Jeff Buckley was born in 1966 in Orange County, California. He was the son of 60s singer songwriter Tim Buckley, who died when Jeff was only nine years old. When Jeff released his debut album Grace in 1995, he was hailed as one of the 90s most talented singer songwriters. This amazing record had the mouths of music critics dragging on the floor. Jeff and his band had a unique sound. They had a great talent for song structure. The application of a simple rhythm section backing Jeff�s lead guitar were often enhanced by keyboards and strings, making Jeff�s music that much more amazing. However, the thing that really bowled people over was Jeff�s voice. Just like his father, Jeff was able to govern the mood and tone of a song with his amazing voice. As he crooned a line, and lifted it into a high falsetto, you knew exactly how he felt. His songs spoke of broken hearts, sung with an honesty and sincerity matched by few.
The first time I heard Jeff Buckley was when I was in 8th grade. Every morning before school I would turn on MTV and watch videos for about 30 minutes or so. Jeff 's song "Last Goodbye" was an MTV Buzz Clip at the time, and so every now and then I would see it on television. Whenever I would see the short promo for Buzz Clips, the line that always played from "Last Goodbye" was "Kiss me, please Kiss me..." Whenever I heard that, I always thought, "WOW! This guy has a wild voice!" I had to struggle to even imitate that notes that he sang. But I did like the song. I loved the lyrics because you could really feel him aching. And for him to get that message across to me is really all that mattered.
Jeff had been seen as a godsent by some people who felt that the singer songwriter was a breed that had been long gone. Jeff was going to make things better. He was just starting to take off, ready and willing to take on the world. But he wouldn't get that chance.
One day in early June of 1997, I again was watching MTV. A news brief came on. Kurt Loader announced that Jeff's body had been found in the Missisippi River. At the age of 30, he had drowned. I felt sad because it's always a terrible thing when someone dies. But I still hadn't realized what a great loss Jeff's death was to the art of the singer/songwriter. |
