Jeff Buckley's complicated fate, filled with ups, downs and tragedies

Jeff Buckley is one of those musicians whose genius was not recognised by the public until after his unfortunate death. He was gone too soon - the waters of the Wolf River took him away forever. 30-year-old rockerJeff was someone's idol, someone's friend, someone's son.....

Today, Buckley is one of the greatest rock singers in history! However, during his lifetime he could not boast of rabid popularity, not counting his high-profile cover of the famous "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen.. His album "Grace." The record gained weight only after the musician's death... The unforgivably short fate of the unrecognised genius is recalled below.

Early years

Jeff Buckley he didn't just make music, he lived it! The vocalist once said:

"Music is something incredible and absolutely endless... I'm a music lover, and in my life I've heard a huge amount of completely different music. And you know what? Every time I fall in love with a new tune, because they are all unique in their own way! There's something extraordinary, inexplicable in music... It's probably freedom".

who made history as the owner of one of the most unique voices in rock, Jeff Buckley could thank his own fatherfrom whom he got his characteristic timbre. But there was no paternal love in his childhood: their first and only meeting took place when Jeff was 1 year old. 8 years. They chatted about something of their own, sincere ... And their conversation lasted no longer than that 15 minutes. The musician's father was addicted to heavy illegal substances, which eventually killed him. The man was only 28...

Buckley's style was influenced by many of the idols of those years, but amongst Jeff's favourites are worth highlighting Nina Simone и Led Zeppelin. It was the latter band's album that started not only Buckley's love of music, but also his own record collection! The boy first picked up a guitar when he was by a 5-year-old! He found it amongst the various "household junk": as it turned out, Buckley's grandmother had bought it in the hope of getting one of the children interested... And the moment Jeff ran his tiny fingers over the strings, her plan came to fruition.

First steps

Starting in the mid-1980s, Jeff began independent He enrolled in a music institute and moved to Los Angeles to live. The young man had no money, so he had to pay almost daily moonlight in several groups to pay rent and make ends meet.....

Jeff started signing up at the onset 1990-х. At the same time he was asked to perform at a tribute concert in honour of his father. His father, Tim Buckleywas a songwriter and performer. The guy agreed, but in his own words - not to attract an audience:

"I didn't see it as an opportunity to make a statement. It was something very personal... I didn't attend his funeral and this concert was an opportunity for me to pay my respects to my father..."

The underappreciated "Grace"

Jeff's first success came with a band Gods and MonstersThe young band confidently conquered the New York scene. The young band confidently conquered the New York scene, but soon Buckley wanted to go a step further and began to perform solo. His favourite venues were East Village: cafes, bars, clubs ...

As early as 1993, the promising vocalist was already noticed by the Columbia Records. A contract was signed, and soon Jeff and the band he had assembled were unveiling the record to the public "Grace.". Despite being produced by the not-so-famous Andy Wallacethe album was a very meagre success...

By the time the public fell in love with Buckley for his hit singles "Last Goodbye." и "Mojo Pin."In particular for his successful cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", his debut solo "Grace" did not make a proper sensation. However, it did find its share of listeners. Then Jeff and his crew rushed into three-year tour in support of the disc! And in those 3 years, they have witnessed their popularity grow....

Grace's popularity and influence grew with each passing year. This became especially evident after of Buckley's death... Even nowadays, world-renowned music publications such as Rolling Stone and Mojo have proclaimed this album as a one of the greatest! And the famous aesthete David Bowie and even stated that Grace would be the only album he would take with him to a desert island. All this leads to two thoughts: either Buckley's death has drawn attention to his work and made people romanticise this music, or Jeff is the only person who has ever made a record of his own. outpaced in your own time.

At the end of days...

By early 1997, Jeff was already beginning to realise the full extent seriousness and the consequences of popularity:

"There were times when I could just turn up at a cafe, walk around all day, do whatever I wanted... Now it's just fond memories..."

In the twilight of his days, Buckley had time to work with Patti Smith on her album "Gone Again"and even won the Ivor Novello Award! Shortly before his tragic death, Jeff began working on new album... Lastly, he gave a few concerts with his band.

Jeff flew in to Memphis before the other participants. In search of inspiration and mental harmony, he and his technicians Keith Foti went to Mud Island - the guys had planned to just relax and play at sunset... But it didn't work out. When they parked, Jeff's first order of business was to go to the river Wolfe - He had swum in it many times before, so when he followed his usual route in his clothes he did not arouse his mate's suspicion. Foti recalled how Buckley had walked to the river humming to himself "Whole Lotta Love." Led Zeppelin.

At one point, Buckley disappeared He didn't return to shore for a long time and Keith sounded the alarm! Jeff's body was not discovered until 6 days later... It was later found that the rocker was absolutely soberso they wrote it off as an accident.

Conclusion

After his death, Jeff's mother carried on his business. Mary Guibert began working with Columbia Records on posthumous releases, the first of which was a "Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk" 1998 of the year. The album includes studio recordings and demos made by Buckley shortly before the tragedy...

"Since then, I've had to divide myself into parts: a musician, a businesswoman and a loving mother living inside me, whose emotions are the hardest to drown out while working..."