Jimmy Buffett died after battle with rare disease, his website says

Associated Press

1 year ago

FILE - Jimmy Buffett performs on the Acura Stage during the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festi ... — FILE – Jimmy Buffett performs on the Acura Stage during the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival at the Fairgrounds in New Orleans Sunday, April 26, 2015. Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavored song “Margaritaville” and turned that celebration of loafing into an empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, has died, Friday, Sept. 1, 2023. (Brett Duke /The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

FILE – Jimmy Buffett performs at the after party for the premiere of “Jurassic World” in Los Angeles, on June 9, 2015. “Margaritaville” singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett has died at age 76. A statement on Buffett’s official website and social media pages says the singer died Friday, Sept. 1, 2023 “surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs”. (Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)

Singer Jimmy Buffet performs barefooted with his band The Coral Reefers on the NBC “Today” television show summer concert series in New York’s Rockefeller Plaza, on June 25, 2004. “Margaritaville” singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett has died at age 76. A statement on Buffett’s official website and social media pages says the singer died Friday, Sept. 1, 2023 “surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs”. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

SAG HARBOR, N.Y. — Jimmy Buffett, whose sun-drenched songs celebrated life by the shore, died of a rare, aggressive skin cancer, according to a statement on his website.

Buffett, 76, had Merkel cell cancer, according to the statement, which was posted after initial news of his death emerged Saturday. The statement also disclosed where the “Margaritaville” singer died: at his home in Sag Harbor, New York, near the Hamptons.

He had been fighting the cancer for four years while continuing to perform, the last time making a surprise appearance in Rhode Island in early July, the statement said.

Merkel cell carcinoma, as it’s known in medical literature, is very rare and tends to spread quickly, including to parts of the body beyond the skin, according to the federal National Cancer Institute and the Mayo Clinic. Risk factors include a lot of sun exposure, a weakened immune system, a history of other cancers, and being light-skinned and over 50.

Buffett conjured an easygoing, sand-between-the-toes lifestyle in songs such as “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” and “Margaritaville.” He built the latter into a brand that encompassed restaurants, clothing, casinos and more.