Farewell Jimmy Buffett, Key West’s ‘Pirate Laureate’

KEY WEST, Florida Keys — Internationally recognized singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett, whose death at age 76 was announced late Friday on his social media platforms, discovered Key West in the early 1970s. He drew on the island’s influence to create the tropical mystique that flavored his music throughout his life, including his hit “Margaritaville” that became an iconic anthem for the subtropical island.

Shortly after moving to the Southernmost City in the Continental United States, Jimmy summed up his passion for his new surroundings by writing “I Have Found Me a Home” about Key West, with lyrics that describe riding his old red bike to “the bars and the beaches of my town.” Released in 1973, it includes the simple but heartfelt line, “You can have the rest of everything I own, ’cause I have found me a home.”

As well as being Jimmy’s home during some of his most productive years, Key West — and its characters, cheerfully loony atmosphere and laidback lifestyle — became the subject of some of his most enduring songs. 

His tunes memorialize larger-than-life Key Westers like the late Captain Tony Tarracino, an offbeat former mayor and bar owner featured in “Last Mango in Paris,” and the late gentleman smuggler Phil Clark, whose real-life exploits unfold in “A Pirate Looks at 40.” 

Many of his best-known lyrics reference Key West locales including Fausto’s Food Palace, the Blue Heaven restaurant, and legendary bars Captain Tony’s and the Chart Room. 

In fact, before he gained lasting fame and pioneered the musical genre now called “trop rock,” Jimmy sometimes sang and played guitar at the latter spots, and at the long-gone Full Moon Saloon where ’70s renegades and visiting celebrities shared drinks and stories.  

His fondness for the island as a subject made him its unofficial “pirate laureate.” 

In the mid-1980s he founded the Margaritaville Store in Key West’s Lands End Village. What began as a welcoming yet ramshackle waterfront enterprise grew into an empire. 

The store is now located beside his original Margaritaville Café on Key West’s iconic Duval Street. Jimmy’s unmarked yet renowned recording studio, Shrimp Boat Sound, overlooks the former shrimp docks. His brand has expanded far beyond stores and cafés; the Margaritaville Beach House resort stands on the island’s Atlantic Ocean shore.  

Jimmy’s portrayal of Key West in song led it to become a mecca for his Parrot Head fans, named for the offbeat tropical parrot caps and other headgear they often wear at concerts. 

In 2011 he staged a surprise performance during their then-annual gathering on the island. From a stage on Duval outside the Margaritaville enclave, he and his Coral Reefer Band played a 15-song set for the Parrot Heads lining the street. 

By then Jimmy had lived elsewhere for many years, but he interspersed the songs with commentary and memories that reflected his abiding affection for Key West. 

“I’ve had great inspiration and great fun on the streets of this little rock,” he said, “and I appreciate it very much.” 

Jimmy Buffett’s final Key West performances took place in February 2023, when he launched his “Second Wind Tour” with four unforgettable shows on the island that inspired his signature sound.