Jeff Buckley - Anyone know him well enough to tell us what drove him?

Question

Others have asked about his music - if you've never heard him, buy his Grace Album. Something there for everyone - Hallelujah (which is in Shrek, but a slowed down version) is powerful, moving and one of his best ever. He died so young, and just when he was starting to take off professionally. I would like to know what made him go like he did. His spirit soars in his vocals. For those of you who saw him perform live, I salute you.

Answer 1

It's tragic what happened to him, I went to high school with his half brother Corey Morehead. Same mother didn't dads (obviously) I never did get to see him live, I did get to meet Chris Cornell with Corey at his solo show in Los Angeles though. Chris and Jeff were good friends. I love Jeff's music. Just thought I'd share.

Answer 2

I wish I had been lucky enough to see him play live.

He was born with music in his blood. His voice was that of an angel. I don't know how he did what he did, it sure was incredible though.

To anyone out there who is even a little bit interested in who Jeff Buckley was, definitely go out and buy Grace.

Answer 3

strange twist of fate. i'm staring at Vanilla Sky and that i paused it suitable after the area the place Penélope Cruz asks Tom Cruise if he might particularly pay attention Jeff Buckley and Vikki Carr and he says "the two, concurrently." lol Jeff became an spectacular expertise. If I had to decide on one popular, i might circulate with the two "final so long" or "i choose somebody Badly," a collaboration with Shudder to think of. Bonus: solo Thom Yorke

Answer 4

I'm not too sure, but when ever I hear that song it makes me want to cry. It's so moving and hits a chord in me thats just..wow.

Answer 5

You probably know all this but here you go pal.
Early life
Born in Anaheim, California, Jeff Buckley was the only son of Mary Guibert and Tim Buckley. His mother was of Panamanian descent, while his father was the descendant of Irish emigrants from Cork.

His father was a songwriter who released a series of highly acclaimed folk and jazz albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s before his own untimely death in 1975. Buckley was raised by his mother and step-father Ron Moorhead (for just a few years) in Southern California, constantly moving in and around Orange County. Additionally he had a half-brother, Corey Moorhead. During his childhood he was known as Scott "Scottie" Moorhead, but at the age of 8 he chose to go by his birth name after meeting his father for the first (and only) time; to his family he remained Scottie.

At eighteen, Buckley moved to Los Angeles, where he graduated from the Musician's Institute's two-year course. Buckley often called his time at the Institute a "waste," although he made life-long friends there. His diverse musical background was reflected in the bands in which he participated before going solo. In L.A., he was in the reggae band Shinehead, as well as a number of other bands in which he exclusively played guitar.

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Early career
Buckley moved to New York in 1990. His public debut as a singer was the 1991 tribute performance for his father, Tim Buckley, at St. Ann's Church in New York City. Jeff was not billed as a performer, choosing simply to pay his respects to his father, saying "This is not a springboard, this is something very personal." He performed "I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain" with experimental rock guitarist, Gary Lucas, accompanying him, and did an acoustic/a cappella performance of "Once I Was" that brought the venue to stunned silence. When questioned about that particular performance, Buckley said "It wasn't my work, it wasn't my life. But it bothered me that I hadn't been to his funeral, that I'd never been able to tell him anything. I used that show to pay my last respects." Lucas convinced Buckley to stay in New York, and to form a musical duo; the two prepared to sign with a major label. Lucas wrote the music for two of Buckley's most acclaimed songs, "Grace" and "Mojo Pin".

In the meantime, Buckley became a regular solo performer at the East Village cafe Sin-é, where he attracted admiring crowds, and the attention of executives from Columbia Records. An EP of four songs recorded at Sin-é was released on Columbia in 1993.

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Grace
Buckley performed with Gary Lucas' band Gods and Monsters, but soon split with Lucas in order to form his own band.

In 1994, Buckley's debut album Grace was released. He invited Lucas to play guitar on the album versions of "Grace" and "Mojo Pin". While sales were slow, the album quickly received critical acclaim and appreciation from other musicians (among them Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Bob Dylan, Thom Yorke, Paul McCartney, Neil Peart, and Elton John). Buckley's version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" was a highlight, and is considered by many to be the definitive recording of that song; it might also be Buckley's best-known song.

After the release of Grace, Buckley spent more than two years touring around the world. It seemed to be a tiring yet effective means for him to keep his independence from his record company, with which he had a strained relationship. From the album's release, he played in numerous countries, from Australia, to the Glastonbury Festival in the UK in '95. In 1995 Buckley played a concert at the Paris Olympia, a venue made famous by the French chanteuse Édith Piaf, that he considered the finest performance of his career. Sony has since released a live recording of that performance.

Buckley also went on a so-called "phantom solo tour" of small club venues in the U.S., starting in December of 1996, using several aliases including: Father Demo, Topless America, Smackcrobiotic, The Halfspeeds, Crackrobats, and Martha & the Nicotines. By way of justification, Buckley posted a note on the Internet stating that he missed the anonymity of playing in cafes and local bars:

There was a time in my life not too long ago when I could show up in a cafe and simply do what I do, make music, learn from performing my music, explore what it means to me, i.e., have fun while I irritate and/or entertain an audience who don't know me or what I am about. In this situation I have that precious and irreplaceable luxury of failure, of risk, of surrender. I worked very hard to get this kind of thing together, this work forum. I loved it and then I missed it when it disappeared. All I am doing is reclaiming it.

Buckley was an impassioned fan of Sufi musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He interviewed Khan for Interview magazine and wrote liner notes for Khan's The Supreme Collection compilation.

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Death
Jeff Buckley drowned in the Wolf River, a tributary of the Mississippi River, in Memphis, Tennessee on May 29, 1997, the evening his band came to Memphis to start recording for his second album, which was to be called My Sweetheart the Drunk. His body was recovered five days later.

It is also speculated that Buckley may have committed suicide, partly because he went swimming in the river wearing his heavy boots. It has been confirmed that Buckley had not taken any illegal drugs before his swim, and that a drug overdose can be ruled out as the cause of his death. The biography Dream Brother, written about him and his father, reveals that the night before his death Buckley reportedly admitted to several loved ones that he suffered from Bipolar disorder. People who knew Buckley personally do not believe that he committed suicide.

After Buckley's death, a collection of the demo recordings for his second album were released as Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk. Three other albums composed of live recordings have also been released, along with a live DVD of a performance in Chicago.