See you later, Jeff

[|iR|Focalor]

Blind blues guitarist/singer Jeff Healey dies of cancer at age 41.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/arts/music/04healey.html

You probably remember him from his role in the movie Road House starring Patrick Swayze. The fact that he was blind caused him to have to play with the guitar across his lap which lent itself to a very unique style of playing, almost like playing a slide lap steel guitar, but I never see a slide.

Jeff Healey - While My Guitar Gently Weeps:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJh3KaIKDAw&feature=related
Pay no mind to the mullet. HEY, he was blind, he had no idea how bad it looked.

Jeff Healey Band - "Roadhouse Blues":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIZywo3PBTE
Scares the shit out of me to watch him get up and start hopping around the stage, I'm afraid any second I'm going to see him fall over the monitors on the front of the stage and do a faceplant in the audience.

[Daemia]

 

first time i noticed this style of playing on the lap was Ben Harper, interesting to know how it came about.

[ReCycled]

Jeff Healey was based in Toronto so I saw him a few times on local TV or in his videos. He was a pretty good guitarist as well. When I would watch him play with a regular guitar on his lap, I couldn't really see what he was doing. But it seemed to be a more efficient way of playing. He seemed to use his thumb a lot. What I didn't know is that he had battled cancer from the age of 1 onwards. He had many operations over the years and always bounced back. This time he didn't. Here he's playing the old "Spirit" song - I Got a Line on You".


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mSHYJXnpE0&feature=related   

[|iR|Focalor]

first time i noticed this style of playing on the lap was Ben Harper, interesting to know how it came about.

Ohhhhhhh. Nah, it goes wayyyyyy back. I can't remember the guys name off the top of my head, (perhaps Blind Lemon Jefferson or someone else) but there's been a few old black blues and folk guitarists from the early 1900's who played across their lap. Steel guitars like the famed National Resophonic's are intended to be played across the lap with a slide, which is why the fretboards aren't radiused like other guitars.

[Shovel.Ds]

Jeff used to play in alot of dives up and down the east coast. I saw him in a biker bar in Hull, Ma about 18-20 years ago. He played solo back then, just him (vocals) and his guitar.
At the time I had never heard of him before, but I was blown away that day by his performance. Funny thing was, we were at a table directly in front of him and we were wondering why he was staring at our table the whole show. We didnt realize he was blind until after the show when we were chatting with him.

Ya, he was very talented and will be missed but I am sure he will hook up with all the other great blues players in that great band in the heavens.