Any Jeff Healey Fans here?
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I hope I’m not the only one here.
For those of you who never heard of him…
Jeff Healey was a very talented and respected blues guitarist from Canada. Due to a rare form of eye cancer he lost his sight before the age of one. At the age of three he started to learn the guitar by playing it flat on his lap. He formed his first band as a teenager and began playing local clubs in Toronto.
Later he began hosting a jazz and blues oriented radio show originating from the University of Toronto drawing on his extensive collection of 78 rpms.
Not long after this he met bassist Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen and formed The Jeff Healey Band.
After being signed to Arista Records in 1988 they released their first album See The Light later that year. The album featured the hit song Angel Eyes as well as a cover of the Freddie King instrumental classic Hide Away which earned them a Grammy nomination. Two can’t miss tracks written by Healey are Don’t Let Your Chance Go By and That’s What They Say. Also at this time the band appeared in the Patrick Swayze film Road House as well as on the soundtrack.
I still remember seeing them on the Tonight Show promoting this album. I was blown away by Healey’s skill, technical ability and unique playing style. He was only 22 here.
Jeff Healey – ‘See The Light’ – Tonight Show 1988 – YouTube
While See The Light was more blues inspired, Jeff’s follow up album Hell To Pay added more of a rock edge to their sound. This album featured great songs like Full Circle, How Long Can A Man Be Strong and Let It All Go. The highpoint of the album though was Jeff’s collaboration with George Harrison on a cover of the Beatles’ While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
As you might guess by the title of their fourth album, Cover To Cover was a collection of cover tunes from a variety of artists. Don’t let that stop you from checking it out though as its an great album. He covers songs written and recorded by the likes Robert Johnson, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Stealers Wheel. He also shows of his versatility with instrumental covers of The Yardbirds’ Shapes Of Things, and Led Zeppelin’s Communication Breakdown.
Sadly Healey had to battle cancer again later in life. He died from a form of malignant tumor in 2008. He was only 41.
Despite only putting out five albums as the Jeff Healey Band this was not the end of his musical legacy. He also recorded albums both as a solo artist and with The Jazz Wizards. In addition to numerous television appearances over the years, there have also been several compilations of his work, along with live albums and concerts.
Jeff Healey was a talented songwriter and musician that was lost far too soon. He’s definitely worth a place in your music collection.
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