Jeff Buckley Disappeared One Night In Tennessee....

As I sit here on the last day of this decade, I look back at all the talent we lost and think about Jeff Buckley.

I know he died in 1997.

Somehow, his death still sounds a low tone in the hollows of me.

Why?

I think about how much more I wanted from him every time I hear his voice. I realize that there is a big difference between what I want and what I am going to receive.

I suppose I just think about the fate of such a young man - with so much to give - dying so suddenly and carelessly.

For the uninitiated, Buckley waded, fully clothed, into the Wolf River Harbor (a channel of the Mississippi River) on the evening of May 29, 1997. He was 31 years old and enjoying the success that his brilliant singing and guitar-playing had earned him. As he sang the chorus to Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love", his friend and roadie Keith Foti turned his attention away from Buckley for a moment to move a guitar and a radio out of the wake of a passing tugboat. When he turned around, Buckley was gone.

His body was spotted by a tourist on a riverboat on June 4th.

For some reason, Buckley's death really saddened me and still gives me pause to this day. A young man, in the absolute prime of his life - at the height of his powers - gone.



The other day, I saw this raw video of him performing at Sin-e and I was moved by the casual nature of it. The people standing only inches from him - the way they casually turn their backs on him, from time to time. It makes me wonder, "Would they have stared more closely if they knew what fate this man would suffer? Would they have savored this moment if they realized this man would become a legend the moment his body disappeared from view that fateful night in Tennessee?"

It's ironic that during the video, someone tries to take a picture of Buckley and he asks her to put her camera down. He asks the crowd to just "be together". Now that I think about it, I wish I had a dime for every concert I attended where I look around and saw people watching the entire event through the lens of their cellphone or some mini recording device. They paid their money for a seat and then missed "the happening". Instead of being one with the performer and the people around them, they remove themselves from the moment and squeeze themselves into the narrow gaze of a viewfinder.

Splendid isolation?

Pretty sterile, if you ask me.

Because of this, I learned to fix my eyes more closely on things others find innocuous. I guess I just don't want to take those things for granted. There is always a chance I might never see those things, again.

I am sure I will never see Jeff Buckley, again.
In fact, its a certainty.

But, that doesn't mean I have to stop looking.

Have a great year, everyone.
Keep your eyes open to the possibility of the beauty that is all around you.

Hallelujah...