Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavored song “Margaritaville” and turned that celebration of loafing into an empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, has died. He was 76. “Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,” a statement posted to Buffett’s official website and social media pages said late Friday. “He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.” The statement did not say where Buffett died or give a cause of death. Illness had forced him to reschedule concerts in May and Buffett acknowledged in social media posts that he had been hospitalized, but provided no specifics. Read: Why are fans throwing objects at favourite musicians on stage? Adele speaks out “Margaritaville,” released on Feb. 14, 1977, quickly took on a life of its own, becoming a state of mind for those ”wastin’ away,” an excuse for a life of low-key fun and escapism for those “growing older, but not up.” The song is the unhurried portrait of a loafer on his front porch, watching tourists sunbathe while a pot of shrimp is beginning to boil. The signer has a new tattoo, a likely hangover and regrets over a lost love. Somewhere there is a misplaced salt shaker. “What seems like a simple ditty about getting blotto and mending a broken heart turns out to be a profound meditation on the often painful inertia of beach dwelling,” Spin magazine wrote in 2021. “The tourists come and go, one group indistinguishable from the other. Waves crest and break whether somebody is there to witness it or not. Everything that means anything has already happened and you’re not even sure when.” The song — from the album “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” — spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at No. 8. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016 for its cultural and historic significance, became a karaoke standard and helped brand Key West, Florida, as a distinct sound of music and a destination known the world over. “There was no such place as Margaritaville,” Buffett told the Arizona Republic in 2021. “It was a made-up place in my mind, basically made up about my experiences in Key West and having to leave Key West and go on the road to work and then come back and spend time by the beach.” The song soon inspired restaurants and resorts, turning Buffett’s alleged desire for the simplicity of island life into a multimillion brand. He landed at No. 13 in Forbes’ America’s Richest Celebrities in 2016 with a net worth of $550 million. Music critics were never very kind to Buffett or his catalogue, including the sandy beach-side snack bar songs like “Fins,” “Come Monday” and “Cheeseburgers in Paradise.” But his legions of fans, called “Parrotheads,” regularly turned up for his concerts wearing toy parrots, cheeseburgers, sharks and flamingos on their heads, leis around their necks and loud Hawaiian shirts. Read: Mexican musician finds refuge in saxophone after acid attack “It’s pure escapism is all it is,” he told the Republic. “I’m not the first one to do it, nor shall I probably be the last. But I think it’s really a part of the human condition that you’ve got to have some fun. You’ve got to get away from whatever you do to make a living or other parts of life that stress you out. I try to make it at least 50/50 fun to work and so far it’s worked out.” His special Gulf Coast mix of country, pop, folk and rock added instruments and tonalities more commonly found in the Caribbean, like steel drums. It was a stew of steelpans, trombones and pedal steel guitar. Buffett’s incredible ear for hooks and light grooves were often overshadowed by his lyrics about fish tacos and sunsets. Rolling Stone, in a review of Buffett’s 2020 album “Life on the Flip Side,” gave grudging props. “He continues mapping out his surfy, sandy corner of pop music utopia with the chill, friendly warmth of a multi-millionaire you wouldn’t mind sharing a tropically-themed 3 p.m. IPA with, especially if his gold card was on the bar when the last round came.” Buffett’s evolving brand began in 1985 with the opening of a string of Margaritaville-themed stores and restaurants in Key West, followed in 1987 with the first Margaritaville Café nearby. Over the course of the next two decades, several more of each opened throughout Florida, New Orleans and California. Read: Musicians Hall of Fame to honor group with New Jersey roots The brand has since expanded to dozens of categories, including resorts, apparel and footwear for men and women, a radio station, a beer brand, ice tea, tequila and rum, home décor, food items like salad dressing, Margaritaville Crunchy Pimento Cheese & Shrimp Bites and Margaritaville Cantina Style Medium Chunky Salsa, the Margaritaville at Sea cruise line and restaurants, including Margaritaville Restaurant, JWB Prime Steak and Seafood, 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar & Grill and LandShark Bar & Grill. There also was a Broadway-bound jukebox musical, “Escape to Margaritaville,” a romantic comedy in which a singer-bartender called Sully falls for the far more career-minded Rachel, who is vacationing with friends and hanging out at Margaritaville, the hotel bar where Sully works. James William Buffett was born on Christmas day 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and raised in the port town of Mobile, Alabama. He graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and went from busking the streets of New Orleans to playing six nights a week at Bourbon Street clubs. He released his first record, “Down To Earth,” in 1970 and issued seven more on a regular yearly clip, with his 1974 song “Come Monday” from his fourth studio album “Living and Dying in ¾ Time,” peaking at No. 30. Then came “Margaritaville.” He performed on more than 50 studio and live albums, often accompanied by his Coral Reefer Band, and was constantly on tour. He earned two Grammy Award nominations, two Academy of Country Music Awards and a Country Music Association Award. Buffett was actually in Austin, Texas, when the inspiration struck for “Margaritaville.” He and a friend had stopped for lunch at a Mexican restaurant before she dropped him at the airport for a flight home to Key West, so they got to drinking margaritas. “And I kind of came up with that idea of this is just like Margarita-ville,” Buffett told the Republic. “She kind of laughed at that and put me on the plane. And I started working on it.” He wrote some on the plane and finished it while driving down the Keys. “There was a wreck on the bridge,” he said. “And we got stopped for about an hour so I finished the song on the Seven Mile Bridge, which I thought was apropos.” Read: Irish music legend Sinéad O’Connor of 'Nothing Compares 2 U' fame dead at 56 Buffett also was the author of numerous books including “Where Is Joe Merchant?” and “A Pirate Looks at Fifty” and added movies to his resume as co-producer and co-star of an adaptation of Carl Hiaasen’s novel “Hoot.” Buffett is survived by his wife, Jane; daughters, Savannah and Sarah; and son, Cameron.  

