Jeff Buckley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jeff Buckley
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Buckley in 1994
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jeffrey Scott Buckley |
| Also known as | Scott "Scottie" Moorhead |
| Born | November 17, 1966 Anaheim, California, U.S. |
| Origin | East Village, Manhattan, New York |
| Died | May 29, 1997 (aged 30) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, guitarist |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1990–1997 |
| Labels | Columbia |
| Associated acts |
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Jeffrey Scott Buckley (born November 17, 1966 – died May 29, 1997) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was also known as Scott Moorhead when he was younger. Jeff Buckley became famous in the early 1990s by singing cover songs in New York City. He slowly started to focus on his own music.
He signed with Columbia Records and formed a band. In 1994, they released his only studio album, Grace. For the next three years, Jeff and his band toured a lot. They played concerts in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia. In 1997, Buckley moved to Memphis, Tennessee, to work on a new album. Sadly, he passed away on May 29, 1997, in the Mississippi River.
Since his death, many of his recordings have been released. His cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" became a number one hit online in 2008. Rolling Stone magazine put Grace on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. They also named Buckley one of the greatest singers ever.
Contents
Early Life and Music Beginnings
Jeff Buckley was born in Anaheim, California. He was the only son of Mary Guibert and singer Tim Buckley. Jeff was raised by his mother and stepfather, Ron Moorhead. He moved around Orange County a lot as a child. When he was young, people called him Scott "Scottie" Moorhead.
His biological father, Tim Buckley, was a singer-songwriter. Jeff said he only met his father once, when he was eight years old. After his father died in 1975, Jeff decided to use his birth name, Jeffrey Scott Buckley. His family still called him "Scottie."
Music was a big part of Jeff's childhood. His mother played piano and cello. His stepfather introduced him to bands like Led Zeppelin and Queen. Jeff started playing guitar at age five. By age 12, he knew he wanted to be a musician. He got his first electric guitar, a black Les Paul, at 13. He played in his high school jazz band.
After high school, he went to the Musicians Institute in Hollywood. He studied music theory there. He liked learning about interesting harmonies from composers like Ravel and Ellington.
Starting His Music Career
For six years, Buckley worked in a hotel and played guitar in different bands. He played many styles, from jazz to heavy metal. He also toured with reggae artist Shinehead. During this time, he mostly sang backing vocals.
In 1990, he moved to New York City. He discovered Qawwali, a type of music from India and Pakistan. He loved the singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and often sang Khan's songs. He also became interested in blues musician Robert Johnson. Buckley moved back to Los Angeles in 1990. His father's former manager, Herb Cohen, helped him record his first demo tape. This tape had four original songs.
In 1991, Buckley returned to New York to sing at a tribute concert for his father. The event was held at St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn. Buckley sang some of his father's songs. He said he did it to pay his last respects to his father. This concert helped him get noticed in the music world.
Later in 1991, Buckley started writing songs with guitarist Gary Lucas. They wrote "Grace" and "Mojo Pin". He also performed with Lucas's band Gods and Monsters. But he decided to leave the band in 1992.
Buckley then started performing alone at clubs and cafés in New York. Sin-é became his main place to play. He performed a mix of cover songs and his own music. He sang songs by artists like Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, and Leonard Cohen. He played a borrowed Fender Telecaster guitar. He learned how to perform by playing for small audiences.
Record labels started to notice him. In October 1992, Buckley signed a deal with Columbia Records. In 1993, he recorded some of his solo songs. These recordings were released as an EP called Live at Sin-é on November 23, 1993. This EP showed what his live performances were like.
Recording Grace
In mid-1993, Buckley began working on his first album, Grace. He formed a band with bassist Mick Grøndahl and drummer Matt Johnson. They spent weeks practicing together.
In September, they went to Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York. They spent six weeks recording the main parts of the songs for Grace. Gary Lucas played guitar on "Grace" and "Mojo Pin". A jazz musician named Karl Berger helped with the string arrangements. Buckley then added more parts to the songs in other studios. He worked hard to get the perfect vocals.
In early 1994, Buckley went on his first solo tour in North America and Europe. When he came back, guitarist Michael Tighe joined the band. They wrote a new song called "So Real" for the album. In June, the band started their first full band tour.
Grace was released on August 23, 1994. It had seven original songs and three cover songs. These included "Lilac Wine" and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" became very famous. Time magazine called it "one of the great songs."
