Toby Keith Remembers Jimmy Buffett With Heartfelt Tribute

Jimmy Buffet Official / YouTube

Toby Keith is mourning the loss of his long-time friend and duet partner, Jimmy Buffett.

Buffett, a country music legend, passed away on Friday, September 1 (2023). Jimmy’s team was the first to share the news in a statement on his social media page. The statement read, “Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs. He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”

This is a tragic loss for the country music industry, and many legendary artists have spoken out about it.

Alan Jackson, who recorded his hit song “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” with Jimmy, addressed Buffett’s death in a social media post. Alan quoted lyrics from one of their duets, “Boats to Build.”

“Shores distant shores,
There’s where I’m headed for,
I got the stars to guide my way,
Sail into the light of day…” #BoatsToBuild

RIP my friend, @jimmybuffett.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Alan Jackson (@officialalanjackson)

Kenny Chesney honored Jimmy Buffett with a video of him singing Buffet’s song, “A Pirate Looks At Forty,” in one of Buffett’s favorite places—Key West, Florida.

“So goodbye Jimmy. Thanks for your friendship and the songs I will carry in my heart forever. Sail On Sailor 🦜🌴🌊,” Chesney’s post said.

Kenny’s post also included a 2021 throwback of their “Margaritaville” collaboration.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kenny Chesney (@kennychesney)

Toby Keith posted on instagram remembering the legend. His post included a couple of old pictures he had with Buffet. Toby noted that Jimmy had a huge influence on so many in the country music industry.

“The pirate has passed. RIP Jimmy Buffett. Tremendous influence on so many of us -T.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Toby Keith (@tobykeith)

Toby Keith and Jimmy Buffett have a lot of history.

Did you know Toby actually asked Jimmy to record his hit song “Red Solo Cup” with him? What’s even more shocking is that Jimmy declined the offer!

“It’s kind of a funny story, actually,” Keith said. “I’d tried to rope Jimmy into doing ‘Red Solo Cup’ with me, and he passed. He said, ‘No, I don’t think so.'”

“Red Solo Cup” later became a major hit, and Buffett realized what a mistake he made by turning Keith down. Jimmy called Toby years later and asked him to join him on his song “Too Drunk To Karaoke.”
According to Toby, Buffett said, “You can tell me no if you want.” Keith replied, “No way, Jimmy. I’m in.'”

“Back when it was just me and my acoustic guitar, and I was playing some little happy hour somewhere, I did all of his [Buffett] hits,” Toby recalled. “‘Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes,’ ‘Come Monday,’ ‘Margaritaville.’ I did those right along with all the Haggard and Willie covers, but the Buffett stuff was hard to beat.”

Around the same time Jimmy and Toby recorded “Too Drunk To Karaoke” for Buffett’s album, Songs From St. Somewhere, they also recorded “Sailboat For Sale” for a later Toby Keith album. “Sailboat For Sale” is the 8th track on Toby’s 35 MPH Town album.

Watch “Too Drunk to Karaoke” in the video below.