Tag: arts and entertainment

Britney Spears and Jada Pinkett Smith demonstrate the delicate dance of the celeb memoir | CNN

CNN
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Would you want to revisit your life and your past in order to share it all, both the good and the bad?

I certainly wouldn’t, but I’m not famous nor do I have famous people problems (knock on wood). Being a celebrity is something many people dream about, but while the riches certainly make life more comfortable, what comes a long with it probably isn’t what most of us would want.

Let’s talk about it.

Both Britney Spears and Jada Pinkett Smith grasp the concept that drama sells.

Before their memoirs – Spears’ book is titled “The Woman in Me” and Pinkett Smith’s is “Worthy” – were recently released, there were plenty of tabloid treats from them teased throughout the media landscape.

The two biggest revelations from the stars’ tomes both happened to involve their celebrity relationships.

Spears shared that she had an abortion during her time with Justin Timberlake in the early aughts, while Pinkett Smith went public with the news that she and Will Smith have been living separate lives since 2016.

While both of these revelations sparked conversation, they also showed how there’s a delicate dance when it comes to the art of publishing a celebrity tell-all.

On the one hand, you have to share enough to get people excited for the book. Yet at the same time you don’t want to reveal too much, because then what is the incentive to purchase said book?

It should be said, though, that both Spears and Pinkett Smith are most probably used to a lot of attention by now.

Another instance of a star laying it all out there for public consumption is the “Beckham” docuseries on Netflix.

I am far from a soccer fan, but I greatly enjoyed visiting the highs – and lows – of David Beckham’s stellar career. The series is really well done and filmmaker Fisher Stevens got both Beckham and his wife, Spice Girls member Victoria Beckham, to open up about difficult times.

One of those tough times featured in the doc is the decades-old alleged affair between David Beckham and his former personal assistant Rebecca Loos.

In a recent interview, Loos complained that Beckham was portraying “himself as a victim” in the series. That’s another tricky area when it comes to celebs telling their life stories – it affects others who were also there, and who are portrayed via the star’s lens and recollections.

At this point I am aiming to see how many newsletters in a row I can talk about Taylor Swift.

This time it’s the fact that she’s dropping “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” Swift’s latest rerecording of her old music after losing her masters.

Yes, much of the recent attention paid to Swift has more to do with her love life than her love of music, but if you know Swift you know that there is a direct correlation between the two.

I don’t even have to sell it here because it’s Taylor Swift, the star of the moment, and her music. Enough said – except that the new(ish) album debuted Friday.

Reader you know it’s true – Milli Vanilli was the duo to beat back in the day. Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan had hits in the late 1980s/early 1990s and were flying high in the music industry.

Until they weren’t.

A new self-titled documentary traces their rise and eventual fall when the world learned they weren’t actually singing on those songs. It’s a more tender look at the pair than one might expect, given the vitriol that was spewed about the controversy at the time which resulted in their best new artist Grammy being revoked.

The “Milli Vanilli” documentary is streaming on Paramount+.

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October 28, 2023
Britney Spears Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
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Here is a look at the life of Britney Spears, pop singer and Grammy Award winner.

Birth date: December 2, 1981

Birth place: McComb, Mississippi

Birth name: Britney Jean Spears

Father: Jamie Spears, former building contractor and chef

Mother: Lynne (Bridges) Spears

Marriages: Sam Asghari (June 9, 2022 – present); Kevin Federline (September 18, 2004-July 30, 2007, divorced); Jason Alexander (January 3, 2004-January 5, 2004, annulled after 55 hours)

Children: with Kevin Federline: Jayden James, September 2006 and Sean Preston, September 2005

Number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart include: “Baby, One More Time” in 1999, “Womanizer” in 2008, “3” in 2009 (debut), and “Hold It Against Me” in 2011 (debut).

Six albums have reached #1 on the Billboard 200 chart: “Baby One More Time” (1999), “Oops!…. I Did It Again” (2000), “Britney” (2001), “In the Zone” (2003), “Circus” (2008), and “Femme Fatale” (2011).

