杰夫·巴克利

Jeffrey Scott Buckley (raised as Scott Moorhead; November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a following in the early 1990s performing at venues in the East Village, Manhattan. He signed with Columbia and released his only studio album, Grace, in 1994. Buckley toured extensively to promote Grace, with concerts in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia.

In 1996, Buckley worked on his second album with the working title My Sweetheart the Drunk in New York City with Tom Verlaine as the producer. In February 1997, he resumed work after moving to Memphis, Tennessee. On May 29, while awaiting the arrival of his band from New York, Buckley drowned while swimming in the Wolf River, a tributary of the Mississippi. Posthumous releases include a collection of four-track demos and studio recordings for My Sweetheart the Drunk, and reissues of Grace and the Live at Sin-é EP.

After Buckley's death, his critical standing grew, and he has been cited as an influence by singers such as Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Matt Bellamy of Muse. Rolling Stone included Grace in three of its lists of the 500 greatest albums and named Buckley's version of the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah" one of the 500 greatest songs. In 2014, Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" was inducted into the American Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. In 2026, Buckley was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Early life

Born in Anaheim, California, Buckley was the only son of Mary (née Guibert) and the singer-songwriter Tim Buckley. His mother is a Zonian of Greek, English, French and Panamanian descent, while his father was the son of an Irish American father and an Italian American mother. Buckley was raised by his mother and stepfather, Ron Moorhead, in Southern California, and had a half-brother, Corey Moorhead. Buckley moved many times in and around Orange County while growing up, an upbringing he called "rootless trailer trash". As a child, Buckley was known as Scott "Scottie" Moorhead, based on his middle name and his stepfather's surname.

Buckley's biological father, Tim Buckley, released a series of folk and jazz albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Jeff said they met only once, when he was eight. After Tim died of a drug overdose in 1975, Jeff chose to go by Buckley and his given name, Jeff, which he found on his birth certificate. To members of his family he remained "Scottie".

Buckley was brought up around music; his mother was a classically trained pianist and cellist, and his stepfather introduced him to Led Zeppelin, Queen, Jimi Hendrix, the Who, and Pink Floyd at an early age. Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti was the first album he owned, and he said the hard rock band Kiss was an early favorite. He grew up singing around the house and in harmony with his mother, and said all his family sang. He began playing guitar at the age of five after discovering an acoustic guitar in his grandmother's closet. At age 12, he decided to become a musician and received his first electric guitar, a black Memphis Les Paul copy, at age 13. He attended Loara High School and played in the school jazz band; during this time, he developed an affinity for progressive rock bands Rush, Genesis, and Yes, and the jazz fusion guitarist Al Di Meola. He was a fan of Joni Mitchell, the Smiths and Siouxsie and the Banshees.