” I replied. For the next several minutes we talked about how we’re mourning that we’ll never get a chance to see our favorite singer perform live, how seventy-six isn’t all that old, and how life is so very precious — that you’ve got embrace every day as if it were your last — because you never know if it will be.
My husband texted me from Australia. The news had broken on ABC, the Australian Broadcasting Company website and we commiserated together. We talked about mortality, the rapid passage of time and the importance of not putting off acting on our dreams any longer than possible.
The conversations with my daughter and husband are stark reminders that it’s easy to get so caught up in our daily routines that we begin to move through life on autopilot. Eventually we lose sight of what’s important. We forget to enjoy the things that make being alive an incredible experience — from small moments to big dreams — there is so much that life has to offer if we just slow down enough to look for it.
The demands of day-to-day life will always be a reality. There are always responsibilities to manage and relationships to navigate, and our fears ceaselessly try to come between us and a well-lived life.
The magic of living life to the fullest isn’t about the absence of fear. It happens when we feel our fear, recognize it for what it is, and choose to passionately chase our dreams in spite of it.
For me, Jimmy Buffet’s legacy is this:
- Live life on your own terms
- Don’t take yourself too seriously.
- Have fun on the journey and be true to yourself
It’s a good formula for having as few regrets as possible by the time we arrive at the end of this wild roller-coaster adventure called life.
Jimmy Buffet is legend. He has departed Planet Earth and now resides with the Cosmic Bakers, but through his music and storytelling he will live on forever.
RIP James William Buffet (December 25, 1946 — September 1, 2023). I hope you’re somewhere out there celebrating at that One Particular Harbor in the sky.
P.S. If you’re not familiar with Jimmy Buffet’s music, his two best known songs are Margaritaville and Come Monday, but here are my top 10 lesser-known favorites that I think are worth a listen:
Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On
A Pirate Looks at Forty
Barometer Soup
One Particular Harbour
Banana Republics
Boat Drinks
In The Shelter
Son of a Sailor
Southern Cross
Cowboy in the Jungle
