Jeff Healey
What made Jeff Healey different from other blues-rockers was also what kept some listeners from accepting him as anything other than a novelty: the fact that the blind guitarist played his Fender Stratocaster on his lap, not standing up. With the guitar in his lap, Healey could make unique bends and hammer-ons, making his licks different and more elastic than most of the competition. Unfortunately, his material leaned toward standard AOR blues-rock, which rarely let him cut loose, but when he did, his instrumental prowess could be shocking.
Healey lost his sight at the age of one, after developing eye cancer. He began playing guitar when he was three years old and began performing with his band Blues Direction at the age of 17. Healey formed the Jeff Healey Band in 1985, featuring bassist Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen. This trio released one single on its own Forte record label, which led to a contract with Arista. The Jeff Healey Band released their debut album, See the Light, in 1988 and the guitarist immediately developed a devoted following in blues-rock circles. Featuring the hit single "Angel Eyes," the record went platinum in the U.S., and while the Jeff Healey Band's subsequent records were popular, none were as successful as the debut.
As the 21st century dawned, Healey began to change his direction. He taught himself to play the trumpet and began to lean toward the kind of traditional 1920s and '30s jazz that had always fascinated him. He released two classic jazz albums, 2002's Among Friends and 2004's Adventures in Jazzland, on his own HealeyOphonic label, and a third traditional jazz outing, It's Tight Like That, which appeared on Stony Plain in 2006. And while he continued to do shows in his earlier blues-rock style, he increasingly gigged with his jazz combo, the Jazz Wizards. In 2008, a month before the release of his last studio-recorded blues album, Mess of Blues, Healey died from cancer. Songs from the Road, a collection of live blues-rock performances from 2006 and 2007, was released by the Ruf imprint in 2009, nearly 18 months after Healey's death. His final studio jazz album, Last Call, was issued by Stony Plain in April 2010. Other archival releases continued to find their way out of the vaults, including Heal My Soul, a record of unheard studio recordings released on what would've been Healey's 50th birthday on March 25, 2016.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Al Campbell /TiVo
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Discografía
49 álbum(es) • Ordenado por Mejores ventas
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Road House (The Lost Soundtrack)
Blues - Editado por Arista - Legacy el 07-06-2024
Disponible en24-Bit/96 kHz Estéreo -
Heal My Soul (Deluxe Edition)
Blues - Editado por Mercury Studios el 25-03-2016
Disponible en24-Bit/96 kHz Estéreo -
Mess Of Blues
Blues - Editado por Stony Plain Records el 11-03-2008
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
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See the Light
Rock - Editado por Arista - Legacy el 01-12-2014
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
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Songs from the Road (Live)
Blues - Editado por Ruf Records el 24-07-2009
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Songs From The Road
Blues - Editado por Stony Plain Records el 24-07-2009
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Live at Montreux 1999
Blues - Editado por earMUSIC Classics el 25-04-2005
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Live At Montreux 1999 (Live)
Rock - Editado por Mercury Studios el 25-04-2005
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Cover To Cover
Pop/Rock - Editado por Legacy Recordings el 13-06-1995
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Platinum & Gold Collection
Pop/Rock - Editado por Arista - BMG Heritage el 12-01-2004
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Original Album Classics
Blues - Editado por Arista - Legacy el 06-01-2012
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Get Me Some
Blues - Editado por earMUSIC Classics el 03-07-2000
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Get Me Some Do Not Use
Blues - Editado por earMUSIC Classics el 03-07-2000
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
As the Years Go Passing By - Live in Germany
Blues - Editado por Zebralution el 22-02-2013
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
House on Fire: The Jeff Healey Band Demos & Rarities
Rock - Editado por earMUSIC Classics el 26-02-2013
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
House On Fire: The Jeff Healey Band Demos & Rarities
Blues - Editado por Eagle Rock - Eagle Records el 26-02-2013
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Live at Grossman's - 1994
Blues - Editado por earMUSIC Classics el 14-06-2011
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -