How Jimmy Buffett found his vibe in the Keys, and why Florida will miss his presence

MIAMI — Jimmy Buffett branded Key West as a destination and lifestyle from South Florida to the “Far Side of the World,” to quote one of his compositions. And his work will endure long after Saturday’s announcement of his death. The Mississippi-born troubadour created a fictional “Margaritaville” paradise in song that became a global destination. But even through the 1980s when he’d already written the songs that made him world famous, he appeared the regular Joe sauntering up the stairs into his office atop an old Key West building on Duval Street to pick up his own mail. By 1985, he’d opened...