American musician, who emerged in the avant-garde club scene of the 1990s. The talented performer was often compared to his father, Tim Buckley, a 1960s musician who died at age 28 of a drug overdose.
Like his father, Jeff died young; on 29 May 1997, he drowned in a tragic accident in the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee.
Born in 1966, Jeff never knew his father. He was raised by his mother, Mary Guibert, and his stepfather, Ron Moorhead, with a half-brother, Corey. He grew up as brother and sister to his stepfather’s children, Ann-Marie and Kevin.
As a child he was called Scotty Moorhead, although his birth certificate read “Jeffrey Scott Buckley.” When he was about ten, he chose to use his legal name, in homage to his late father.
His childhood was full of music, and at 18, he moved to Los Angeles to study music for two years at the Musician’s Institute, an endeavor he later described as a ‘waste,’ although he made life-long friends there.
He participated in various jazz bands before relocating to New York City. Although not billed as a performer because he did not feel it was right to use the event as a career stepping-stone, his public debut occurred at a tribute performance for his father on 26 April 1991.
Signed by Columbia Records, he accompanied himself on electric guitar and released “Live at Sin-e” in November 1993. His 1994 release “Grace” received raves, and the artist with the ethereal voice and incredible four-octave vocal range began touring. Well-received in Europe, in 1995, he received France’s “Grand Prix International Du Disque” award.
A gifted composer, many of his fans describe his music as spiritual and moving; however, he stated he wasn’t allied with any organized religion. He added, “If you want divinity, the music in every human being and their love for music is pretty much it.”
His lyrics often spoke of the injustices he saw, of the laws that repelled him, of the death of Western civilization, and about the problems he had with the modern world and those in power. He spoke of insanity, which he felt was all around him, and his fear was that he too would become insane. The shadow of his father loomed large throughout Jeff’s short life, sometimes becoming hard to live with. He very badly wanted to just be Jeff Buckley and to change the world.
Increasingly troubled, yet driven by something urgent and restless inside himself, he was working on his second album in the spring of 1997. On the night of his death, he and a friend were on the riverbank when he spontaneously decided to go swimming, jumping into the river fully clothed. He disappeared, pulled under the water by the wake from a passing tugboat. His body was found on 4 June 1997.
Buckley’s final recordings were compiled and released as “Sketches” in May 1998, and a posthumous live album was released in May 2000. His songs, passionate and brimming with emotion, and his willingness to throw his music into freeform chaos left an indelible imprint on the music world.
Link to Wikipedia biography