- Genre: Rock & Alternative
- Influenced by: Nina Simone, Genesis, Van Morrison, Freddie Mercury, Big Star, Led Zeppelin, Edith Piaf, Andrew Wood, Cheap Trick, Tim Buckley, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Television, Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, Queen, Jane's Addiction
- Followed By: Jag Star, Guillemots, Fourth Quartet, The Silent Years, Judah Johnson, Jeff Fielder, Piers Faccini, Handsome Furs, Moaning Lisa, Lady of the Sunshine, The National Bank, Nicky P., Brandi Carlile, Army of Me, ps, Howie Day, Willy Porter, Rocco Deluca, george, Cold War Kids, Vonrenzo, Scott Matthews, Haale, Unified Theory, J Band, AM, Leaving Rouge, Cameron McGill, Windsor Drive, Bill Madden, Rachael Yamagata, Dirtie Blonde, Ryan Groff, Ian Axel, Hey Rosetta!, Depswa, David LK Murphy, The Oaks, Brett Dennen, Poor Rich Ones, Stephen Fretwell, Chris Martin, Afterhours, Neverending White Lights, Shane Alexander, Ours, What Made Milwaukee Famous, The Niro, Starsailor, Raphaël, Ben Godwin, The Original Brothers and Sisters of Love, Ben Marshall, Rick Oliver, Mama Zeus, Patrick Watson, Zoo Story, Mrnorth, Buddahead, Royseven, As Tall as Lions, James Blunt, Freer, Shearwater, My Brightest Diamond, Josh Kelley, Chase Pagan, Norine Braun, Carey Ott, Blackbud, The Veils, Rose Kemp, Lara Martelli, Pauline Croze, Christopher Denny, The Honorary Title, Tom Baxter, Ripley Caine, Charlotte Sometimes, Matt Easton, Buzz Poets, Gran Bel Fisher, S.J. Tucker, FreeLunchLine, (S)he, Doug Walker, Yoav, Holler, Wild Rose!, Hawksley Workman, Peter and the Wolf, Broken Records, The Prayer Boat, Travis, The Cape May, The Velvet Teen, Cavalier King, Catoan, Just Off Turner, Aaron Thomas, The Kin, Paul Michel, Sleeping States
- Similar Artists: The Afghan Whigs, American Music Club, Elvis Costello, Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Gavin Friday, Sarah McLachlan, Shudder to Think, Blind Melon, Palace, Tori Amos, Red House Painters, Freedy Johnston, Brad, Grant Lee Buffalo, Penelope Houston, Liz Phair, Porno for Pyros, Radiohead, Counting Crows, Sunny Day Real Estate, Heather Nova, Tindersticks, Chris Cornell, Mark Eitzel, R.E.M., Travis, Satchel, Page & Plant, Sparklehorse, Mind Science of the Mind, James Hall, Rufus Wainwright, Matchbox Twenty, Elliott Smith, Lift to Experience, The Original Brothers and Sisters of Love, Moaning Lisa, Unified Theory, The Standard
Since he was the son of cult songwriter Tim Buckley, Jeff Buckley faced more expectations and pre-conceived notions than most singer/songwriters. Perhaps it wasn't surprising that Jeff Buckley's music was related to his father's by only the thinnest of margins. Buckley's voice was grand and sweeping, which fit with the mock-operatic grandeur of his Van Morrison-meets-Led Zeppelin music.
Buckley began playing while in high school. Eventually, he moved to Los Angeles to study music; while he was there, he performed with several jazz and funk bands, as well as playing with Shinehead, a leader in the dancehall reggae movement. A few years later, he moved to New York, forming Gods & Monsters with the experimental guitarist Gary Lucas. The band became a hip name, yet their lifespan was short. Buckley began a solo career playing clubs and coffeehouses, building up a considerable following. Soon, he signed a record deal with Columbia Records, releasing the Live at Sin-e EP in November of 1993. It received good reviews, yet they didn't compare to the raves Buckley's full-length debut, 1994's Grace, received. Unlike the EP, the album was recorded with a full band, which gave the record textures that surprised some of his long-time New York followers. Nevertheless, it made several year-end "Best of 1994" lists and earned him a belated alternative hit, "Last Goodbye," in the spring of 1995.
A long hiatus followed as Buckley worked on material for his follow-up effort, provisionally titled My Sweetheart, the Drunk. Originally slated to be produced by Tom Verlaine, who later dropped out of the project, Buckley finally began work on the record in Memphis during the late spring of 1997. On the night of May 29, he and a friend traveled to the local Mud Island Harbor, where Buckley spontaneously decided to go swimming in the Mississippi River and waded into the water fully clothed. A few minutes later, he disappeared under the waves; authorities were quickly contacted, but to no avail -- on June 4, his body was finally found floating near the city's famed Beale Street area. Buckley was 30 years old. A collection of unreleased recordings, Sketches (For My Sweetheart the Drunk), appeared in 1998, and two live albums arrived during 2000-2001, Mystery White Boy and Live at L'Olympia. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide