62 Facts About Jeff Buckley

Jeffrey Scott Buckley was an American singer-songwriter.

Jeff Buckley signed with Columbia, recruited a band, and released his only studio album, Grace, in 1994.

Jeff Buckley's mother was a Zonian of Greek, English, French and Panamanian descent, while his father was the son of an Irish American father and an Italian American mother.

Jeff Buckley was raised by his mother and stepfather, Ron Moorhead, in Southern California, and had a half-brother, Corey Moorhead.

Jeff Buckley moved many times in and around Orange County while growing up, an upbringing he called "rootless trailer trash".

Jeff Buckley was brought up around music; his mother was a classically trained pianist and cellist, and his stepfather introduced him to Led Zeppelin, Queen, Jimi Hendrix, the Who, and Pink Floyd at an early age.

Jeff Buckley grew up singing around the house and in harmony with his mother, and said all his family sang.

Jeff Buckley began playing guitar at the age of five after discovering an acoustic guitar in his grandmother's closet.

Jeff Buckley attended Loara High School and played in the school jazz band; during this time, he developed an affinity for progressive rock bands Rush, Genesis, and Yes, and the jazz fusion guitarist Al Di Meola.

In Los Angeles, Jeff Buckley spent six years working in a hotel and playing guitar in various bands, playing in styles from jazz, reggae, and roots rock to heavy metal.

From 1988 to 1989, Jeff Buckley played in a band, the Wild Blue Yonder, that included John Humphrey and future Tool member Danny Carey.

Jeff Buckley moved to New York City in February 1990 but found few opportunities to work as a musician.

Jeff Buckley was introduced to Qawwali, the Sufi devotional music of Pakistan, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, one of its best-known singers.

Jeff Buckley was an impassioned fan of Khan, and during what he called his "cafe days", he often covered Khan's songs.

Jeff Buckley became interested in the blues musician Robert Johnson and the hardcore punk band Bad Brains during this time.

Cohen and Jeff Buckley hoped to attract industry attention with the demo tape.

Jeff Buckley flew back to New York early the following year to make his public singing debut at a tribute concert for his father, Greetings from Tim Jeff Buckley.

Jeff Buckley rejected the idea of the concert as a springboard to his career, instead citing personal reasons regarding his decision to sing at the tribute.

Willner, the show's organizer, recalled that Jeff Buckley made a strong impression.

On subsequent trips to New York in mid-1991, Jeff Buckley began co-writing with Gary Lucas, resulting in the songs "Grace" and "Mojo Pin".

Jeff Buckley began performing at several clubs and cafes around Lower Manhattan, and Sin-e became his main venue.

Jeff Buckley first appeared at Sin-e in April 1992 and quickly earned a regular Monday night slot there.

Jeff Buckley performed solo, accompanying himself on a Fender Telecaster he borrowed from his friend Janine Nichols.

Jeff Buckley said he learned how to perform onstage by playing to small audiences.

Jeff Buckley signed with Columbia Records, home of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, for a three-album deal for nearly in October 1992.

Jeff Buckley sang a cappella and accompanied himself on acoustic and electric guitars, Wurlitzer electric piano, and harmonium.

In mid-1993, Jeff Buckley began working on his first album with record producer Andy Wallace.

Jeff Buckley invited ex-bandmate Lucas to play guitar on the songs "Grace" and "Mojo Pin", and Woodstock-based jazz musician Karl Berger wrote and conducted string arrangements with Jeff Buckley assisting at times.

Jeff Buckley returned home for overdubbing at studios in Manhattan and New Jersey, where he performed take after take to capture the perfect vocals and experimented with ideas for additional instruments and added textures to the songs.

In January 1994, Jeff Buckley departed on his first solo North American tour in support of Live at Sin-e, followed by a 10-day European tour in March.

In 2010, the Smiths singer Morrissey, one of Jeff Buckley's influences, named Grace one of his favorite albums.

