Mac McAnally Breaks Silence On Jimmy Buffett’s Death

Country Singer-Songwriter & Coral Reefers Band Member Mac McAnally Pays Tribute To Jimmy Buffett After His Death

The music world is still deeply grieving the loss of Jimmy Buffett, who passed away on September 1 at the age of 76. Buffett’s many friends in the music industry paid tribute to him following his death, including Alan Jackson, Paul McCartney, and Kenny Chesney.

One of Buffett’s closest friends was country singer-songwriter Mac McAnally. On top of being friends, McAnally was a member of Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band from 1994 until Buffett’s death.

McAnally provided backing vocals for Buffett, and also played rhythm and lead guitars, dobro, and slide guitar.

Jimmy Buffett Delivered His Last Performance At McAnally’s Show

Buffett actually performed for the final time at one of McAnally’s concerts. The concert was held on July 2 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island at the Sunset Cove. Buffett surprised the audience by hopping onstage while McAnally was singing “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.”

He then performed six songs for the crowd. The Sunset Cove paid tribute to him after his death, writing:

“Jimmy Buffett, your kindness and love will always have a special place here at Sunset Cove. We will never forget the amount of smiles and love you brought to our community. You will truly be missed. May it always be 5 O’clock somewhere at Sunset Cove.”

Mac McAnally Pays Tribute To Jimmy In Emotional Facebook Post

McAnally was understandably devastated over Buffett’s death. He broke his social media silence to honor Buffett with an emotional tribute on Facebook on Monday (September 25).

“Loss and gain…I am without words for about three weeks now,” he said. “I usually have too many. The closest thing I ever had to a big brother left this world on Sept. 1.”

McAnally went on to thank everyone who’s paid tribute to Buffett these past few weeks. He said those tributes have brought him comfort during this difficult time.

He continued:

“What I can say in lieu of the right words that continue to evade is what an honor it is and has been to ride shotgun with a one man fountain of positive energy that saw fit to take me under his wing forty some odd years ago. And to the folks who only knew him from the stage or through the speakers I can tell you he was the same fellow in person that you saw and heard. Trying to help everyone he crossed paths with have the best day possible. Rich folks, poor folks, strangers and friends. Blue and white collars, all religions and political camps. He saw life as a gift to enjoy and his calling was to spread that joy. I’ve never seen anybody do it better.”

McAnally previously paid tribute to Buffett at a show in Nashville, Indiana on September 10. It was his first show after Buffett’s death. He performed with Eric Darken, who played percussion in the Coral Reefers since 2011.

The duo played two songs in tribute to Buffett. Watch their performance below.