Jeff Buckley was one of those stars who shined very briefly but still managed to influence a multitude of people. Haunting vocal melodies, effortlessly beautiful guitar work, and an amazing songwriting style are all elements that make you wonder where he’d be now if he were still around.
Born in 1966 to the Jazz musician Tim Buckley, jeff spend the first part of his musical career as a session guitarist in Los Angeles.
After moving to New York, he spent a good amount of time and energy into building his solo career and subsequently touring almost endlessly.
He was known for booking shows under band aliases to get that old “anonymous” feeling back, and to test out new material.
In 1993, Jeff put together a band and started work on “Grace” which featured a very well known song, “Hallelujah”, a 15th century hymn.
Another great song off this album is the title track, “Grace”.
“Grace” did really well overseas, and received praise from David Bowie, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and Bob Dylan.
While working on the follow up album in 1997, at 30 years of age, Jeff sadly drowned in a channel off the Mississippi River, where he had swam many times.
He’s been remembered fondly ever since, with a few albums of unreleased material since, and in a so-far untitled movie documenting his life.
This guitar, which was owned and played extensively by Buckley, is now up for auction, so you’ve got a chance to hold a piece of this history.
The guitar in question is a 1983 Butterscotch colored Fender Telecaster, in – well, used condition. If you’re a fan of Jeff’s this might be something you’d like to add to your collection.
But – at roughly $60,000 USD you’d better be a BIG fan!
Buckley’s music is amazing. Really wish he could’ve picked a different day to go swimming.