Has won one Grammy and has been nominated for eight.

1993-1994 – Cast member on “The Mickey Mouse Club.”

1997 – Signs a contract with Jive Records at age 15.

January 12, 1999 – Releases her debut album “…Baby One More Time.”

May 16, 2000 – Releases her second album “Oops!…I Did It Again.”

2002 – Is named Hollywood’s Most Powerful Celebrity by Forbes magazine.

November 17, 2003 – Receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

February 13, 2005 – Wins a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording for “Toxic.”

February 16, 2007 – Shaves her head at a beauty parlor in Tarzana, California.

October 1, 2007 – Temporarily loses physical custody of her children after failing to attend court hearings.

January 3, 2008 – Spears is hospitalized over issues involving the custody of her children. Kevin Federline, her ex-husband, is awarded sole custody on January 4, 2008.

February 1, 2008 – A Los Angeles court grants temporary conservatorship to Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, after Spears is taken to a hospital and deemed unable to take care of herself.

July 18, 2008 – In a custody agreement, Spears gives Federline sole custody of the children, but retains visitation rights.

August 2008 – Becoming Britney, a musical based on her life, debuts at the New York International Fringe Festival.

October 28, 2008 – Jamie Spears is granted permanent conservatorship of his daughter’s affairs.

February 3, 2009 – Sam Lutfi, Spears’ former manager, sues Spears and her parents for defamation and breach of contract in Los Angeles Superior Court. A judge dismisses the lawsuit on November 1, 2012.

September 8, 2010 – Is accused of sexual harassment and sued by her former bodyguard, Fernando Flores. The lawsuit is settled in March 2012.

January 11, 2011 – Her single, “Hold It Against Me,” is released and debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

March 30, 2011 – A $10 million lawsuit is filed by Brand Sense Partners against Spears and her father for breach of contract relating to a perfume deal between Spears and the Elizabeth Arden company. The lawsuit is settled in February 2012.

May 15, 2012 – “The X Factor USA” announces that Spears, along with Demi Lovato, will join Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid on “The X Factor” judging panel. On January 11, 2013, Spears announces that she will not be returning as a judge.

September 17, 2013 – Spears announces that she will do a two-year residency at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas with a show titled “Britney: Piece of Me.” The show begins its run December 27.

September 2014 – Releases her own lingerie line, “Intimate Britney Spears.”

November 5, 2014 – Clark County, Nevada, proclaims November 5th as “Britney Day” on the Las Vegas Strip.

September 9, 2015 – Spears announces that she has extended her residency at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas for two more years.

August 26, 2016 – Spears’ ninth studio album, Glory, is released.

April 12, 2018 – Spears is honored at the GLAAD Media Awards as the recipient of the Vanguard Award, an award that goes to a performer for making a difference in promoting and supporting equality.

January 4, 2019 – Announces that she is going on an indefinite work hiatus in order to focus on her family due to her father’s health issues.

April 3, 2019 – Spears announces that she is taking “me time” after it is reported that she has checked into a mental health facility to cope with her father’s health issues. On April 25, Spears checks out of the mental health treatment facility after undertaking an “all-encompassing wellness treatment.”

June 13, 2019 – Spears and her family are granted a five-year restraining order against Lutfi.

April 29, 2020 – Spears announces that she accidentally burned down her home gym with candles.

November 10, 2020 – Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny declines Spears’ application to remove her father as her conservator, but says she would consider petitions “down the road” to remove her father as the head of her estate. The move comes amid the #FreeBritney social media movement, driven by some fans who believe she is a prisoner in her own home because of the court-ordered conservatorship.

June 23, 2021 – Spears appears remotely in court to request her court-ordered conservatorship be lifted, calling it “abusive.” During the hearing, she speaks for more than 20 minutes, saying she felt she had been forced to perform, was given no privacy and was made to use birth control, take medication and attend therapy sessions against her will.

