Jeff Buckley: Lover You Should've Come Over

Three years ago I chose a video by Jeff Buckley's father Tim Buckley. In fact I liked his Dolphins so much that I remembered it when asked to choose a video as part of my "Meet the Liberal Democrat Bloggers" feature on Lib Dem Voice.

Jeff Buckley's life and reputation were dominated by his similarity to his father. They looked alike, sounded alike and both died ridiculously young (Jeff at 30, Tim at 28).

Yet they met only once. As a New York Times article reproduced on the Jeff Buckley website records:

Jeffrey Scott Buckley was born in 1966, the same year his father released his first album and also parted ways with his first wife, Mary Guibert. "I never knew him," Jeff Buckley said flatly. "I met him once, when I was 8. We went to visit him, and he was working in his room, so I didn't even get to talk to him. And that was it." 

Mr. Buckley grew up with his mother and stepfather, mostly in Southern California, and learned about his father from old friends. "His life was hell." his son said. 

Curiously, it was his father's music that made people notice Jeff Buckley. In 1991, he flew to New York to appear at a Tim Buckley tribute concert. "Everyone was there to celebrate the music of Tim Buckley, and here was someone who looked like him, sounded like him and had the same vocal range," said Nicholas Hill, who was at the concert and has since presented Mr. Buckley on his live music show on WFMU-FM. "It was very spooky, but impressive. The buzz was pretty immediate after that.

Lover You Should've Come Over is taken from Grace, his only studio album.