Born in 1966, in Anaheim, California, Jeffrey Scott Buckley came into the world in a family of artists: his father, the ascending folk musician Tim Buckley; and his mother, Mary Guibert, a pianist and classical guitarist who mainly worked as a local radio and TV producer.
Whilst still pregnant, Mary already knew that Tim wouldn’t be around for long; he was a rising star and went to pursue his dream. She, on the other hand, had to give up on her dreams of being an actress, pianist and guitarist.
Jeff was raised by his mother and his stepfather, Ron Moorhead, and adopted the man’s surname during his childhood and preteen years, being known as Scottie Moorhead. He had a tough life right from the beginning, and not only because of his father’s absence. At school, he was called by homophobic names and “a geek” in a pejorative way. Even though Buckley had many obstacles in life, he never seemed to stop being his true self.
“Music, it was my mother, it was my father, it was the best thing in my life.”
-Jeff Buckley
“the one who left behind his name”
Music had been a part of Jeff’s life ever since he was born. His mother said that the first time she heard him singing was when he was still a baby. He started to sing and play instruments passionately during his teenage years, and it was clear to all those around him, how powerful his voice was.
In 1991, sixteen years after his father’s death, Buckley was invited to join a tribute in his memory. At first, he rejected it, but after talking to his mother and considering all the musicians that would be there and the possibilities it could open to him, he agreed. According to some attendees, everyone was mesmerized, not only because of his potent tone, but also because of the similarity to Tim’s voice.
“My fading voice sings of love”
The next year, his career would begin. During 1992, Jeff started to play at a small bar in New York called Sin-é, where one of Columbia Records employees saw him and asked him to join the company.
His first and only studio album, Grace, would be released in 1994 and immortalize him as one of the most beautiful voices of all time. Inspired by so many distinct artists, such as Nina Simone, Led Zeppelin, Judy Garland, Edith Piaf and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, his songs can also appeal to all types of audience.
Throughout the 11 songs on the album, one can travel to different places, feel tons of emotions and experience all kinds of sensations. Jeff’s most famous song, the everlasting love letter “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over”, has the ability to, to this day, break and stitch back together many hearts all over the world.
After the album’s release, Jeff began the Grace Tour, passing by several states across the United States and different countries in Europe. The tour lasted two years, from 1995 to 1997. Once he was back home, he started working on his second album, which would never go out into the world.
“hello to eternal life, angel”
Jeff never stopped “defying anything that tried to put people in a box”, in his own words, and valued his creative freedom a lot. He wouldn’t make music the way the company wanted, or at the time the company wanted. He wanted to give himself to music and present himself through it, so he didn’t accept when the company kept on saying that the album should be more commercial than Grace.
After finishing writing all the songs he wanted for the second album and recording some, one day, Jeff stopped by the Wolf River, tributary of Mississippi River, and decided to dive in, fully clothed and humming to “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin. His friend, Foti, after calling for him for about ten minutes with no answer, decided to call the police. On May 29th, 1997, helicopters flew over the river in search of Buckley, but his body was only found a week later. The cause of death was drowning.
Some of his biggest inspirations, such as Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and Paul McCartney, would even become his fans — “Jeff Buckley is a crystal drop in an ocean of noises”, once said Bono Vox. He had considerable influence on various artists from the 90s, like Coldplay, Muse and Radiohead — who even left one of his concerts early because Thom Yorke felt so inspired, he went straight to write “Fake Plastic Trees”.
“this is our last goodbye”
His posthumous album, Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk, was released in 1998, and contains some songs that would go into his second album and other music he was working into. Mystery White Boy and You and I, released in 2000 and 2007 respectively, also came to light to remember the beauty of his live performances. Different documentaries were also released in his honor, the most recent being It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, released in 2025 and directed by Amy Berg.
It’s still hard to know exactly how Jeff dealt with his pain, how his traumas have affected both his personal and professional life and what his biggest desires were during his last years. What is known, for a fact, is that he never wanted to be famous or rich. Jeff Buckley had a singular way of perceiving life, love and music itself — and it is in his unique nature that anyone can see themselves.
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The article above was edited by Alyah Gomes.
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