July 6, 2021 – Spears’ longtime manager Larry Rudolph resigns, citing the singer’s desire to retire. On the same day, Samuel D. Ingham, a court-appointed attorney who has represented Spears for the entirety of her almost 13-year conservatorship, submits a petition to resign from his position, according to a court filing obtained by CNN.

July 14, 2021 – Judge Penny accepts Ingham’s resignation, along with the resignation of Bessemer Trust, a wealth management firm that had been appointed co-conservator of the singer’s estate. Spears is granted permission to hire her own attorney. During a hearing, Spears calls for her father to be charged with conservatorship abuse.

August 12, 2021 – Jamie Spears signals in a legal response that he intends to step down as conservator of the singer’s estate, according to a prepared copy of the response obtained by CNN.

September 1, 2021 – The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office says in a press release they decline to file charges against Spears. Last month Spears’ housekeeper alleged that the singer struck a cell phone out of her hand during an argument over the veterinary care of her dog.

September 7, 2021 – Spears’ father files a petition to terminate the 13-year court-ordered conservatorship. On September 29, a Los Angeles judge suspends Jamie Spears as conservator of his daughter’s estate, and designates a temporary replacement selected by the singer and her attorney to oversee her finances. On November 12, a Los Angeles judge terminates Spears’ 13-year conservatorship.

September 12, 2021 – Spears announces her engagement to boyfriend Sam Asghari in an Instagram post.

January 18, 2022 – Spears’ lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, sends a legal cease-and-desist letter to the singer’s younger sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, regarding her new memoir, “Things I Should Have Said.” In Rosengart’s letter, he calls the book “ill-timed” and that it makes “misleading or outrageous claims about her.”

January 19, 2022 – Judge Penny rules against a request from Spears’ father to set aside money from her $60 million estate in a reserve to potentially cover legal fees, which would include her father’s.

February 21, 2022 – It is revealed that Spears has signed a contract with Simon & Schuster to write a book about her life. The deal is valued at more than $15 million.

April 11, 2022 – Spears announces that she and Asghari are expecting a baby. The following month, the pair announce the loss of the pregnancy.

August 26, 2022 – Spears and Elton John release “Hold Me Closer,” an EDM reimagining of John’s 1971 hit “Tiny Dancer.” The song marks Spears’ first new release since her 13-year conservatorship ended.

August 16, 2023 – Asghari files for divorce.

October 24, 2023 – Spears’ memoir, “The Woman In Me,” is released.

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October 26, 2023
Maggie Smith, 88, is the face of Loewe’s new campaign | CNN

CNN
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Dame Maggie Smith, the British actress acclaimed for her appearances both on stage and in cinema, has taken on a new role — and this time it’s in the world of luxury fashion.

Loewe has cast the 88-year-old, known for roles such as Professor McGonagall in the “Harry Potter” film franchise, in its spring/summer 2024 pre-collection campaign.

The pointed hat and cape of Hogwarts are a distant memory as Smith sports three cosy and stylish looks for the campaign. Shot by German photographer Juergen Teller, it also stars American actresses Dakota Fanning and Greta Lee, American actor Mike Faist, British actor Josh O’Connor, South Korean music artist Taeyong, British artist Rachel Jones and Chinese model Fei Fei Sun.

In one image, she sits on a sofa wearing a black and white turtleneck dress, with a small, pleated, burgundy Loewe Paseo handbag.

In another, Smith is adorned in a floor-length faux fur coat and holds Loewe’s signature Puzzle bag.

“Heartstopper” actor Sebastian Croft commented under an Instagram post by Loewe Creative Director Jonathan Anderson in which he shared the looks, saying: “It’s so perfect.”

Smith — who is more recently known for her supporting role as Countess Violet Crawley in the British drama series “Downtown Abbey,” for which she won three out of her four Emmy Awards — garnered international acclaim and received a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of an eccentric schoolteacher in the 1969 romantic comedy “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.”

She won another Academy Award nine years later for her supporting role in the 1978 romcom “California Suite” and received a Tony Award for the Broadway production of “Lettice and Lovage” in 1990.

