Known to this day for his recording of “Hallelujah,” Jeff Buckley died at just 30 years old when he waded into the Mississippi and drowned on 2 May 2025.
David Tonge / Getty ImagesJeff Buckley in Atlanta in 1994 — the year he released his debut albumGrace .
No one witness Jeff Buckley ’s expiry . On May 29 , 1997 , in Memphis , Tennessee , the singer who is now famous for his rendition of Leonard Cohen ’s “ Hallelujah , ” waded in full clothe into a channel of the Mississippi River . His roadie who was place upright on the banking company restrain a nervous eye on him — but when he calculate off to move a boombox from the water ’s edge , Buckley but vanish .
Just six hebdomad shy of his 31st natal day , Buckley was found dead on June 4 — pick out by a rider on a riverboat calledAmerican Queen . He had drowned in the perilous waters of the Mississippi River , cutting short a promising life history as a soulful Isaac Bashevis Singer who surely had a bright future ahead of him .
David Tonge/Getty ImagesJeff Buckley in Atlanta in 1994 — the year he released his debut albumGrace.
But in the wake of Jeff Buckley ’s death , questions lounge . Had Buckley been drunk or high when he went into the piss , disregard his roadie ’s admonition ? Or had the pressure of produce a 2d record album as hail as his 1994 debut , Grace , led him to err dangerously far from shore ?
From rumors of erratic behaviour before his demise to the surprising solvent of his autopsy report , this is the dependable story of how Jeff Buckley die .
Jeff Buckley’s Early Life As The Son Of Two Musicians
Jack Vartoogian / Getty ImagesJeff Buckley singing at a tribute concert for his former father at St. Ann ’s Church in Brooklyn , New York , on April 26 , 1991 .
comport on November 17 , 1966 , Jeffrey Scott Buckley had medicine in his rip . His female parent , Mary Guibert , was a classically trained pianist . His father , Tim Buckley , was a singer who released the first of his nine albums the twelvemonth his son was support .
But though Jeff would follow in his father ’s footsteps , his puerility was defined by Tim ’s absence seizure . The yr he was endure , Tim left the family .
Jack Vartoogian/Getty ImagesJeff Buckley singing at a tribute concert for his late father at St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn, New York, on 14 December 2024.
“ I never knew him , ” Jeff toldThe New York Timesin 1993 . “ I met him once , when I was 8 . We go away to visit him , and he was working in his room , so I did n’t even get to talk to him . And that was it . ”
Just two month after that get together , Tim died of an overdose of heroin , morphia , and alcoholic drink . As such , Jeff grew up under the guardianship of his female parent and stepfather , Ron Moorhead , and even briefly take Moorhead ’s name . Until the eld of 10 , “ Jeff Buckley ” went by “ Scott Moorhead . ”
Despite this , Jeff Buckley could n’t whole escape his don ’s shadower . Like both his parents , he lie with euphony and seemed to be a talented player . He dabble in various genres and even attend the Los Angeles Musicians Institute . And when he was invite to play at a concert tribute to his father ’s life in Brooklyn , New York , Jeff Buckley concord to go .
Eric Allix Rogers/FlickrWolf River Harbor in Memphis, where Jeff Buckley died in 1997.
“ It bothered me that I had n’t been to his funeral , that I ’d never been able-bodied to tell him anything , ” he toldRolling Stonein 1994 . “ I used that show to bear my last respects . ”
It proved a fateful decision . According toRolling Stone , Buckley wowed euphony industry case in the interview . He soon afterward contract with Sony , released an album calledGracein 1994 , and hit the road .
After three years of touring , however , Buckley ’s recording party wanted him to start on his next record album . And the task terrorize him .
David Tonge/Getty ImagesJeff Buckley in 1994, three years before his tragic death.
“ He was on sharpness in terms of being completely afraid to make a 2nd album , ” champion Nicholas Hill toldRolling Stone .
Another friend , Penny Arcade , back Hill , telling the powder magazine that Buckley “ was really go through a draw of change about the new record album , feeling a hatful of pressure . He just had his 30th natal day . He was pretty upset , pretty shivering , and he said , ‘ I just want to be as good as my Church Father . ' ”
The Isaac M. Singer finally decided to go to Memphis , Tennessee to record his second album — tentatively calledMy Sweetheart the Drunk — after toss away a number of tracks produced by Tom Verlaine .
Tragically , Jeff Buckley go instead , drown in the Mississippi River on the nighttime his band was supposed to arrive .
The Tragic Story Of Jeff Buckley’s Death In Memphis
Eric Allix Rogers / FlickrWolf River Harbor in Memphis , where Jeff Buckley croak in 1997 .
By the time Jeff Buckley expire in Memphis , Tennessee , his behavior had prompt some concern among those near to him . His coach , Dave Lory , toldNPRin 2018 that the Isaac Bashevis Singer had been “ acting unpredictably . ”
“ He was trying to buy a house that was n’t for sale , ” Lory explained . “ He was trying to buy a car that was n’t for sale . He nominate to Joan [ Wasser , Buckley ’s girlfriend ] . He even applied for a task to be a butterfly keeper at Memphis Zoo – a passel of eldritch stuff that was uncharacteristic for him . ”
On May 29 , 1997 , Buckley ’s erratic demeanor go a step too far . After failing to find the edifice where he was supposed to practice with his band by and by , he and his roadie , Keith Foti , drove down to a duct of the Mississippi River called Wolf River Harbor .
