Jimmy Buffett Battled Rare Skin Cancer

For four years, Jimmy Buffett battled a rare, aggressive skin cancer. "He continued to perform during treatment" Merkel cell carcinoma, an obituary on the singer's website notes, playing as recently as July. Buffett died Friday night at age 76. The rare disease is an aggressive form of cancer that most often surfaces as a painless lump on skin that's been exposed to the sun, per the National Cancer Institute. Buffett entered hospice care last week, TMZ reports, adding that Paul McCartney visited his house recently to sing for the family.

"He had a most amazing lust for life and a beautiful sense of humor," McCartney, who posted this weekend on X, per USA Today. "When we swapped tales about the past his were so exotic and lush and involved sailing trips and surfing and so many exciting stories that it was hard for me to keep up with him." President Biden praised Buffett as "a poet of paradise," per People. Elton John called the singer-songwriter-entrepreneur a "unique and treasured entertainer," per the Hill. "His fans adored him and he never let them down." (More Jimmy Buffett stories.)