The actress is one of several older women who have fronted fashion lines and magazine covers in recent years. In March, tattoo artist Apo Whang-Od became Vogue’s oldest cover star with her appearance for Vogue Philippines at the age of 106 and in 2020, aged 85, Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench became the oldest person to ever grace the cover of British Vogue.

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October 26, 2023
Mick Jagger makes surprise slapstick cameo on ‘SNL’ alongside host Bad Bunny | CNN

CNN
—

Live from New York, it’s a rock legend.

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger made two surprise cameos on the new episode of “Saturday Night Live,” hosted by musician Bad Bunny.

In the first sketch, Jagger crashed the set of a Spanish-language soap opera, playing the father of a character who was involved in a bitter on-screen fight.

Bad Bunny starred in the sketch alongside and “SNL” cast member Marcello Hernández.

Bad Bunny and Hernández were attempting to film a scene where their character were engaged in a verbal argument that resulted in the two slapping each other. Jagger, 80, sported a pencil mustache and a cream colored leisure suit for his part of the sketch, which ended with him slapping both actors in the scene-gone-awry. (The fictional production had already been marred by delays caused by a supporting actor who didn’t speak Spanish, played by Punkie Johnson.)

Jagger later appeared in a second sketch playing a not-so-innocent nun.

Jagger’s appearance on Saturday comes after the Rolling Stones released “Hackney Diamonds” on Friday, their first new album since 2005.

The Stones also announced that they’ll begin a new tour next year.

The Rolling Stones, including members Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, also performed a surprise album release party Friday night in New York City. Lady Gaga joined the band on stage to perform their single “Sweet Sounds of Heaven.”

Lady Gaga also made a cameo on “SNL” on Saturday to introduce Bad Bunny, who pulled double duty as the episode’s host and musical guest.

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October 21, 2023
Music plagiarism detection: algorithms vs. human judgment

Newswise — Ed Sheeran convinced a jury this year that he didn’t rip off Marvin Gaye’s `Let’s Get It On.’ By way of contrast, Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke earlier failed to establish that `Blurred Lines’ wasn’t a copy of Gaye’s `Got to Give It Up.’

Could automated algorithms bring a new objectivity to music copyright infringement decisions, limiting the number, scale and expense of court cases?

Musicologist Dr Patrick Savage of the University of Auckland researched the topic in collaboration with Yuchen Yuan of Keio University, Japan, and experts in music psychology and copyright law from Goldsmiths, University of London, and George Washington University in the US.

“It’s the largest study so far of how the best algorithms compare with humans in judging when music crosses the line into plagiarism,” says Savage, a senior research fellow in the University’s School of Psychology. “It’s fair to say that algorithms won’t be taking over any time soon.”

Savage’s involvement in the area has included contributing to an amicus curiae brief – that’s expert evidence for a court – that helped overturn a decision in a Katy Perry case.

In the study, 51 people were asked to judge 40 examples of alleged plagiarism from 1915 to 2018, including a New Zealand National Party Eminem-style campaign advertisement from 2014 and ex-Beatle George Harrison’s ‘My Sweet Lord’ from the 1970s.

Algorithms PMI and Musly, two of the best publicly available tools for discovering music plagiarism, assessed the same songs.

Study participants’ assessments matched the court decisions in as much as 83 percent of the cases (33 out of 40 ) versus 75 percent for the algorithms (30 out of 40).

One limitation of the study is the underlying assumption that the court cases were decided correctly.

“The `Blurred Lines’ case caused considerable controversy – and neither our study participants nor the algorithms strongly supported the legal decision – nor did many musicians, musicologists, lawyers, or judges, for that matter,” says Savage.

One permanent limitation on using algorithms to decide copyright cases is that non-musical factors can play a role.

“For example, regardless of how similar two songs are, there won’t be a breach of copyright if the allegedly plagiarising composer can show that it would have been impossible for them to have heard the earlier song,” he says.

Ultimately, trial by algorithm won’t replace trial by jury, but algorithms’ objective assessments may be a factor to take into consideration.

