Jeff Buckley
USA, 1990–1997
American singer-songwriter and guitarist with a wide vocal range, known for his only completed studio album Grace (1994) and its version of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah'. He drowned accidentally in 1997.
MusicRoots documents 8 artists who influenced Jeff Buckley and 1 artist Jeff Buckley influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.
Who influenced Jeff Buckley?
- Édith Piaf — Édith Piaf was a vocal inspiration for Jeff Buckley, whose dramatic, emotive phrasing echoed the intensity of the French chanson tradition — he recorded her 'Je n'en connais pas la fin' (released on Live at Sin-é), an explicit tribute to her repertoire.
- Led Zeppelin — Buckley admired Led Zeppelin and Robert Plant, and his wide-ranging, wailing vocals and dynamic guitar work reflect that debt.
- The Smiths — Buckley was a devoted admirer of The Smiths, and Johnny Marr's shimmering guitar textures and Morrissey's expressive vocals shaped his own style.
- Nina Simone — Nina Simone was among Buckley's cited influences; he covered her material and drew on her emotive, genre-spanning interpretive approach.
- Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan — Buckley called the qawwali master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan 'my Elvis', performed his music, and absorbed his ecstatic, improvisatory vocal melisma into his own singing.
- Tim Buckley — Jeff inherited his soaring, multi-octave voice and restless, genre-crossing sensibility from his father Tim Buckley — a resemblance widely noted, even if Jeff was ambivalent about the comparison.
- Leonard Cohen — Leonard Cohen's songwriting was central to Buckley, whose rendition of Cohen's 'Hallelujah' became the definitive version and the centrepiece of Grace.
- Van Morrison — Van Morrison's soulful, free-flowing vocal phrasing was among the deep influences Buckley drew on, performing Morrison deep cuts in his early sets.
Which artists did Jeff Buckley influence?
- Florence and the Machine — Named in the same breath as Waits as the voice she wanted — the male upper register behind her own.