Jimmy Buffett, ‘Margaritaville’ Singer, Dead at 76

Jimmy Buffett, the musician and creator of “Margaritaville,” has died at the age of 76.

“Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music, and dogs,” a statement posted on the singer-songwriter’s social media and website reads. “He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”

Buffet’s new album Equal Strain on All Parts was due to be released later this year, PEOPLE reported. The statement says he died with his family and friends around him.

Buffett was forced to reschedule a concert in May after he was hospitalized “to address some issues that needed immediate attention,” he later told fans in a statement shared on Twitter.

“Growing old is not for sissies, I promise you,” he said. ” I also will promise you, that when I am well enough to perform, that is what I’ll be doing in the land of She-Crab soup. You all make my life more meaningful and fulfilled than I would have ever imagined as a [tow] headed little boy sitting on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico.”

Buffett is survived by wife Jane and kids Savannah, Sarah and Cameron.

Buffett released more than 30 albums over his career and was nominated for two Grammy Awards.

Buffett was also a best-selling author and philanthropist who founded the nonprofit Save the Manatee Club in 1981 with then-Florida Gov. Bob Graham.

Forbes reported in 2023 that Buffet was a billionaire and that his assets included an estimated $570 million from touring and recording, a music catalog worth $50 million, and $140 million in planes, homes, and shares in Berkshire Hathaway.

Buffett was also an avid pilot and made headlines in 1994 after his seaplane crashed in Nantucket, Massachusetts. He was able to break through the plane’s window and climb out into the water, where he was rescued by two fishermen in a passing motorboat.

He wrote in his 1998 memoir A Pirate Looks at Fifty that he “lived through it thanks to Navy training.”