At first, Grace did not sell many copies. It also didn't get much radio play. But critics loved it. The Sydney Morning Herald called it "a romantic masterpiece." Over time, the album became very popular. It sold millions of copies around the world. Many famous musicians, like Jimmy Page and Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin, loved Grace. Bob Dylan called Buckley "one of the great songwriters." David Bowie said Grace was one of the albums he would take to a desert island.
Concert Tours and New Music
Buckley spent about a year and a half touring to promote Grace. The band played many concerts in the UK, Europe, and North America. They also toured Japan for the first time in early 1995.
In February 1995, they played at the Bataclan in France. Some of these songs were later released on an EP called Live from the Bataclan. In April, they toured the U.S. and Canada. A concert in Chicago was recorded and released as Live in Chicago.
From June to July 1995, they played at many summer music festivals in Europe. This included the Glastonbury Festival. Buckley also played two sold-out concerts at the Paris Olympia. This was a famous venue where French singer Édith Piaf had performed. He also sang a duet with Azerbaijani singer Alim Qasimov. Recordings from these shows were released on the album Live à L'Olympia.
Buckley then toured Australia and New Zealand. His album Grace became very popular there. He returned for another tour in 1996. However, there were some problems within the band. Drummer Matt Johnson left the group in March 1996.
After Johnson left, the band stopped performing live for a while. Buckley spent most of 1996 away from the stage. In December 1996, he played some solo shows in the Northeast U.S. He used different fake names for these concerts.
Working on a Second Album
In 1996, Buckley started writing songs for a new album. The working title was My Sweetheart the .... He met Tom Verlaine, the lead singer of the band Television. Buckley asked Verlaine to produce his new album, and Verlaine agreed.
In mid-1996, Buckley and his band started recording in New York. They recorded songs like "Sky Is a Landfill" and "Morning Theft". Parker Kindred joined as the new full-time drummer. Buckley also recorded a cover of "Yard of Blonde Girls". Another recording session happened in early 1997, but Buckley and the band were not happy with the results.
On February 4, 1997, Buckley played some new songs at a concert. Lou Reed was there and wanted to work with Buckley. The band played their first show with Parker Kindred on February 9. This concert had many of Buckley's new songs. Later that month, Buckley recorded a spoken word reading of a poem. This was his last recording in New York. Soon after, he moved to Memphis, Tennessee.
Buckley liked the idea of recording at Easley McCain Recording in Memphis. He rented a house there. From February to May 1997, Buckley played weekly solo shows at a local bar in Memphis. He used these shows to try out his new songs in front of an audience.
In February, Buckley and the band had another recording session with Verlaine in Memphis. But Buckley was still not happy with the songs. He asked Andy Wallace, who produced Grace, to take over. Buckley started recording demos on his own. He sent some of these demos to his band in New York. The band was excited to work on the album. But Buckley was not completely happy with his demos. He sent his band back to New York while he stayed to work on the songs. The band was supposed to return to Memphis on May 29. After Buckley's death, the recordings with Verlaine and Buckley's demos were released as Sketches for My Sweetheart the ... in May 1998.
Death
On the evening of Thursday, May 29, 1997, Jeff Buckley's band flew to Memphis. They were coming to join him in the studio. That same evening, Buckley went swimming in Wolf River Harbor. This is a part of the Mississippi River. He was singing a Led Zeppelin song while he swam. Keith Foti, a roadie from Buckley's band, stayed on the shore.
Foti moved a radio and guitar away from the waves of a passing tugboat. When he looked back, Buckley was gone. The waves from the tugboat had pulled him away from the shore and under the water. Rescue teams searched that night and the next morning, but they could not find him. On June 4, people on a riverboat saw his body in the Wolf River. It was caught in some branches.
Tributes and Legacy
Many musicians have honored Jeff Buckley since his death.
- Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins recorded a song called "Teardrop" after learning he was missing.
- PJ Harvey wrote "Memphis" for him.
- Chris Cornell wrote "Wave Goodbye" for Buckley.
- Rufus Wainwright wrote "Memphis Skyline" in tribute.
- Glen Hansard wrote "Neath the Beeches" in memory of Buckley.
- Pete Yorn's song "Bandstand in the Sky" is a tribute to Buckley.
- Lana Del Rey's song "Gods and Monsters" is a nod to Buckley's old band.
