Jeff Buckley

Noted in the poignant American alternative rock scene of the 1990s due to his acclaimed album Grace (1994), Jeff Buckley distinguished himself from his fellow countrymen by presenting music full of delicacy in arrangements and vocals.

Jeffrey Scott Buckley was born on November 17, 1966 in Anaheim, California. His parents separated the year he was born. Raised by his mother and stepfather, Buckley met his biological father, singer Tim Buckley, when he was eight years old. Tim died in 1975 from a heroin overdose.

Attached to music, he dedicated himself to studying music theory, aiming to be a guitarist. He had no intention of singing to avoid comparisons with his father. However, in 1991, he was invited to sing at a tribute show to his father. His performance impressed him and he felt motivated to sing.

Living in New York, Buckley began performing solo at a bar called Sin-é, where he was contacted by a Columbia Records executive. With a three-album contract, the singer released his first album in 1994. Despite critical acclaim, Grace was not a commercial success. Composed of seven of the musician’s songs and three covers, the album received praise from names such as Jimmy Page, Paul McCartney and Bono Vox.

The three covers included in Grace are “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen, “Corpus Christi Carol” by Benjamin Britten and “Lilac wine” by James Alan Shelton, best known by Nina Simone.

Buckley began working on new material in 1996 with Tom Verlaine of the band Television. However, the result did not please him. In search of inspiration, the singer went to Memphis, Tennessee, where he performed live and worked on new songs.

On the night of May 29, 1997, the singer disappeared in the waters of the Mississippi River canal while swimming and singing Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." His body was found six days later, tangled in branches in the river.

Dead at the age of 30, Buckley left behind only one studio album. But it was a work that has been on several lists of the best of all time. In 1998, the compilation Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk was released, bringing together tracks from the recordings of the unreleased second album.