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Today marks the 17 year Anniversary of the untimely death of Jeff Buckley. On May 29th, 1997, Buckley dove into the Wolf River, a tributary of the Mississippi River, only to surface as a beautiful ghost.
At the time of his passing, I had only heard tales of his music and live performances from friends and clients. Oddly enough, time and again I went to record stores and wound up holding his CD in my hands, studying the covers — staring into his face. Still, each time I left the store without purchasing his music.
Once, after giving a Psychic Reading to Maynard James Keenan (the vocalist for the magickal music group Tool), he told me he was going to see Jeff play at the Troubador. I wanted to go, but for some reason, didn’t — much to my lasting regret.
Buckley Virgin: On June 4, 1997 I was at a KROQ concert with Nancy Berry (the former Vice-Chairman of Virgin Records) and several of her friends. A friend of Nancy’s, a singer named Christopher Shinn, offered to give me a ride to an after party at the Chateau Marmont, which I accepted.
On the drive back, Chris told me his favorite singer was Jeff Buckley. I felt at that point the Universe was definitely conspiring to get me to buy Buckley’s CD, and made a mental note to get it immediately, after Chris continued raving about it. In the car, Chris put on Jeff’s debut album, Grace, and played the track So Real. By the end of the song I was in tears, completely blown away by the sheer beauty of not only the music, but the power and sincerity of Jeff’s mighty, angelic voice. After the song was over, Chris said, “Yeah, it’s a real shame he’s gone.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. When I asked Chris what he meant, he explained that Jeff had mysteriously “disappeared”, and no one had seen him since he went swimming on the night of May 29th, (1997). I was devastated twice that night.
The next day I went out and bought a copy of Grace, and played nothing else (except for a little Satchel and Pigeonhed) for months. His music is that good.
Getting back to my story, 6 days after I first heard Jeff’s music, his lifeless body was found, floating on the banks of the Mississippi River, near Beale Street. The music world went into a period of mourning. Anybody who was familiar with his music was absolutely devastated by the news. The legend of Jeff Buckley was born.
There is much left to my story, but I’ll post the amazing details on my Magickal Forum as soon as I can.
For those of you who don’t know Jeff’s music, please visit Official Jeff Buckley Site for more about his life, and his music.
All I can say now is, Jeff — wherever you are, thank you for the music, the beauty that you shared with all of us, stuck down here without you.
“Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!” (Shakespeare)
(- Horatio, Hamlet (V.ii.370-371).
Note: I created this special image, based on a photograph taken by Merry St. Cyr. It has since been posted everywhere, without the artists’ credit. So, now you know where it came from.
Legendary musical and lyrical genius, Stephen Sondheim, passed away today. He was known for his work on such Broadway masterpieces as, “West End Story”, “Sweeney Todd”, “Gypsy”, and many more.
