Tim Krekel, Nashville songwriter and former lead guitarist for Jimmy Buffett, has died after a short battle with cancer. He was 58 years old.

Tim Krekel, a musician whose career started in Louisville before he was a teenager and soared to two stints as lead guitar for Jimmy Buffett’s band and a reputation in Nashville as a hit songwriter, died Wednesday afternoon at his Louisville home. He was 58.

Krekel died of cancer, which he had been fighting since a diagnosis and surgery in March, according to his family.

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[His] talent twice landed Krekel a touring gig as lead guitarist with Jimmy Buffett, first in the mid-1970s. Krekel told The Courier-Journal in 1978 that he was proud of his work on the singles “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and “Livingston Saturday Night” on Buffett’s “Son of a Son of a Sailor” album.

Soon after that album’s release, Krekel focused more on establishing a solo career. He recorded on two major labels: His first album, “Crazy Me,” was released in 1979 by Capricorn as it went bankrupt.

He started another band, the Sluggers, which released two albums, including “Over the Fence” on Arista in 1986. When that band broke up, he hooked back up with Buffett, including for a 1987 appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”

It’s one of the most venerable stops on the annual tour: Great Woods in Mansfield, Massachusetts (formerly Tweeter Center and now called the Comcast Center). Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band will play the first of two shows at the Comcast Center tonight and the second on Saturday night.

The show will start shortly after 8 pm ET and you can listen live on Radio Margaritaville on Sirius 31 / XM 55 or on the web for free at radiomargaritaville.com. Be sure to tune in at 7:30 pm for the pre-show.

You can follow along with the set list and chat with other parrotheads during the show on our discussion board.

We’ll also tweet during the show, so follow BuffettWorld on Twitter.

Grab tickets for this show or for another upcoming show here!

The show was back on the road tonight as Jimmy and the band played the next stop on the Summerzcool Tour with a show in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania.

The set list was primarily the same as recent shows with the exception of one song. “Lovely Cruise” returned in the encore for the first time on this leg of the tour.

View the entire set list here.

Did you attend the show? Share your thoughts on our Discussion Board or post your photos in our Photo Gallery.

The 2009 Summerzcool Tour continues Thursday with the first of two shows at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA. There’s still plenty of time to get your tickets now!

“A Very Special Evening with the members of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band and Changes In Latitudes” (at Indian Ranch, Webster, MA.) on Friday June 26, 8:00 PM.

Join Coral Reefers Nadirah Shakoor and Doyle Grisham, currently on tour with Jimmy Buffett, appearing with Indian Ranch favorites “Changes In Latitudes” on Friday night June 26, for an evening celebrating the music of Jimmy Buffett.

Nadirah has just released her own CD, “Nod to the Storyteller”, a collection of her favorite Buffett tunes.

Doors open at 8:00. Tickets $20.00 available at IndianRanch.com and at the gate.

The Summerzcool tour was back tonight as Jimmy and the band played the second of two shows on this leg of the Summerzcool Tour in Camden, New Jersey.

The set list was primarily the same with the exception of a couple of songs. “Uncle John’s Band,” last played April 18, 2006 in Phoenix, took the place of “Scarlet Begonias” in the second set. The other change came in the encore as “Another Saturday Night,” last played July 26, 2008 in Chicago, replaced “Yellow Submarine” for the first time this tour.

View the entire set list here.

Did you attend the show? Share your thoughts on our Discussion Board or post your photos in our Photo Gallery.

The 2009 Summerzcool Tour continues Tuesday with a show from the Post Gazette Pavilion in Burgettstown, PA. There’s still plenty of time to get your tickets now!