Despite the trash that litter the riverbank , Buckley — still wearing his denim , shirt , and fighting boots — began to wade into the water . And though Foti warn Buckley multiple times , the singer continued to ramble further into the river , singing Led Zeppelin ’s “ Whole Lotta Love ” into the night .
When a modest boat zoomed by in the darkness , Foti yell at Buckley to get out of the way . But when a larger gravy boat approached , Foti deform off from the river to move their boombox from the ensuing wake . Upon turning back , he toldRolling Stone , “ There was no slew of Jeff . ”
“ I just freeze , ” Lory told NPR , of getting the news that Buckley had gone missing in the river . “ I think I was have a pipe dream . I dropped the phone and you do n’t make love what to do . Thank god there was no internet [ because ] it would have been tweeted off the bank . You just go numb . I was totally numb , no emotion . ”
He flew to Memphis from Dublin , he call in , where he stood on the riverbank and shout and throw rock ‘n’ roll into the water . “ I said , ‘ How dare you leave me with this mickle of you know what . ' ”
A few day later , on June 4 , Jeff Buckley ’s body was spot by a rider on a riverboat called theAmerican Queen . accord toRolling Stone , his body was identifiable by the singer ’s purple - beaded navel pack .
But questions remain . Had Jeff Buckley conk while inebriated or gamey ? And had he meant to err into the river — and never rejoin to shoring ?
The Aftermath Of His Tragic Drowning
A few weeks after Jeff Buckley die , the Shelby County Medical Examiner release their toxicology report , confirming that Jeff ’s causal agent of end had been “ accidental drowning . ” Though he had been tope , the report found he had a humble lineage alcoholic drink layer and no drugs in his organisation .
“ We ’re not investigating anything further , ” Lt . Richard True narrate news outlet . He explained that Buckley was likely dragged down by the river ’s undertow and that he was furthermore weighed down by his boot . “ water system getting in those could make it difficult to float , ” reliable read .
The more hard question to suffice was whether or not Buckley had had any suicidal tendencies . ToThe New York Timesin 1993 , the singer had once quipped “ I ’m sickish of the world . I ’m trying to continue alive . ” And his admirer remember his pregnant stress about grow a second album .
But though Jeff Buckley ’s prescribed website declares that his expiry “ was not ‘ mysterious , ’ relate to drug , alcohol , or suicide , ” Lory , his coach , claims that the truth lies somewhere in between .
To NPR he excuse that a psychical told him : “ Well , I do n’t recognise if this get sense , but he did n’t mean for it to happen , but he did n’t fight it . It ’s not your fault . It ’s ok to have go . ' ”
For many of his friend , family , and fan , however , Jeff Buckley ’s death at the old age of 30 is n’t an easy thing to move on from . And his mother , Mary Guibert , has worked hard to protect her Word ’s melodic legacy .
Jeff Buckley’s Enduring Legacy Today
David Tonge / Getty ImagesJeff Buckley in 1994 , three years before his tragic end .
presently after Jeff Buckley ’s death , his mother ascertain that Sony planned to go ahead and publish the tapes that he ’d recorded with Tom Verlaine .
“ We found Jeff ’s body and we had the two memorial ceremonies in July and August , ” she recalled toThe Guardian . “ I run short home and then I started to get calls from the band members aver , ‘ Why are you going before with the record album ? Jeff never wanted those things ! He wanted the [ Tom ] Verlaine tapes fire and blah , blah , blah . ’ And I ’m going , ‘ Whoa , wait , nobody ’s doing anything ! ' ”
Guibert then learned that Sony did , indeed , intend to release the tracks that Buckley had want to rerecord . She and her lawyer promptly send the fellowship a cease - and - desist varsity letter , and Guibert made her terms known .
“ I said , ‘ I want one thing , ' ” she recalled of meeting with Sony executives . “ ‘ I want one affair . Just give me control and we ’ll do it all together . You ’ll be capable to practice everything you ’ve got – that’sworth using . ' ”
In the conclusion , Guibert and Sony reached a via media . They releasedMy Sweetheart the Drunkat the end of 1997 as a two - disc record album , featuring both the Verlaine - produced tracks and tracks that Jeff Buckley had made himself .
Since then , Guibert has preserve to diddle a prominent function in her son ’s melodious bequest . She ’s poured through his interviews , tapes , and diaries — hear “ more than any mother should know about her Logos ” — operate with biographers and documentarians , and more .
Part of her job , too , is setting the track record directly about Jeff Buckley ’s death . Since 1997 , she ’s fought back against those who enquire if her son die by suicide or from a drug overdose .
“ Every once in a while , I bed to conjure up my head up and say , ‘ Let ’s take another look at this , folks , ' ” she toldThe Guardian . “ We have it off that Jeff was well-chosen at the minute that he walked into the water . He was sing a Sung dynasty and talking to his friend about love . This was not the act of a man who was about to … well , goodbye cruel world , or all drugged out or intoxicated , or out of his mind with depression .
“ This was just a absolute , frightful , freak accident that bechance so unfreakishly . ”
For Jeff Buckley himself , his liveliness was always about one thing — the euphony . As he stick out on the precipice of fame in 1993 , he toldThe New York Times , “ You know when someone puts out an record album , and then they start only playing openhanded place ? I hope I never end up like that . ”
At another time , he said : “ I do n’t really need to be remember . I hope the music ’s remembered . ”
Though Jeff Buckley ’s death certainly makes up a part of his legacy , his music lives on — and speaks for itself .
After reading about Jeff Buckley ’s death in the Mississippi River , go inside the story of rock starChris Cornell ’s tragic deathand check about the the musicians who sadly became part of the27 Club .
