The sailor and musician, who was particularly popular in the USA and among sailors, was omnipresent in the Caribbean. His music blared from the loudspeakers in the pubs, and not just at happy hour. In fact, it was he who established the sailing custom of "happy hour" in Caribbean pubs more and more since the seventies. Through his well-known songs such as "Margaritaville", "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes" and "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere". The last song in particular is still regularly quoted by many sailors today when it comes to ringing in cocktail time on board. "Is it five o'clock already and time for a drink?" - "Somewhere in the world it must be five o'clock already ..."
But Buffett didn't just sing about drinking on board - although it was undoubtedly the subject of many songs - he was much more interested in conveying to people in his songs that it was time to forget about the office and enjoy life instead. The rushing sea, a hammock, the cooling trade wind, a few chords on the guitar. No Starlink, no mobile phone, no appointments. A simple but happy life by the water. Even if this "way of life" was not readily accessible to many of his listeners, his music made them sit on the beach in their thoughts. He also persuaded many of his fans to buy a boat themselves and set sail.
His songs are an inimitable mixture of folk and country songs, mixed with Caribbean rhythms. Many are about life under sail, but also tell stories of Buffett's travels around the world. For example, how the Jamaican police shot at him on one trip ("Jamaica Mistaica"), how he got lost in the Sahara desert ("Buffett Hotel") or about smugglers he met on the coast of Florida ("A Pirate Looks at Forty").
In his more than 50 years on stage, Jimmy Buffett has produced over 30 albums and has toured the USA and Europe in recent years, often filling entire stadiums. As a businessman, he also built up a large empire of "Margaritaville" hotels and restaurants.
The free and carefree time that he once sang about and epitomised suffered from his business commitments. He therefore sought his balance at sea and had a very special boat built a few years ago, a Surfari called "Drifter" which he had specially reduced in size to fulfil his wishes. Even though commerce and marketing have become more and more a part of his personality in recent years, with this boat he tried to reflect on the simple life that he himself, despite all his success and wealth, still endeavoured to live. Although the boat is superbly built and at least 15 metres long, its design is nevertheless quite simple and straightforward. Because - as Buffett used to sing - it doesn't take much to be happy. And a simple life even increases happiness.
After a four-year battle against a rare type of skin cancer, presumably favoured by a life in the sun, Buffett died unexpectedly at his home in Sag Harbour on Long Island/USA. He was 76 years old. But his songs will be heard from the loudspeakers of Caribbean bars for a long time to come.