Jeff Buckley spent much of the next year and a half touring internationally to promote Grace.

Shortly after this Jeff Buckley attended the Festival de la Musique Sacree, held in France, and performed "What Will You Say" as a duet with Alim Qasimov, an Azerbaijani mugham singer.

Jeff Buckley played solo in the meantime with concerts at Sin-e and a New Year's Eve concert at Mercury Lounge in New York.

Many of the other concerts Jeff Buckley played during this period have surfaced on bootleg recordings.

In 1996, Jeff Buckley started writing a new album with the working title My Sweetheart the Drunk.

Jeff Buckley asked Verlaine to be producer on the new album and he agreed.

Around this time, Jeff Buckley met Inger Lorre of the Nymphs in an East Village bar and struck up a fast and close friendship.

Jeff Buckley became attached to one of the songs from the album, "Yard of Blonde Girls" and recorded a cover.

Later that month, Jeff Buckley recorded a spoken word reading of the Edgar Allan Poe poem "Ulalume" for the album Closed on Account of Rabies.

Jeff Buckley became interested in recording at Easley McCain Recording in Memphis, at the suggestion of friend Dave Shouse from the Grifters.

Jeff Buckley rented a shotgun house there, of which he was so fond he contacted the owner about purchasing it.

Jeff Buckley played there numerous times in order to work through the new material in a live atmosphere, at first with the band, then solo as part of a Monday night residency.

Jeff Buckley started recording demos on his own 4-track recorder in preparation for a forthcoming session with Wallace; some of the demos were sent to his band in New York, who listened to them enthusiastically and were excited to resume work on the album.

However, Jeff Buckley was not entirely happy with the results and sent his band back to New York while he stayed behind to work on the songs.

Jeff Buckley's voice was a particularly distinguished aspect of his music; he possessed a tenor vocal range, spanning around four octaves.

Jeff Buckley made full use of this range in his performances, particularly in the songs from Grace, and reached peaks of high G in the tenor range at the culmination of "Grace".

Jeff Buckley occasionally used a slide guitar in live performances as a solo act, as well as for the introduction of "Last Goodbye", when playing with a full band.

Jeff Buckley's songs were written in various guitar tunings which, apart from the EADGBE standard tuning, included drop D tuning and an open G tuning.

Jeff Buckley's guitar playing style varied from highly melodic songs, such as "The Twelfth of Never", to more percussive ones, such as "New Year's Prayer".

Jeff Buckley mainly played a blonde 1983 Fender Telecaster, which he had re-fretted and modded with a Seymour Duncan Hot Lead Stack in the bridge and a mirror pick guard.

Jeff Buckley was roommates with actress Brooke Smith from 1990 to 1991.

From 1994 to 1995, Jeff Buckley had an intense relationship with Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins.

In 1994, Jeff Buckley began a relationship with musician Joan Wasser, known professionally as Joan as Police Woman.

Jeff Buckley reportedly proposed marriage to her shortly before his death.

Later that evening, Jeff Buckley spontaneously went swimming fully dressed in the Wolf River Harbor, a slack water channel of the Mississippi River, singing the chorus of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" under the Memphis Suspension Railway.

Keith Foti, a roadie in Jeff Buckley's band, remained on shore.

Jeff Buckley's autopsy showed no signs of drugs or alcohol, and the death was ruled an accidental drowning.

The official Jeff Buckley website published a statement saying his death was neither mysterious nor a suicide.

An hour-long documentary about Buckley called Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley has been shown at various film festivals to critical acclaim.

In 2002, Jeff Buckley's cover of "Hallelujah" was used in the "Posse Comitatus" episode of The West Wing, for which the audio team received an Emmy Award.

Jeff Buckley fans countered this, launching a campaign with the aim of propelling Jeff Buckley's version to the number one spot; despite this, Burke's version eventually reached the Christmas number one position on the UK charts in December 2008.