I've been somewhat unplugged and had not heard. That's a tough loss.
He had a much broader appeal than just one slice of the American music scene too... Jimmy Buffett, it could be argued, even had a measurable impact on pop-country radio. Not that I think he meant to... he was just doing what he did, and they came to him. I think the first time I ever really paid attention to him, he was doing a collaborative with James Taylor (this would've been maybe 25 years ago...) and it got in my head, there was so more to the guy than leader of an overblown party band. The writing was particularly smart, but still... funny! It's hard to do that on a project deadline.
You always feel better better when a Buffet tune plays. What better can you say?