“For example, Spotify is already experimenting with a Plagiarism Risk Detector that might help artists automatically catch unintended similarities with existing works before they release new songs,” says Savage. “Future court cases might also be able to include graphs of how similar two songs are in relation to past cases to give judges and juries more objective data and context to aid their decisions.”

As litigation becomes more frequent, “unjustified music copyright lawsuits not only inhibit music creativity but also waste millions of taxpayer dollars annually to cover the adjudication of these disputes,” Savage and his co-authors wrote in the paper, published in the journal Transactions of the International Society for Music Information Retrieval.

The algorithm Percent Melodic Identity was invented by Savage and fellow School of Psychology academic Professor Quentin Atkinson to study the evolution of folk song melodies.

Musly, invented by Dr Dominik Schnitzer from the Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence, includes features like rhythm and timbre in addition to melody.

University of Auckland

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October 20, 2023
Zahmire Lopez, an 8-year-old with dance moves and rap skills, killed by gun violence in his Jersey home | CNN

Editor’s Note: This story is part of a series profiling American youth killed this year by guns, a leading cause of death of children in the US. Read more about the project here.

CNN
—

Yeah my name Lil Zah, G.

Bout to hop on this beat.

At the top,

You can’t take my spot.

I’m all the way up,

You cannot.

Delivered in an excited pre-pubescent voice, this untitled rap song is a lasting memory of the joy and bravado 8-year-old Zahmire Lopez always brought to the world.

“I was like, ‘Wow!’ I was shocked when I heard it,” his mother, Leontine Niangara, told CNN. “It’s like a real song. I think it’s at least two minutes long. So I’m like, OK!”

There won’t be another one like it. Zahmire, or “Zah,” was shot and killed at his home in Newark, New Jersey, in May.

Zahmire is one of more than 1,300 children and teens in the US killed by gunfire so far in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Firearms became the No. 1 killer of children and teens in America in 2020, surpassing motor vehicle accidents, which had long been the leading cause of death among America’s youth.

“It’s very hard,” Niangara said. “It’s not an hour goes by that I don’t just think about him. It’s hard. Some say when time goes by it gets easier but it doesn’t get easier.”

The shooting took place in Niangara’s Newark home on the night of May 3, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. Police received a 911 call that people had been shot inside a Johnson Avenue residence and responded at just after 8:30 p.m., the office said.

Inside, police officers found Zahmire had been shot, and he was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:14 p.m., the office said.

Read other profiles of children who have died from gunfire

Wyleek Shaw, 27, was also killed in the shooting, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. Tajion Simmons, 24, of Fords, New Jersey, was treated for non-fatal injuries, the office said.

Outside the home, police officers say they encountered a man, later identified as 29-year-old Everett Rand, leaving and discarding an item in a dumpster, the NJ Attorney General’s Office said. Police gave chase and during the pursuit, two officers shot at Rand, fatally wounding him, according to the office.

A handgun that did not belong to law enforcement was recovered from the scene, and a semi-automatic handgun with a large capacity magazine was later found in the dumpster, the office said.

The office on September 18 released footage from four police body-worn cameras showing the foot chase and shooting. After the shooting, one officer kicked a handgun away from Rand, and another officer told his colleagues, “I got shot at, but I shot him,” according to the footage.

The investigation is ongoing.

Niangara said Rand, the suspected shooter, was her boyfriend, who had spent considerable time with her son at school dropoff and getting their hair done. Shaw was Rand’s best friend, she added.

Niangara said the shooting happened “very fast” and that Rand was on drugs.

“We were all laughing and then it just turned into hearing gunshots,” she said.

“Everybody’s body or everybody’s mind can’t handle drugs, or you don’t know how your body is gonna react to drugs, and it just happened to react badly,” she added.

Gun violence is an epidemic in the US. Here are 4 things you can do today

A mother and her ‘shadow’

The death was particularly difficult for her given that Zahmire was born prematurely and weighed just 1 pound, 8 ounces at birth.

“He fought to even get in this world, so then for his life to end short, it’s just devastating,” she said.

In his life, Zahmire and Niangara were adjoined at the hip; she described him as her “shadow.”

