Jeff Healey dies

[rhinocaster]

I just saw this on TGP. Evidently he had a long battle with cancer.

Does the reaper plan on taking everyone this year?

RIP Jeff.

[Telarkaster]

Wow, this shocks and saddens me. I had no idea.

I remember when he first came out, I was blown away by his playing. He taught me that there's no "right" way to play guitar, all that matters is the feeling in notes...

[BritishBluesBoy]

What a terrible shame...

[Mark Davis]

March 2, 2008

Guitarist and bandleader Jeff Healey dies in Toronto hospital

Following a lengthy struggle with cancer,
Healey passes away on the eve of the
release of a new blues rock album

Jeff Healey, arguably one of the most distinctive guitar players of our time, died today (Sunday March 2) in St. Joseph’s Hospital, Toronto. He was 41, and leaves his wife, Cristie, daughter Rachel (13) and son Derek (three), as well as his father and step-mother, Bud and Rose Healey, and sisters Laura and Linda.

Funeral and memorial arrangements are pending.

Robbed of his sight as a baby due to a rare form of cancer, retino blastoma, and he started to play guitar when he was three, holding the instrument unconventionally across his lap. He formed his first band at 17, but soon formed a trio which was named the Jeff Healey Band.
After his appearance in the movie Road House, he was signed to Arista records, and in 1988 released the Grammy-nominated album See the Light, which included a major hit single, Angel Eyes.

He earned a Juno Award in 1990 as Entertainer of the Year.

Two more albums emerged on Arista, with lessening success as the ’90s passed. Various “best-of” and live packages were released, and he recorded two more rock albums, before turning to his real love, classic American jazz from the ’20s, ’30s and ’40s.

By then, however, Healey was an internationally-known star who had played with dozens of musicians, including B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and recorded with George Harrison. Mark Knopfler and the late blues legend, Jimmy Rogers.

A family man with a three-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter he preferred to stay close to home. “I’ve traveled widely before — been there and done that,” he told friends, determined to avoid the lengthy, exhausting tours that marked his life in his twenties and early thirties.
A long-running CBC Radio series saw him in the role of disc jockey — My Kinda Jazz was a staple for a while, but in recent years he had hosted a programme with a similar name on Jazz-FM in Toronto. A highlight of his broadcasts was always the use of rare — and rarely heard — music from his 30,000-plus collection of 78-rpm records.

As his rock career wound down as the millennium came, he recorded a series of three album of early jazz, playing trumpet as well as acoustic guitar in a band he called Jeff Healey’s Jazz Wizards. The most recent was It’s Tight Like That, recorded live at Hugh’s Room in Toronto in 2005, with British jazz legend Chris Barber as guest star.

At the time of his death he was about to see the release of his first rock/blues album in eight years, Mess of Blues, which is being released in Europe on March 20, and in Canada and the U.S. on April 22. The album was the result of a joint agreement between the German label, Ruf Records, and Stony Plain, the independent Edmonton-based label that has released his three jazz CDs.

Mess of Blues was recorded in studios in Toronto, with two cuts recorded at the Jeff Healey’s Roadhouse in Toronto and two at a concert in London England. The backup group on the upcoming CD — the Healey’s House Band — played with him regularly at the downtown Roadhouse, and at a previous club bearing his name in the Queen-Bathurst area.

Early last year, Healey underwent surgery to remove cancerous tissue from his legs, and later from both lungs; aggressive radiation treatments and chemotherapy, however, failed to halt the spread of the disease.
Despite his battle with cancer, he undertook frequent tours across Canada with both his blues-based band and his jazz group; he was set for a major tour in Germany and the U.K. and was to be a guest on the BBC’s famed Jools Holland Show in April.

Remembered by his musicians — and his audiences — for his wry sense of humour as well as his musical playfulness, Healey was a unique musician who bridged different genres with ease and assurance.

[mikespe]

I am totally shocked! I was only a few weeks ago I watched the movie Roadhouse that put him into the public eye (well more than he was anyway!).

[sean79]

Wow. Truly a shame.

[WisconsinStrings]

He was as much fun to watch play as to listen to. RIP Jeff

[markothefish]

I am speechless and saddened by this . My thoughts and prayers go out to his young children ... R I P

[amp boy]

he really seemed like a nice guy, and was a big music supporter here in toronto.
this really sucks.......the guy was 41.
that scares me when i hear of people passing away at such a young age.
He's given a lot to music, and unfortunately we know that there was so much more he had, but it won't be.
things like this make me pause.

[Mark Davis]

This is one of my alltime favorite Youtibe clips Jeff just blows the walls down at the end its so good its goosebumps time.

This was a real shocker to hear of his passing away so young.

[sean79]

Thanks for posting that clip, Mark. Always has been one of my favorite Healey songs.

[superlightweigh]

That's a shame.. Mark thanks for posting the rundown on his career.

[Grin'n'pick]

That is very sad news. I didn't know he was so ill. May he long be remembered for the great musician he was. RIP Jeff.

[Geo]

Tears here.
He was so great in so many ways.

[J-man]

That's terrible.

I was gonna go to see him earlier this year when he toured the UK, but I put it off...

He was such a kick ass guitar player!

RIP

[tazzboy]

The first time I saw was in Roadhouse with Patrick Swayze.

[rhinocaster]

Mark, thanks so much for posting that clip. That kind of expression is why I love music. Jeff was a monstrously talented and original artist.

[garytelecastor]

This is shocking. I am truly grieved at his passing.
He was one of a kind, an original in every aspect.
I will miss you Jeff.

[furrfurrfurr]

Shocked and saddened.

RIP Jeff.

[Blazer]

Man, another one of my alltime favorite guitarists passes without me having had the chance to see him live.

I always loved his tone and feel.

At least we still have Johnny Hiland who said that "Seeing" Jeff Healey live was a big inspiration to him.

[Pete Galati]

I somehow wasn't expecting that. I knew he'd been having some trouble lately, but I didn't know things were that bad.

Huge loss to the music world

Jeff Healey - While My Guitar Gently Weeps

[chet]

I really dug Jeff Healy. RIP Jeff.

[Mark Davis]

Originally Posted by rhinocaster

Mark, thanks so much for posting that clip. That kind of expression is why I love music. Jeff was a monstrously talented and original artist.

Your welcome. Ya what a loss. Im floored over this one.

The guy went thro so much had 2 glass eyes from the age of 6 I think.

Taught himself how to play guitar. He made less mistakes than people who can see!

I cant believe he was just barely over 40 that means he was in his late teens early 20's when he started to make it big.

He paid his dues to the blues. RIP Jeff

[garytelecastor]

Originally Posted by Mark Davis

This is one of my alltime favorite Youtibe clips Jeff just blows the walls down at the end its so good its goosebumps time.

This was a real shocker to hear of his passing away so young.

Unbelievable, I actually got goosebumps.
Thanks Mark.

[ROADMAN]

shock...sorrow....RIP Jeff