Jeff Healey

Jeff Healey at the Long Beach Blues Festival (2002)

Norman Jeffrey "Jeff" Healey (born March 25, 1966 in Toronto , Ontario ; † March 2, 2008 ibid) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz guitarist , trumpeter and singer .

life and career

As a one year old, Healey went blind from a retinoblastoma (malignant retinal tumor). Two years later he got his first guitar , which he played in an unusual way: Healey usually played sitting, laying the instrument flat on his thighs and playing the guitar like a zither . Healey first appeared in public at the age of six. By the time he was a teenager, he had played in numerous bands of various genres. In Brantford (Canada) Healey attended a school for the blind, in whose jazz band he played guitar and trumpet . At the age of fourteen he had his own radio show, in which he selected songs from his 25,000 record collection. He later founded the blues company Blue Directions .

1985 invited his idol Albert Collins Healey to a session and an appearance with Stevie Ray Vaughan ; In 1986 he played with BB King . Through such appearances he became known in blues circles. During this time, many rock greats from North America met on Sunday nights in Grossman's Tavern in Toronto for jam sessions . Healey played there with Robbie Robertson , the Downchild Blues Band , Stevie Ray Vaughan and Bob Dylan, among others . During such sessions Healey also met bassist Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen , with whom he founded the Jeff Healey Band in 1986 . The band mainly played a tradition- conscious blues rock , which was very well received by the critics. Healey's live performances were popular as he played the guitar and the like. a. played with your teeth, over your head, or behind your back.

Jeff Healey was also on tour in the years before his death - with the Jeff Healey & The Jazz Wizards project ; in this project he distinguished himself as a trumpeter. A jazz record was released under the title It's Tight Like That . His last blues album, Mess Of Blues , was released on March 20, 2008 on the German label Ruf Records .

On March 25, 2016, on the occasion of his 50th birthday, the album "Heal My Soul" was released posthumously. It contains twelve previously unpublished titles.

death

Jeff Healey died on the evening of March 2, 2008 at the age of 41 at St. Joseph's Health Center in Toronto, the city of his birth, of complications from retinoblastoma . He suffered from the disease throughout his life and it also led to his early blindness (see above) . In Healey's final years, the tumor metastasized to his lungs and legs. Healey left a wife and two children.

Discography

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1988	See the light	DE33 (14 weeks) DE	-	CH13 (10 weeks) CH	UK58 silver (7 weeks)UK	US22nd platinum (69 weeks)US	First published: September 1988
1990	Hell to pay	DE17 (21 weeks) DE	-	CH10 (14 weeks) CH	UK18th silver (6 weeks)UK	US27 gold (39 weeks)US	First published: June 1990
1992	Feel this	DE83 (7 weeks) DE	-	-	UK72 (1 week) UK	US174 (2 weeks) US	First published: November 1992
1995	Cover to cover	-	-	CH31 (4 weeks) CH	UK50 (3 weeks) UK	-	First published: March 1995
2000	Get Me Some	DE54 (3 weeks) DE	-	-	-	-	First published: July 2000

more publishments

• 1993: Live in Belgium
• 1998: The Very Best of
• 1999: Master Hits
• 2002: Among Friends
• 2003: Live at Healey's
• 2004: The Platinum and Gold Collection
• 2004: Adventures in Jazzland
• 2005: Live at Montreux 1999
• 2006: It's Tight Like That
• 2008: great hits
• 2008: Mess of Blues
• 2009: Legacy, Volume 1
• 2009: Songs From The Road
• 2010: Last Call
• 2011: Live at Grossman's 1994
• 2013: As The Years Go Passing By: Live in Germany
• 2013: House on Fire - Demos & Rarities
• 2013: Live From NYC
• 2016: Heal My Soul
• 2017: "Holding On"

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1989	Confidence Man See the Light	-	-	-	UK76 (3 weeks) UK	-	First published: January 1989
	Angel eyes see the light	-	-	-	UK86 (3 weeks) UK	US5 (22 weeks) US	First published: April 1989
	When the Night Comes Falling From the Sky Road House (OST)	-	-	-	UK99 (1 week) UK	-	First published: December 1989
1990	While My Guitar Gently Weeps Hell to Pay	-	-	-	UK85 (2 weeks) UK	-	First published: October 1990
1993	Lost in Your Eyes Feel This	-	-	-	-	US91 (3 weeks) US	First published: April 1993
1995	Stuck in the Middle Cover To Cover	-	-	-	UK79 (2 weeks) UK	-	First published: April 1995

More singles

• 1989: See the Light
• 1990: I Think I Love You Too Much
• 1990: Full Circle
• 1991: How Much
• 1991: How Long Can a Man Be Strong
• 1992: Cruel Little Number
• 1993: Heart of an Angel
• 1993: Leave the Light On
• 1994: You're Coming Home
• 1995: I Got a Line on You
• 1995: Angel
• 2000: My Life Story
• 2000: I Tried

Movies

• 1989: Road House
• 1999: Live At Montreux
• 2004: See The Light (BMG)
• 2009: Legacy, Volume 1

Web links

Commons : Jeff Healey  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Jeff Healey in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Homepage of Jeff Healey
• Short biography on the record company website
• Heal My Soul - Discography of the posthumously released album on Healey's homepage

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} CTV News: Canadian blues guitarist Jeff Healey dies at 41 ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
2. ^ Jeff Healey homepage
3. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: DE CH UK US
4. ↑ Music Sales Awards: UK US