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Keith Urban Shares Memories, Performs Thoughtful Tribute to Jimmy Buffett

Urban reflected on spending time with Buffett on a Caribbean island.

The world said goodbye to music legend and frequent country music collaborator Jimmy Buffett on Friday, September 1. Since then, tributes from artists of all genres have been pouring in — including from Kenny Chesney and Old Dominion — and Keith Urban shared a special tribute to Buffett during a show in Atlantic City over the weekend.

The singer started by sharing a personal memory with Buffett. Urban explained that he and his wife Nicole once got together for dinner with Buffett and his wife Jane on a Caribbean island. While they were spending time together, Buffett suggested he and Urban play some music at a local bar. So, that's exactly what they did.

"I was shocked today to hear about that and was immediately thinking about a time that we got to go down to St. Barts, and we got an invite from Jimmy to go have dinner with him and his wife," Urban says. "When we were down there, Jimmy said to me, 'Man, you should grab your guitar. There's a bar in town, and I'm sure if we take our guitars they'll let us sit in.'"

Urban then shared a photo of the moment he and Buffett took the stage. He also expressed his grief at the loss of such a talent.

"It was such an honor to know him and a huge loss, but an incredible legacy of music that he's left," Urban said.

He then did the natural thing one must do when honoring a legend and launched into a tune. First, Urban sang a verse and chorus of Buffett's 1974 song "Come Monday," which the singer says is one of the first songs he learned when he started playing guitar. After that, Urban began singing one of Buffett's most recognizable hits, "Margaritaville." This, of course, turned into a sing-along with the crowd.

Watch below:

Buffett passed away at the age of 76 after a battle with a form of skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma.

 

READ MORE: Story Behind the Song: The Texas Origins of Jimmy Buffett's 'Margaritaville'