A.R. Rahman is an Indian composer, singer, and music producer, who has worked in the Indian film industry as well as internationally. He is one of the most successful and influential composers in the world and is known for his unique sound that fuses Indian classical music with electronic music and world music. At A Glance: A. R. Rahman's Life Rahman was named A. S. Dileep Kumar when he was born in Madras, Tamil Nadu, on January 6, 1967. His father, R. K. Shekhar, was a film-score composer as well as a conductor for Tamil and Malayalam films. A.R. Rahman started his schooling at Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan. However, he was dismissed from school due to poor academic results. Later he was admitted to Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School and showed his musical talent. But, he dropped out the school to pursue a music career. Then, he started musical training under Master Dhanraj. Read More: 5 Best Movies of Vidya Balan Rahman’s big break came in 1992 when he was asked to compose the score for the Tamil film “Roja.” The soundtrack was a huge success and established Rahman as one of the leading film composers in India. He went on to compose music for many other successful films, including “Bombay,” “Taal,” “Lagaan,” “Rang De Basanti,” and “Slumdog Millionaire,” which earned him two Academy Awards. Rahman has also composed music for stage productions, including the “Bombay Dreams” and the Toronto productions of “The Lord of the Rings.” In addition to his work in film and theater, Rahman has also released several solo albums and worked on various philanthropic projects. Rahman has received numerous awards and accolades for his work, including six National Film Awards, two Academy Awards, and two Grammy Awards. He has also been honored with the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian awards in India, and the Padma Shri, another prestigious award given by the Indian government. Read More: 5 Best Movies of Mel Gibson 10 Lesser-Known Facts About A. R. Rahman Composer A. R. Rahman is well known for his musical achievements, but the following are some of the lesser-known facts about him that everyone is less concerned about. Converted to Islam Although Rahman was born a Hindu, he along with other family members converted to Islam at the age of 2023 in 1989 and changed his name to Allah Rakha Rahman (A. R. Rahman). Musical Training Under Master Dhanraj Rahman took a music lesson from Ustad Dhanraj. At the age of 11, he joined the orchestra of renowned Malayalam composer MK Arjunan, a close friend of his father, as a player. He quickly mastered vocals, guitar, percussion, drums, harpsichord, fingerboard, keyboard, piano, accordion, goblet, drums, concert harp, etc. Impressed by his talent, renowned composers like MS Viswanathan and Ramesh Naidu, Raj Koti also offered him an opportunity to work with them. Read More: 2022 rewind: A year of abundance for silver screens, OTT platforms Scholarship in Trinity College of Music He embarked on a world tour with Zakir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan, and L Shankar in his teenage. At that time, Rahman got a scholarship from Trinity College London to the Trinity College of Music. Later, while studying in Madras, he obtained a diploma in ‘Western Classical Music’ from a local school.