He was outspoken, the life of the party, a comedian and a dancer bursting with laughter and energy. He celebrated his 8th birthday in January with a trip to American Dream Water Park in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with his best friends and cousins.

He loved to play basketball and football, and he was particularly excited to put on pads and a helmet and play tackle football this year. Perhaps too excited.

“Sometimes they had to remind him, ‘Zahmire you’re on flag. You don’t have to get too excited. It’s just flag football,’” Niangara said.

After his death, his football team presented his mother with the equipment and helmet that would have soon been his. “They knew how much Zahmire wanted to play tackle football,” his mother said.

More about Zahmire Lopez
Death: May 3, 2023.
Age at death: 8 years old.
Cause: Gun violence.

Zahmire loved to be around music, football and family, and he got his biggest smile from his dog, Ghost, a blue nose pitbull. He took some warming up though.

“Zahmire used to be scared of dogs, so I got a dog so he could get over his fear of being scared of dogs,” his mother said. “And it worked.”

For Niangara, a nurse at University Hospital in Newark, his death has left her lonely and has made her own home a reminder of his loss.

“At first I didn’t want to move because his last memory was here, and I feel like I didn’t want to leave him,” she said. “But I feel like for my state of mind, I need to (move) because every time I close my eyes, I just relive that night.”

She’s left with the memories, bolstered by photos, videos and, of course, that rap song. At another point in Zahmire’s rap, he offered up a bar that now reads as tragically prophetic.

Yeah my name Lil Zah, G

One day I’mma be on TV.

CNN
—

Jimmy Buffett, the tropical troubadour whose folksy tunes celebrated his laid-back lifestyle, inspired legions of devoted fans and spawned a lucrative business empire, has died, according to his official website and multiple media outlets.

He was 76.

“Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,” a statement released on his social page reads.

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

No cause of death was released.

The singer-songwriter was briefly hospitalized in May following a trip to the Bahamas. “I had to stop in Boston for a checkup but wound up back in the hospital to address some issues that needed immediate attention,” he told his followers in a social media post.

Buffett posted a day later that he was soon headed home from the hospital, and thanked his followers for the “outpouring of support and well wishes.” He did not share what was ailing him, but said that he’d be going on a “fishing trip with old friends, along with paddling and sailing and get myself back in good shape” upon his return home from the hospital.

Mourners paid tribute on social media Saturday, including country superstar Kenny Chesney, whose own sun-kissed approach owes a lot to Buffett.

Chesney tweeted, “So goodbye Jimmy. Thanks for your friendship and the songs I will carry in my heart forever. Sail On Sailor.” And he shared a video of himself singing Buffett’s song “Son of a Son of a Sailor” on a beach.

“The pirate has passed. RIP Jimmy Buffett. Tremendous influence on so many of us,” wrote Toby Keith.

Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys wrote, “Love and Mercy, Jimmy Buffett.”

Elton John wrote on Instagram: “Jimmy Buffett was a unique and treasured entertainer. His fans adored him and he never let them down. This is the saddest of news. A lovely man gone way too soon.”

Paul McCartney shared his fond memories of Buffett as “one of the kindest and most generous people” on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

“Right up to the last minute, his eyes still twinkled with a humour that said, ‘I love this world and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it,’” McCartney wrote.

“So many of us will miss Jimmy and his tremendous personality, his love for us all and for mankind as a whole,” he said.

Amiable grooves and clever wordplay

Buffett was born on Christmas Day 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and raised in the port town of Mobile, Alabama. He moved to Key West, Florida, where he found his voice, his website says.

One of his first songs to draw attention was “Come Monday,” from his 1974 album “Living & Dying in ¾ Time.”

Years later he told David Letterman, “This is a song that kept me from killing myself in a Howard Johnson’s in Marin County. It hit, I paid the rent, got my dog out of the pound. … and the rest is history.”

It notably included the line, “I got my hush puppies on, I guess I never was meant for glitter rock ‘n’ roll,” staking his claim to going his own laid-back way.

