Several years ago a friend at work loaned me a CD she thought I might like. It was "Grace" by Jeff Buckley. I took it home and listened to it. The next day I brought it back to her and proclaimed "He sings like a woman." Sandy replied "He does NOT sing like a woman!" And that was the end of my listening to Jeff Buckley.
So I thought.
A couple years after that I was listening to World Cafe one evening, just reading, not really paying attention to the radio. Then someone started playing a song. I was transfixed by what I heard. As it turns out, David Dye was playing a tape of a show where Jeff Buckley was a guest. I couldn't believe that I'd spurned him so quickly. I was mad at myself, because the music, the song he was playing, was extraordinary. And it was just him and a couple band mates playing in the studio for David Dye. The song Jeff performed was "Grace."
I immediately went and bought "Grace" the album the next day, and it's been a regular of mine for years and years. It was one of the first things I loaded onto my iPod. It's incredible. His voice is not of this world.
Jeff Buckley is dead. He was dead when I first heard "Grace." I never knew of him when he was living, and I regret that so much, to have missed the opportunity to see him play somewhere, or interviewed, or even play on SNL or something. I regret I didn't appreciate his music while he was actually making it. And I still feel a little foolish for turning my back on him the first time I heard him. What was I thinking? It's almost as if the album I heard that first time wasn't even the same album I heard later. Weird.
Jeff Buckley drowned in 1997 at the age of 30. It's horrible. Thinking about it makes me cry. Seeing his picture makes me cry. He was a beautiful person with the voice of an angel. A beautiful face, a beautiful mind, a beautiful voice. So tragic.
I like to think I do some little justice to his memory by telling people about him. To date I have converted 2 people from not even knowing of him to being official Jeff junkies. One is my friend Tracey, who is so open to new music that I know no matter what I give her she'll give it a try. She and I were talking and I had the cd here with me, and I asked her if she knew him. She didn't, so I started to tell her the story, and I actually got choked up. I wasn't bawling, but it was obvious I was fighting some tears when I told her about him. A few minutes into listening to it at her desk, she came over and told me "I can tell this is something special."The other convert is a former student of mine, who was probably only 8 or 9 when Jeff died. No idea he existed. She felt the same way, came in a day or 2 later and showed me her iPod with Grace downloaded onto it. Both of them hear exactly what I hear in Jeff. He was so special, a once in a lifetime artist. I can't say enough how much his music means to me.
Jeff would be 41 on Saturday. I didn't even realize that but I had been thinking of him (that kind of stuff happens to me--just enters my mind out of nowhere) and put Grace on in the car last night. And then this morning I did my usual web search to see what's up in the world of Jeff and found that his birthday is near.
Jeff didn't leave much more than Grace. He wasn't around long enough. Actually it's his only full length studio recording. If it were an album I'd have worn it down. I can't usually go more than a month or two without listening to Grace. If you don't like it, don't tell me, because I won't understand. I never judge anyone for liking or not liking something, but his stuff affects me so deeply that it's hard to think everyone doesn't feel the same way.
Happy Birthday Jeff.
So I thought.
A couple years after that I was listening to World Cafe one evening, just reading, not really paying attention to the radio. Then someone started playing a song. I was transfixed by what I heard. As it turns out, David Dye was playing a tape of a show where Jeff Buckley was a guest. I couldn't believe that I'd spurned him so quickly. I was mad at myself, because the music, the song he was playing, was extraordinary. And it was just him and a couple band mates playing in the studio for David Dye. The song Jeff performed was "Grace."
I immediately went and bought "Grace" the album the next day, and it's been a regular of mine for years and years. It was one of the first things I loaded onto my iPod. It's incredible. His voice is not of this world.
Jeff Buckley is dead. He was dead when I first heard "Grace." I never knew of him when he was living, and I regret that so much, to have missed the opportunity to see him play somewhere, or interviewed, or even play on SNL or something. I regret I didn't appreciate his music while he was actually making it. And I still feel a little foolish for turning my back on him the first time I heard him. What was I thinking? It's almost as if the album I heard that first time wasn't even the same album I heard later. Weird.
Jeff Buckley drowned in 1997 at the age of 30. It's horrible. Thinking about it makes me cry. Seeing his picture makes me cry. He was a beautiful person with the voice of an angel. A beautiful face, a beautiful mind, a beautiful voice. So tragic.
I like to think I do some little justice to his memory by telling people about him. To date I have converted 2 people from not even knowing of him to being official Jeff junkies. One is my friend Tracey, who is so open to new music that I know no matter what I give her she'll give it a try. She and I were talking and I had the cd here with me, and I asked her if she knew him. She didn't, so I started to tell her the story, and I actually got choked up. I wasn't bawling, but it was obvious I was fighting some tears when I told her about him. A few minutes into listening to it at her desk, she came over and told me "I can tell this is something special."The other convert is a former student of mine, who was probably only 8 or 9 when Jeff died. No idea he existed. She felt the same way, came in a day or 2 later and showed me her iPod with Grace downloaded onto it. Both of them hear exactly what I hear in Jeff. He was so special, a once in a lifetime artist. I can't say enough how much his music means to me.
Jeff would be 41 on Saturday. I didn't even realize that but I had been thinking of him (that kind of stuff happens to me--just enters my mind out of nowhere) and put Grace on in the car last night. And then this morning I did my usual web search to see what's up in the world of Jeff and found that his birthday is near.
Jeff didn't leave much more than Grace. He wasn't around long enough. Actually it's his only full length studio recording. If it were an album I'd have worn it down. I can't usually go more than a month or two without listening to Grace. If you don't like it, don't tell me, because I won't understand. I never judge anyone for liking or not liking something, but his stuff affects me so deeply that it's hard to think everyone doesn't feel the same way.
Happy Birthday Jeff.
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