Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularised beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavoured song Margaritaville and turned that celebration of loafing into an empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, has died at age 76.

“Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,” a statement posted to Buffett’s official website and social media pages said late on Friday.

“He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”

The statement did not say where Buffett died or give a cause of death.

TMZ reports it was skin cancer diagnosed four years sago that turned into lymphoma. Buffett reportedly began receiving hospice care last week and Sir Paul McCartney went to his home and sang to his family.

“As one close friend put it, ‘He lived his life in the sun, literally and figuratively’,”  wrote TMZ.

Illness had forced Buffett to reschedule concerts in May, and he acknowledged in social media posts that he had been in hospital but provided no specifics.

Margaritaville, released on February 14, 1977, quickly took on a life of its own, becoming a state of mind for those “wastin’ away” – an excuse for a life of low-key fun and escapism for those “growing older, but not up”.

The song is the unhurried portrait of a loafer on his front verandah, watching tourists sunbathe while a pot of prawns is beginning to boil.

“What seems like a simple ditty about getting blotto and mending a broken heart turns out to be a profound meditation on the often painful inertia of beach dwelling,” Spin magazine wrote in 2021.

‘Grammy Hall of Fame’

The song – from the album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes – spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at number eight.

The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016 for its cultural and historic significance, became a karaoke standard and helped brand Key West, Florida, as a distinct sound of music and a destination known the world over.

“There was no such place as Margaritaville,” Buffett told the Arizona Republic in 2021.

“It was a made-up place in my mind, basically made up about my experiences in Key West and having to leave Key West and go on the road to work and then come back and spend time by the beach.”

The song soon inspired restaurants and resorts, turning Buffett’s alleged desire for the simplicity of island life into a multi-million-dollar brand.

He landed at No. 13 in Forbes’ America’s Richest Celebrities in 2016 with a net worth of $US550 million ($A851 million).

Music critics were never very kind to Buffett or his catalogue, including the sandy beach-side snack bar songs such as Fins, Come Monday and Cheeseburgers in Paradise.

Parrotheads in mourning

But his legions of fans, called “Parrotheads”, regularly turned up for his concerts wearing toy parrots, cheeseburgers, sharks and flamingos on their heads, leis around their necks and loud Hawaiian shirts.

“It’s pure escapism is all it is,” Buffett said. “You’ve got to get away from whatever you do to make a living or other parts of life that stress you out.

“I try to make it at least 50/50 fun to work and so far it’s worked out.”

James William Buffett was born on Christmas Day 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and raised in the port town of Mobile, Alabama.

He graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and went from busking on the streets of New Orleans to playing six nights a week at Bourbon Street clubs.

He released his first record, Down To Earth, in 1970 and issued seven more on a regular yearly clip, with his 1974 song Come Monday from his fourth studio album Living and Dying in ¾ Time, peaking at No. 30.

Then came Margaritaville.

He performed on more than 50 studio and live albums, often accompanied by his Coral Reefer Band, and was constantly on tour.

He earned two Grammy nominations, two Academy of Country Music Awards and a Country Music Association Award.

Buffett also authored numerous books including Where Is Joe Merchant? and A Pirate Looks At Fifty and added movies to his resume as co-producer and co-star of an adaptation of Carl Hiaasen’s novel Hoot.

Buffett is survived by his wife, Jane, daughters Savannah and Sarah, and son Cameron.