In pictures: Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett

An amiable singer-songwriter with a penchant for clever wordplay, Buffett largely ignored pop music trends and was never a hitmaker or an MTV darling. His “Gulf & Western” style married country and Caribbean music.

He famously put “Margaritaville” on the map in 1977. It was his only Top 10 song and became his signature.

Its opening lines became instantly identifiable: “Nibbling on spongecake, watching the sun bake, all of the tourists covered with oil …”

And the chorus has been part of countless singalongs: “Wasted away again in Margaritaville, searching for my lost shaker of salt… Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame, but I know, it’s my own damn fault.”

Buffett built an enormous cult of fans, affectionately known as “Parrotheads,” after the legendary Deadhead fans of the Grateful Dead.

“The audience are so much fun for me to look at,” he said. “I mean, they’re as entertaining to me as I hope I am to them.”

Other must-play concert tunes included “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Fins,” “Volcano” and “Why Don’t We Get Drunk.”

His followers lovingly embraced his vision of life spent in flip-flops, full of beaches, boats, booze and weed.

“From New Orleans to the Gulf Coast down into St. Barts and other places, I still can find magic in most of those places where people think there isn’t any left,” he said.

A savvy marketer, Buffett later parlayed the “Margaritaville” mythos to power his career through decades of lucrative concert tours – and branding of restaurants, casinos, retirement communities, bestselling books and even a musical.

Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett performs with The Coral Reefer Band at The Omni Coliseum on September 4, 1976 in Atlanta, Georgia.

His worth was estimated at $1 billion, according to Forbes.

Buffett, who was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006, won two Country Music Association awards during his career and was twice nominated for Grammy Awards.

A rare misstep came with a 2018 Broadway show, “Escape to Margaritaville,” shaped out of his best-known tunes.

Even the brutal New York Times review noted the irony of Buffett’s slacker image against his staggering success: “Mr. Buffett, Margaritaville’s prototype and mastermind, has a wife and family and 5,000 employees; he works nonstop.”

Before his death, Buffett was preparing to release a new record, with songs previewed weekly on Radio Margaritaville, according to his website.

Loyal to his party credo until the end, he left a forthcoming song titled, “My Gummy Just Kicked In.”

Buffett leaves behind his wife, Jane Slagsvol, and three children.

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Tag: arts and entertainment

Britney Spears and Jada Pinkett Smith demonstrate the delicate dance of the celeb memoir | CNN

Britney Spears Fast Facts | CNN

Maggie Smith, 88, is the face of Loewe’s new campaign | CNN

Mick Jagger makes surprise slapstick cameo on ‘SNL’ alongside host Bad Bunny | CNN

Music plagiarism detection: algorithms vs. human judgment

Zahmire Lopez, an 8-year-old with dance moves and rap skills, killed by gun violence in his Jersey home | CNN

A mother and her ‘shadow’

More about Zahmire Lopez

Chris Evans says he’s ‘enjoying life’ as a newlywed after marrying Alba Baptista | CNN

Beyoncé showing up for Taylor Swift’s movie premiere was a ‘fairytale’ | CNN

A significant rise in cranial traumas occurred during the early phases of city construction.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour movie hits a presale record for Cinemark | CNN Business

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Fran Drescher ‘looking forward’ to talks resuming between actors’ union and Hollywood studios next week | CNN

Ariana Grande files for divorce from Dalton Gomez after two years of marriage | CNN

Rock ‘n’ roll is having a revival moment | CNN

Song sounds convey its meaning

‘Good Morning America’ anchor Robin Roberts marries Amber Laign in ‘intimate’ backyard ceremony | CNN

It will be more confusing than ever to watch an NFL game this season | CNN Business

Why Taylor Swift wants you to watch the Eras concert film in theaters instead of on your couch | CNN Business

Jimmy Buffett, enduring ‘Margaritaville’ singer turned mogul, dies at 76 | CNN

Amiable grooves and clever wordplay

In pictures: Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett

Taylor Swift Eras Tour movie breaks presales records at AMC Theatres | CNN Business