Any Jeff Healey fans here?

I know I can’t be the only one.

For those of you not familiar with him…

Jeff was a very talented and respected blues guitarist from Canada. He lost his eyesight due to a rare form of eye cancer (retinoblastoma) before the age of one. He began learning the guitar at the age of three by playing the guitar flat on his lap.

He formed The Jeff Healey Band with bass player Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen. They were signed by Arista records in 1988 and released their first album See The Light  that same year. This album was notable for producing the song Angel Eyes, as well as a Grammy nominated cover of the Freddie King classic Hideaway. The band also appeared in the Patrick Swayze film Road House as the house band for the Double Deuce. When old friends Dalton and Cody bump into each other again it leads to one of the most oft quoted scenes from the film….

The follow up album Hell To Pay  had more of a rock edge to it while still showing off his blues ability. The standout song from this album is Healey’s collaboration with George Harrison on a cover of the Beatles’ While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

As one might guess from the title of his fourth album, Cover To Cover contains no original tunes by Healey. Don’t let that put you off trying this album though because it contains some great music. Healey puts his stamp of songs written by the likes of Robert Johnson, Willie Dixon, Big Joe Williams and Jimi Hendrix. He also does two outstanding instrumental covers of both The Yardbirds’ Shapes Of Things and Led Zeppelin’s Communication Breakdown.

In addition to guitar Healey also played trumpet and in later years started to be more interested in jazz. Healey eventually opened a club in Toronto and played both blues and jazz there with his new band. Sadly Jeff had to deal with cancer once again later in life and eventually lost his battle with it in 2008.

I still remember seeing him for the first time on the The Tonight Show. I was blown away by his skill, technical ability and his unique playing style. Though he only recorded five studio albums with his original band for Arista that was not the extent of his musical career. He recorded songs for the Road House soundtrack as well as other blues and jazz albums as a solo artist and with the Jazz Wizards. In addition to numerous TV appearances there are also compilation albums, a collection of unreleased tracks and several live cd’s and concerts on DVD.

I hope that this will spur those of you who never heard of him to give him a try. He was a truly gifted musician who deserves a place in your music collection.

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From See The Light –

Angel Eyes – https://youtu.be/kag0TsZzxpw

From Hell To Pay –

While My Guitar Gently Weeps – https://youtu.be/QT-D75P9-EE

His first Tonight Show appearance November 23, 1988 (age 22) – https://youtu.be/vbey_Cwk7bs

If you like these let me know because I’ve got others tunes to recommend.

• This topic was modified 2 years, 12 months ago by Artemus_Welles.
• This topic was modified 2 years, 12 months ago by Artemus_Welles.
• This topic was modified 2 years, 12 months ago by Artemus_Welles.
• This topic was modified 2 years, 12 months ago by Artemus_Welles.
• This topic was modified 2 years, 12 months ago by Artemus_Welles.