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OBITUARY 

Singer Jeff Buckley  presumed drowned in Mississippi River                           MEMPHIS, Tennessee (CNN) -- The search for singer Jeff                         Buckley, who disappeared Thursday while swimming in the                         Mississippi River, was scaled back Saturday because of foul                         weather and the belief that he drowned.                         Police braved rain "to search for what we presume to be at this                         time the body," Memphis Police Lt. Brenda Maples said. Search                         dogs, divers, helicopters, boats and foot patrols conducted an                         intensive search Friday.                         Booking agent Chris Walker described the New York-based                         musician as "very strange." He won't believe Buckley is dead until                         he sees a body.                         "He could be anywhere right now. If he's dead, I won't be                         surprised. If he's in San Diego, I won't be surprised."                         Buckley, 30, who had signed with Columbia Records, went to                         Memphis in February to work at a recording studio. Columbia                         publicists said Thursday that he was preparing to cut a new album                         in Memphis beginning June 30.                         Buckley was with a friend on the east bank of the river when he                         disappeared. The singer was fully clothed when he waded into the                         water while listening to music, his friend told police.                         Buckley's 1994 album "Grace" yielded the alternative hit "Last                         Goodbye" in the spring of 1995. He contributed to Patti Smith's                         1996 album "Gone Again."

 

 

BIOGRAPHY

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 as a high schoolstudent in New York. 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                    back to New York, forming Gods & Monsters with the experimental                    guitarist Gary Lucas. The band became a hip name, yet their life-span 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 travelled to the local Mud Island Harbor, where Buckley spontaneously                    decided to go swimming in the Mississippi River and leaped 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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide (On UBL)

 

LINKS 

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