Known for his vocal range of at least 3.5 octaves (recorded range A2 to E6), Buckley was considered by critics to be one of the most promising artists of his generation after the release of his 1994 debut album Grace.
At the height of his popularity, however, Buckley drowned during an evening swim in 1997. His work and style continue to be highly regarded by critics and fellow musicians.
Childhood
Born in Anaheim, California, Jeff Buckley was the only son of Mary Guibert and Tim Buckley. His father was a songwriter who released a series of highly acclaimed folk and jazz albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s before his own untimely death in 1975. His mother was of Panamanian descent, while his father was the descendant of Irish emigrants from Cork. Buckley was raised by his mother and step-father Ron Moorhead (for just a few years) in Southern California, constantly moving in and around Orange County. He had a half-brother, Corey Moorhead. During his childhood he was known as Scott “Scottie” Moorhead. At the age of 8 he chose to go by his birth name after meeting his father for the first (and only) time. To his family he remained known as Scottie.
Career
At eighteen, Buckley moved to Los Angeles, where he graduated from the Musician’s Institute’s two-year course. Buckley often called his time at the Institute a “waste,” although he made life-long friends there. His diverse musical background was reflected in the bands in which he participated before going solo. In L.A., he was in the reggae band Shinehead, as well as a number of other bands in which he exclusively played guitar.
Buckley moved to New York in 1990. His public debut as a singer was the 1991 tribute performance for his father, Tim Buckley, at St. Ann’s Church in New York City. Jeff was not billed as a performer, choosing simply to pay his respects to his father, saying “This is not a springboard, this is something very personal”. He performed “I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain” with experimental rock guitarist Gary Lucas accompanying him and did an acoustic / a cappella performance of “Once I Was” that brought the venue to stunned silence. When questioned about that particular performance, Buckley said “It wasn’t my work, it wasn’t my life. But it bothered me that I hadn’t been to his funeral, that I’d never been able to tell him anything. I used that show to pay my last respects.” Lucas convinced Buckley to stay in New York, and to form a musical duo. Lucas wrote the music for two of Buckley’s most acclaimed songs “Grace” and “Mojo Pin”.
In the meantime, Buckley became a regular solo performer at the East Village cafe Sin-é, where he attracted admiring crowds, and the attention of executives from Columbia Records. An EP of four songs recorded at Sin-é was released on Columbia in 1993.
Grace Album
Buckley performed with Gary Lucas’ band Gods and Monsters, but soon split with Lucas in order to form his own band. In 1994 Buckley released his debut album Grace, composed of ten tracks. He invited Lucas to play guitar on the album versions of “Grace” and “Mojo Pin”. While sales were slow, the album quickly received critical acclaim and appreciation from other musicians. His cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah is considered by many to be the definitive recording of that song and is probably Buckley’s best-known song.
Touring
After the release of his first and critically acclaimed album, Buckley spent more than two years touring around the world. It seemed to be a tiring yet effective means for him to keep his independence from his record company, with which he had a strained relationship. In 1995 Buckley played a concert at the Paris Olympia, a venue made famous by the French chanteuse Édith Piaf, which he considered the finest performance of his career. Sony has since released a live recording of that performance.
Buckley also went on a so-called “phantom solo tour” of small club venues in the U.S., starting in December 1996, using several aliases including: Father Demo, Topless America, Smackcrobiotic, The Halfspeeds, Crackrobats, and Martha & the Nicotines.
By way of justification, Buckley posted a note on the Internet stating that he missed the anonymity of playing in cafes and local bars: “There was a time in my life not too long ago when I could show up in a cafe and simply do what I do, make music, learn from performing my music, explore what it means to me, i.e., have fun while I irritate and/or entertain an audience who don’t know me or what I am about. In this situation I have that precious and irreplaceable luxury of failure, of risk, of surrender. I worked very hard to get this kind of thing together, this work forum. I loved it and then I missed it when it disappeared. All I am doing is reclaiming it.â€
Death
Jeff Buckley drowned in the Wolf River, a tributary of the Mississipi River, in Memphis, Tennessee on May 29 1997. It was the evening his band came to Memphis to start recording for his second album which was to be called My Sweetheart the Drunk. He spontaneously decided to go swimming and waded into the water fully clothed. His body was recovered five days later. He was 30.
It is speculated by some that Buckley may have committed suicide, partly because he went swimming in the river fully clothed and wearing his boots. The biography Dream Brother, written about him and his father, suggests that the night before his death Buckley reportedly admitted to loved ones that he suffered from Bipolar disorder. It has been confirmed that Buckley had not taken any illegal drugs before his swim. People who personally knew Buckley do not believe that he committed suicide.
After Buckley’s death, a collection of the demo recordings for his second album were released as Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk. Three other albums comprising live recordings have also been released, along with a DVD of a live performance in Chicago.
Awards & nominations
1995 - MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best New Artist in a Video for “Last Goodbye”
1998 - Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for “Everybody Here Wants You”
Discography
- 1993 - Live at Sin-é
- 1994 - Grace
- 1995 - Live from the Bataclan
- 1998 - Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk
- 2000 - Mystery White Boy
- 2001 - Live a L’Olympia
- 2002 - Songs To No One 1991-1992
- 2002 - The Grace EPs
- 2003 - Live at Sin-é (Legacy Edition)
- 2004 - Grace (Legacy Edition)
Tribute songs
- “A Body Goes Down” - Duncan Sheik
- “As I Wander” - Ours
- “Bandstand in the Sky” - Pete Yorn
- “Bleed” - Ours
- “Blind River Boy” - Amy Correia
- “By Yourself” - Sister 7
- “Gorgeous” - Kashmir
- “Grace” - Rachael Sage
- “Grey Ghost” - Mike Doughty
- “I Heard You Singing” - Ours
- “I Sang For You” - Edible Red
- “In a Flash” - Ron Sexsmith
- “JB” - Welcome To Roswell
- “Just Like Anyone” - Aimee Mann
- “Living In A Video” - Ours
- “Memphis” - PJ Harvey
- “Memphis Skyline” - Rufus Wainwright
- “New Blood” - Beth Wood
- “On the Road to Calvary” - Willie Nile
- “One Last Good Bye” - David Linx
- “Rilkean Heart” - Cocteau Twins
- “Saint Down The Hall” - Ours
- “Somebody Leave a Light On” - Dayna Kurtz
- “Song for a Dead Singer” - Zita Swoon
- “Swimming” - Chris Taylor
- “Trying Not to Think About It” - Juliana Hatfield
- “Valley of Sound” - Heather Nova
- “Wave Goodbye” - Chris Cornell
- “We Don’t Know” - Health & Happiness Show
- “Neath The Beeches” - The Frames