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Jimmy Buffett’s laid-back party vibe created adoring ‘Parrotheads’ and success beyond music

In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, Susan Hudnall pins a condolence note about Jimmy Buffett's passing to the front window of the Margaritaville Cafe in Key West, Fla. on Saturday in Key West, Fla. Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavored song “Margaritaville” and turned that celebration of loafing into a billion-dollar empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, died Friday. He was 76. Hudnall, a visitor from Urbanna, Va., said she had seen every Buffett show in the past 20 years within a 100-mile radius of her home. Florida Keys News Bureau via AP

Jimmy Buffett celebrated slackers before the word existed, even though he was hardly one himself.

"Wastin' away again in Margaritaville," went the chorus to his most famous song, which became an international singalong. But Buffett was actually an astute, ambitious, aggressive businessman.

A statement posted to Buffett’s official website and social media pages announced his passing on Friday at age 76. The statement did not say where Buffett died or give a cause. He rescheduled concerts in May and acknowledged he had been hospitalized for an unspecified illness.

Buffett built an empire based largely on Caribbean-flavored pop that celebrated the Florida Keys, sunshine and nightlife. His name became synonymous with a laid-back subtropical party vibe, and his fans were known as Parrotheads.

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