Jimmy Buffett’s ashes were quietly brought onstage during his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction
Published Dec. 2 — Reported by Kenny Chesney on The Howard Stern Show
Jimmy Buffett attended his own Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in a manner both touching and unexpected: a small urn carrying some of his ashes was reportedly smuggled into the ceremony and kept onstage during the tribute.
During an interview posted Dec. 2 on The Howard Stern Show, country star Kenny Chesney — who helped induct Buffett alongside James Taylor and guitarist Mac McAnally in 2024 — described how McAnally arrived at the rehearsal with something concealed in his coat. Chesney said McAnally produced a small urn and revealed that it contained Buffett’s ashes, which then remained with them as the late musician was being inducted.
Chesney recalled that McAnally “had Jimmy’s ashes in his coat pocket,” and that the gesture allowed Buffett to be physically present during the ceremony.
Chesney added that Savannah Buffett — Jimmy’s daughter — had handed the urn to McAnally before the event, enabling the intimate arrangement. “Even after he passed, Jimmy found a way to join the party,” Chesney said, describing the moment as both poignant and fitting for the singer-songwriter.
Buffett, the writer of enduring hits like “Margaritaville,” “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” died at age 76 in September 2023. In October of the following year he received a posthumous induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside artists including Cher, Mary J. Blige, Ozzy Osbourne and others.
Below, watch Kenny Chesney recount how the small urn made its way into the Hall of Fame ceremony.
