The entertainment industry has been rocked by news of Jimmy Buffett‘s sudden death, after the legendary musician passed away from skin cancer last week.
Buffett, 76, had been “battling Merkel Cell Skin Cancer for four years,” as per an official obituary published on his website.
Merkel cell carcinoma is an exceedingly uncommon ailment in which malignant (cancerous) cells form in the skin, as stated by the National Cancer Institute. The website also mentions that “sun exposure and having a weak immune system can affect the risk of Merkel cell carcinoma.”
The obituary made a point of mentioning that Buffett “continued to perform during treatment, playing his last show, a surprise appearance in Rhode Island, in early July.”
The renowned ‘Margaritaville‘ musician passed away on September 1 at his residence in Sag Harbor, Long Island. He was 76 years old.
According to a statement posted on his website and social media accounts, he died peacefully surrounded by his family, friends, music, and beloved dogs. “He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many,” the statement read.
He left behind his wife of 46 years, Jane Slagsvol, and their three children, Savannah, Sarah, and Cameron.
Now, country singer Keith Urban has paid tribute to the star – honoring Buffett while performing for Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey.He took to social media to post a short clip of the onstage moment, captioning the upload with: “For Jimmy, last night in Atlantic City.”
Urban – himself a four-time Grammy-winning artist – started off the emotional tribute with a sweet message and personal anecdote about Buffett.
“I want to take a second to acknowledge the passing of an incredible musician, Jimmy Buffett. I was shocked today to hear about that,” he said, adding he was “immediately thinking about a time that we got to go down to St. Barts and we got an [invitation] from Jimmy to go and have dinner with him and his wife.”
The father-of-two – who is married to Australian actress Nicole Kidman – continued: “When we were down there, Jimmy said to me ‘man, you should grab your guitar. There’s a bar in town and I’m sure if we take our guitars they’ll let us sit in.’ So, here’s me and Jimmy carrying our guitars down the street in St. Barts and we go to this cool bar and we sang a couple of songs.”
He added that it was “such an honor to know him and a huge loss, but an incredible legacy of music he’s left behind.”
He then performed two of Buffett’s most iconic songs, including ‘Come Monday’, which he said was one of the first songs he ever learned on guitar.
This was so heartfelt, and so lovely of Keith Urban to remember Jimmy Buffett in this way.
We are sending our thoughts and prayers to Jimmy Buffett’s family, friends, and fans at this difficult time.