Singer Mehreen has been honoured with the Bangladesh Cultural Reporters Association (BCRA) Best Pop Singer Award 2022 for her outstanding contribution throughout her illustrious career in the music industry. The award was handed over at the 27th anniversary of BCRA held at the International Mother Language Institute in the capital recently. Read: Pooja to receive Vietnam President’s “Friendship Medal” Wednesday Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud attended the programme as the chief guest and handed over the award to the singer. President of Nagorik Dhaka’s President M Nayeem Hossain was also present there.   

Leading Bollywood singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, died of a suspected heart attack in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata late on Tuesday night. He was 53. Local media reports said that the 53-year-old singer fell down the stairs of a private hotel in Kolkata where he was staying, hours after a concert in the city's Nazrul Mancha auditorium. He was rushed to a nearby private hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival, the reports said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Bollywood celebrities took to Twitter to express their condolences on KK's demise. READ: Bollywood singer Babul Supriyo quits politics "Saddened by the untimely demise of noted singer Krishnakumar Kunnath popularly known as KK. His songs reflected a wide range of emotions and struck a chord with people of all age groups. We will always remember him through his songs. Condolences to his family and fans," Modi wrote. "Extremely sad and shocked to know of the sad demise of KK. What a loss! Om Shanti," Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar tweeted. Regarded as one of the most versatile singers of his generation, KK recorded songs in a number of Indian regional languages like Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Assamese apart from Hindi. He shot to fame in the late 1990s for songs like 'Pal' and 'Yaaron'.

Legendary Bengali singer Sandhya Mukherjee, who worked with leading music directors such as SD Burman, Naushad and Salil Chaudhury, died on Tuesday evening following a massive cardiac attack, said an official of the hospital where she was admitted. Sandhya Mukherjee was 90. She is survived by a daughter, reports NDTV. She was in hospital since the last week of January due to ill health. She was put on vasopressor support earlier in the day as her blood pressure dropped. READ: The day the music died in India "She suffered a massive heart attack at around 7.30 PM following which she expired," the senior hospital official told PTI. The singer had tested positive for Covid-19 along with cardiac ailments, multi-organ dysfunction and fracture in the femur bone due to a fall.

Indians woke up on Sunday, a weekend holiday, to a shocking news that legendary playback singer Lata Mangeshkar died, as heartfelt tributes began pouring in for the 'Queen of Melody'. Lata, who had been hospitalised with Covid and pneumonia since the middle of January, passed away at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai city around 8am at the age of 92. With over 30,000 songs to her name in 36 Indian and foreign languages since the 1940s, Lata made it to the coveted Guinness Book of World Records as the globe's most recorded artiste. READ: PM mourns death of legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar From Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and opposition politician Rahul Gandhi to Bollywood celebrities like Hema Malini and cricket icon Virat Kohli, all took to social media to pay tributes as the government announced two days of national mourning. PM Modi was among the first ones to share the tragic news with the nation on Twitter, saying that "beyond films, she was always passionate about India's growth". "The kind and caring Lata Didi has left us. She leaves a void in our nation that cannot be filled. The coming generations will remember her as a stalwart of Indian culture, whose melodious voice had an unparalleled ability to mesmerise people. "Dhe closely witnessed the transitions of the Indian film world for decades. Beyond films, she was always passionate about India's growth. She always wanted to see a strong and developed India," he tweeted. India's main opposition Congress leader Gandhi tweeted, "Her golden voice is immortal and will continue to echo in the hearts of her fans. My condolences to her family, friends and fans." Bollywood actress Hema Malini said she was "deeply shocked" as with Lata's death, 'an era in Bollywood has ended". Lata was, in fact, the singing voice of many leading actresses of yesteryears -- Hema Malini being the most prominent among them. Former Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli also tweeted his condolences. "Deeply saddened to hear about the demise of Lata ji. Her melodious songs touched millions of people around the world. Thank you for all the music and the memories," he wrote. Lata was born in the city of Indore in the central state of Madhya Pradesh on 28th September 1929. She began her music training under her father Deenanath, a theatre personality. Officially she began her singing career at the age of 13, when the family relocated to Mumbai after her father's demise in 1942. Seven years later, Lata hogged limelight for her first major hit song 'Aayega Aanewaala' in a Bollywood movie. READ: Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar hospitalised with Covid From 1960s to 2000s, she dominated Bollywood. In 1974, Lata became the first Indian singer to perform at Royal Albert Hall in the British capital. In 1989, Lata was given Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest recognition in the field of cinema. In 2001, Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, was bestowed on her by the Indian government. Lata's sister Asha Bhosle is also a singing legend. But Lata had cleared said in an interview that they never competed with each other. "We're very close," she had said.

