The Parrotheads are mourning, but the tributes pouring in for the late “Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett from his legion of fans are a touch more magic than tragic, to borrow from one of his more famous lyrics.
“Eternally enjoying that cheeseburger in Paradise,” was a popular missive on social media.
“It’s 5 o’clock somewhere,” wrote another fan. “You’ll always be with us. I’ll make sure not to step on the pop top.”
“There are no words. Waking up to this news was not anything I ever expected,” Shiba Normie wrote on X. “I’ve been a Parrothead nearly all of my life. Jimmy’s music has been with me in all of my fondest, and some of my lowest memories. Fins up sailor, I’ll see you at the far side of the world.”
Buffett, who built a $1 billion empire out of his deceptively simple tunes, died Friday at age 76.
A cause of death was not immediately given.
“Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music, and dogs,” the tropical rocker’s loved ones said in a statement on Instagram. “He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”
“So saddened by the loss of a sunny and happy voice in the music world,” ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts wrote. “Jimmy Buffett is dead at 76. You can’t drink a margarita without thinking of him and his hit song “Margaritaville”. He brought joy and a beach vibe to so many of us. RIP.”
“He waited til summer was over,” posted the writer and podcast host Tim O’Brien.
Buffett’s death was announced on social media just months after he was forced to pull the plug on several of his shows following a series of hospitalizations.
Speaking to fans in May, Buffett said he had to “address some issues that needed immediate attention,” before playfully adding, “Growing old is not for sissies, I promise you.”
Buffett, whose hits include “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere” and “Trip Around the Sun,” earned his stripes as one of the most captivating names in music with a career that spanned 60 years.
Prior to his death, Buffett was gearing up for the release of his new album, “Songs You Don’t Know by Heart.”
Only a few sounded a sour note on social media.
“Jimmy Buffett somehow created an enormous entertainment empire out of one simple little novelty song that somehow became the official anthem for lazy middle-aged people who like to sit around doing nothing,” journalist Michael Tracey wrote.