Jeff Healey dead
#1
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Jeff Healey dead
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories
I'm shocked. I knew he was sick but didn't know he had gotten bad.
He opened for the Allman Brothers Band making him my first live concert experience. Great musician that unfortunatly alot of people only know for his Road House work.
Legendary blues and jazz guitarist Jeff Healey has died, his publicist said Sunday. The Canadian rock musician had battled cancer his entire life.
"It was something he fought with considerable bravery," his publicist, Richard Flohil, told Newsnet late Sunday.
Healey, 41, had also lost his eyesight to a rare form of the disease, Retinoblastoma, at the age of one.
The musician had performed with such acclaimed guitar players as B. B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins and George Harrison.
His full name was Norman Jeffrey Healey and he passed away Sunday in the city of his birth, Toronto, at St. Joseph's Hospital.
Healey first began playing guitar at the age of three and formed his first band while still a teenager, according to his website. He played with a very distinctive style, with laying his guitar on his lap.
"Visually, Jeff was an intriguing player to watch, because he played guitar -- by any conventional standard -- all wrong, with it flat across his lap," said Flohil. "But he was a remarkable, a virtuoso player."
One of his best-known songs, "Angel Eyes," came from the Grammy-nominated album See the Light.
His blues band, simply called the Jeff Healey Band, has sold more than 1 million albums in the United States. But along with rock and blues music, Healey was also an accomplished jazz musician.
In his final years he had hosted a jazz program on Jazz-FM in Toronto, playing rare tracks from his vast collection of more than 30,000 78-rpm records.
He had also been touring with a group called the Jazz Wizards, playing American jazz from the 1920s, 1930s and early 1940s.
Healey leaves behind his wife, Cristie, 13-year-old daughter Rachel and three-year-old son Derek.
"It was something he fought with considerable bravery," his publicist, Richard Flohil, told Newsnet late Sunday.
Healey, 41, had also lost his eyesight to a rare form of the disease, Retinoblastoma, at the age of one.
The musician had performed with such acclaimed guitar players as B. B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins and George Harrison.
His full name was Norman Jeffrey Healey and he passed away Sunday in the city of his birth, Toronto, at St. Joseph's Hospital.
Healey first began playing guitar at the age of three and formed his first band while still a teenager, according to his website. He played with a very distinctive style, with laying his guitar on his lap.
"Visually, Jeff was an intriguing player to watch, because he played guitar -- by any conventional standard -- all wrong, with it flat across his lap," said Flohil. "But he was a remarkable, a virtuoso player."
One of his best-known songs, "Angel Eyes," came from the Grammy-nominated album See the Light.
His blues band, simply called the Jeff Healey Band, has sold more than 1 million albums in the United States. But along with rock and blues music, Healey was also an accomplished jazz musician.
In his final years he had hosted a jazz program on Jazz-FM in Toronto, playing rare tracks from his vast collection of more than 30,000 78-rpm records.
He had also been touring with a group called the Jazz Wizards, playing American jazz from the 1920s, 1930s and early 1940s.
Healey leaves behind his wife, Cristie, 13-year-old daughter Rachel and three-year-old son Derek.
He opened for the Allman Brothers Band making him my first live concert experience. Great musician that unfortunatly alot of people only know for his Road House work.
#2
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Wow. That's shocking. He was a remarkable guitar player.
And I thought he was older than 41. That makes him only a year or so older than me. He was younger when he broke through than I thought.
He was a truly gifted musician.
And I thought he was older than 41. That makes him only a year or so older than me. He was younger when he broke through than I thought.
He was a truly gifted musician.
#4
DVD Talk Special Edition
Originally Posted by Heat
What did he die of?
Along with 'Angel Eyes', i think he did a great cover of 'While my Guitar gently weeps' - anybody know where I can find that one?
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Very sad news indeed. I just learned of this a few moments ago. I had the privilage of meeting Jeff and seeing him play a few years ago at his club in Toronto. A really cool and down to earth guy. Unfortunatley I never got back to his club to see him perform with the Jazz Wizards.
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Wow, very sad news, I didn't realize how sick he was recently. I saw him play at a club about 7 years ago. He was a great musician, and put on a very enjoyable show that night. He will be missed.
#11
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Ugh, horrible news. I didn't even know the guy was sick.
Like many, "Angel Eyes" is one of those songs that means a great deal to me. It's one of those songs that would belong on the soundtrack of my life, because of high school.
Like many, "Angel Eyes" is one of those songs that means a great deal to me. It's one of those songs that would belong on the soundtrack of my life, because of high school.
#12
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Damnit, this is terrible news. Healey had a great voice and an amazing guitar style. I too, am shocked to found out that he was only 41. That means he was 21 when See the Light came out:
Here's the While My Guitar Gently Weeps cover Innocent Blood mentioned. It might be my favorite cover of the song.
Here's the While My Guitar Gently Weeps cover Innocent Blood mentioned. It might be my favorite cover of the song.
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Jeff had a great band. I first saw him in the movie Roadhouse. I did not know of him before that so I noticed him in the movie. That made me try out a few of his cd's and I liked him after that. I even bought his Monteraux dvd which was fantastic. He was a very likeable person, sorry to see him go.
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Originally Posted by JOE29
Jeff had a great band. I first saw him in the movie Roadhouse. I did not know of him before that so I noticed him in the movie. That made me try out a few of his cd's and I liked him after that. I even bought his Monteraux dvd which was fantastic. He was a very likeable person, sorry to see him go.
#19
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I've always been a big fan. His cover of Stuck in the Middle With You has been amongst my favorites for ages now. Too bad he died so young. Rest in peace, Jeff.
#20
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Originally Posted by JAA
Very shocking and very sad . . . and from everything I've ever read, his character matched his incredible talent.
That was very true. I had the good fortune to meet and interview Jeff a few times over the years. He was always a class act as a person, as well as a musician. I knew he had not been well of late, but had no idea things were that bad. Jeff was only about 6 months younger than me, and it's always a shock when some who's the roughly the same age as you (or younger) passes away before their time. I will miss him greatly. Rest in peace, brother.
#21
Originally Posted by InnocentBlood
Cancer.
Along with 'Angel Eyes', i think he did a great cover of 'While my Guitar gently weeps' - anybody know where I can find that one?
Along with 'Angel Eyes', i think he did a great cover of 'While my Guitar gently weeps' - anybody know where I can find that one?
Very Best of The Jeff Healey Band
Platinum & Gold Collection
Live at Montreux 1999
The Master Hits: Jeff Healey Band
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He never got the attention that he deserved, especially as the heir apparent to the throne of Stevie Ray.
Saw him in a very small club setting years ago. I was so close to the stage, I could have rested my feet right in front of Jeff as he played. It was an amazing show, and it was great that I got a chance to meet him after it was over.
Saw him in a very small club setting years ago. I was so close to the stage, I could have rested my feet right in front of Jeff as he played. It was an amazing show, and it was great that I got a chance to meet him after it was over.
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I've never seen him live, but I always wanted to go to his bar in Toronto. I heard that he passed a couple of days ago and was really shocked. It's too bad - he seemed like a great guy and he was incredibly talented. His cover of, "While my Guitar Gently Weeps" is phenomenal - they play it on a local radio station a lot.
Rest in peace, sir.
Rest in peace, sir.
#25
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He died of lung cancer. Is it possible that nobody ever told him that smoking was dangerous? It's not like he could see the surgeon general's warning.
The only time I saw him was in the movie Road House... with Patrick Swayze, who now is apparently dying of prostate cancer.
The only time I saw him was in the movie Road House... with Patrick Swayze, who now is apparently dying of prostate cancer.