A look back at Jimmy Buffett's most memorable moments

We start with sad news, as I mentioned from the world of music, the legendary singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett has passed away. He turned a song about an ice-cold drink and celebrating the beach lifestyle into a one-man, multimillion-dollar business empire. 27 studio albums. Two. No, it's a chain of resorts and restaurants and even retirement communities, all in its name, but it started and ended with music and will always be associated with warm beaches, flip flops, margaritas, all things good and, of course, always It's five o'clock somewhere. Yes, he is fine. What time zone? He actually he is a man who went somewhere.

So yeah, with over 50 years creating his own lane in country music. Buffet's good vibes earned him legions of devoted fans, of course, known as parrots leading his team, confirming that Buffet passed away peacefully on Friday, surrounded by his family, friends and dogs who lived life like a song until their last breath. He was 76 years old. CNN's Stephanie Elam now takes a

look

at his long and somewhat unusual career wasted again in Margaritaville. Jimmy Buffett's laid-

back

songs captured the feeling of lazy days in Paradise. Some called this signature sound Gulf and Western, a mix of country and Caribbean music.

I love the Caribbean in a strange way. My grandfather is the captain of a sailboat and he sang Calypso songs. So all this kind of amalgamation of material came in and out and I learned how to be a performer and that gave me the vehicle to do it. Buffet was born on Christmas Day 1946 on the Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi and raised in the port city of Mobile Alabama. He started his career doing country music, but only found his musical voice. After moving to Key West in the '70s, the change of era among the colorful characters there helped inspire his tropical style and eventually led to his landmark 1977 album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes and his famous hit Margaritaville. .

Could be. But Buffett's greatest musical success came on the concert stage, not on the charts. He earned hundreds of millions of dollars on tours over the decades, supported by his legion of die-hard fans known as Parrot Heads. It's a lot of fun for me to watch the audience. I mean, they're as entertaining to me as I hope to be to them. His music may have been laid-

back

, but Buffett brought a lot of energy to his life. He flew airplanes, wrote best-selling books, raised funds for Democratic candidates and amassed an estimated $1 billion fortune through his Margaritaville lifestyle brand, which included restaurants, hotels, resorts and casinos like his music.

Everything was aimed at capturing the magic of tropical places. Buffet Love is best from New Orleans to the Gulf Coast and up to ST Barts and beyond. I can still find magic in

most

of those places where people think there is nothing left.