Veteran Indian playback singer Sandhya Mukherjee, who sang the iconic song  'Bangabandhu Tumi Phirey Ele' when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was freed from prison, has been hospitalised in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata. The 90-year-old was rushed to Kolkata's premier state-run SSKM hospital  on Thursday after she complained of breathlessness. Hospital doctors told the local media that she was suffering from a lung infection that triggered her breathlessness. "A medical board has been constituted at SSKM Hospital to treat Mukherjee," a doctor said. Also read: Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar hospitalised with Covid A recipient of Banga Bibhushan, the highest civilian honour of the eastern state of West Bengal, Mukherjee began her music career as a classical vocalist. Apart from several Bengali songs, she sang, as a playback singer, in 17 Bollywood films.  During the Bangladesh Liberation War, she raised money for the millions of Bengali refugees who came to Bengal to escape the fighting. Also read: Film director Kazi Hayat hospitalised Mukherjee subsequently became one of the first foreign artists to perform at an open-air concert in Paltan Maidan in Dhaka to celebrate the first Ekushey February after Bangladesh became independent in 1971.

Legendary Indian playback singer Lata Mangeshkar has been hospitalised in the western city of Mumbai after testing positive for Covid-19. The 92-year-old 'Queen of Melody' was rushed to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the premier Breach Candy Hospital after her RT-PCR test result came positive, her niece Rachana told the local media on Tuesday. "She is mild Covid positive. Considering her age, doctors advised us that she should be in the ICU because she requires constant care. She will be fine. But it's going to take a while because of her age," Rachana said. Also read: Sohel Rana shifted from ICU to cabin Considered one of the leading and most respected playback singers in India, Lata has recorded songs in over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over 35 Indian languages and foreign languages. In fact, she began her singing career at the age of 13, after her father's demise in 1942. Seven years later, Lata hogged limelight for her first major hit song 'Aayega Aanewaala' in a Bollywood movie. Also read: Sourav Ganguly's daughter contracts Covid From 1960s to 2000s, she dominated Bollywood. In 1974, Lata became the first Indian singer to perform at Royal Albert Hall in the British capital. In 1989, Lata was given Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest recognition in the field of cinema. In 2001, Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, was bestowed on her by the Indian government.

Electronics and home appliances retailer Singer Bangladesh has come up with a 50 per cent discount on its special edition refrigerators to celebrate 50 years of Bangladesh's independence. The designs of the refrigerators are inspired by the 1971 Liberation War and the celebration of victory. Read: Singer brings Instant Water Heater Chandana Samarasinghe, marketing director of Singer Bangladesh, said: "Singer Bangladesh is proud to be a part of the celebration of 50 years of Bangladesh's independence." In March this year, Singer launched a year-long programme to mark and commemorate the 50 years of Bangladesh's independence with special edition products and offers.

Singer has brought Instant Water Heater to the Bangladesh market. The water heater comes with a stepless electronic power control. The appliance is restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS)-compliant. It comes with triple safety protection, consisting of a built-in auto flow switch to prevent overheating. Read 50 years of Bangladesh's independence: Singer offers 50% discount on special edition refrigerators Also, the water heater possesses a built-in lightning surge protector, 15mA earth-leakage circuit breaker, residual current device, which cuts off power in the event of power leakage. All these features are catered towards the safety of the users. Singer Instant Water Heater is available for Tk11,990 with a 1-year warranty. Read Singer Washing Machines: Caring for our clothes right