- Bono of U2 often pays tribute to Buckley. He once said Buckley was "a pure drop in an ocean of noise."
- Katatonia covered his song "Nightmares by the Sea."
After Buckley's death, many of his unreleased recordings came out. Sketches for My Sweetheart the ... was released in 1998. His mother, Mary Guibert, and band members helped with this album. Other live albums and a live DVD have also been released.
Several documentaries have been made about Jeff Buckley's life and music. These include Everybody Here Wants You by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley was shown at film festivals.
Every year, there are tribute events for Jeff Buckley. These include Uncommon Ground in Chicago and An Evening With Jeff Buckley in New York City. The Fall In Light event in Australia also honors him.
In 2015, old recordings from 1993 were found. These were released on the album You and I in 2016. It mostly featured cover songs.
In 2012, a movie called Greetings from Tim Buckley came out. It explored Jeff Buckley's relationship with his father.
Jeff Buckley is mentioned in the 2001 movie Vanilla Sky. His song "Last Goodbye" is also played in the film.
Matt Bellamy from Muse bought the yellow Telecaster guitar Buckley used on the Grace album. He has used it to record new music.
Later Popularity
In 2002, Buckley's cover of "Hallelujah" was used in a TV show called The West Wing. The show's audio team won an Emmy Award for it.
On March 7, 2008, Buckley's "Hallelujah" became number one on the iTunes chart. This happened after Jason Castro sang it on American Idol. It was Buckley's first number one hit on any Billboard chart.
In 2008, the winner of the UK X Factor, Alexandra Burke, released a cover of "Hallelujah". Fans of Jeff Buckley started a campaign to get his version to number one. Even though Burke's version reached number one for Christmas, Buckley's version also climbed high on the charts.
Influence on Other Musicians
Many musicians have said that Jeff Buckley influenced them. These include Muse, Adele, Lana Del Rey, and Chris Cornell.
Radiohead recorded their song "Fake Plastic Trees" after seeing Buckley perform. Thom Yorke said Buckley's performance gave him the confidence to sing in a high voice.
Coldplay's song "Shiver" was inspired by Grace. Chris Martin called it "a rip off of Jeff Buckley."
Biopic Film
A movie about Jeff Buckley's life is being made. It is called Everybody Here Wants You. Reeve Carney will play Jeff Buckley in the film. Buckley's mother is helping to produce the movie. This means the film will have access to his music.
Musical Style
Buckley's voice was very special. He had a tenor vocal range that covered about four octaves. He used this wide range in his songs, especially on Grace. For example, in "Grace," he reached very high notes. In "Corpus Christi Carol," he sang almost entirely in a high, light voice called falsetto. He could also change the loudness of his singing a lot.
Buckley played guitar in many different ways. He played distorted rock, jazz, and country styles. He also used fingerpicking in songs like "Hallelujah." Sometimes, he used a slide guitar in his live shows. His songs used different guitar tunings. His guitar playing could be very melodic or more rhythmic.
Equipment
Buckley mainly played a 1983 Fender Telecaster and a Rickenbacker 360/12. He also used a black Gibson Les Paul Custom and a 1967 Guild F-50 acoustic guitar. When he toured with his band, he used Fender Amplifiers for a clear sound. He used Mesa Boogie amps for a more distorted sound. Besides singing and playing guitar, he also played other instruments on his recordings. These included bass, dobro, mandolin, harmonium, organ, dulcimer, tabla, esraj, and harmonica.
Awards and Recognition
- The Académie Charles Cros gave Buckley the "Grand Prix International Du Disque" in 1995 for his album Grace.
- He was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in 1995 for "Last Goodbye."
- Rolling Stone magazine nominated him for Best New Artist in 1995.
- He was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1998 for "Everybody Here Wants You."
- Grace was ranked number 303 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums in 2003.
- His cover of "Hallelujah" was ranked number 259 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs in 2004.
- In 2006, Mojo magazine named Grace the number one Modern Rock Classic of all Time.
- Rolling Stone ranked Buckley number 39 on its 2008 list of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
- On the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time, 2009, his version of "Hallelujah" was voted third place. "Last Goodbye" was seventh.
- On the Triple J Hottest 100 of the Past 20 Years, 2013, "Last Goodbye" was voted third place.
Discography
- Studio album
- Grace (1994)
See also
In Spanish: Jeff Buckley para niños
