It Will Never Be Over: Jeff Buckley and His Timeless Influences

With the recent release of the documentary “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley,” a renewed spotlight shines on the late alternative-rock legend. However, the musical influences that shaped his artistry are also deserving of acknowledgment.       

Written by Rachel Yost

Image courtesy of Merri Cyr

In the early 1990s, a now legendary name began to permeate the alt-rock music scene. Jeff Buckley’s rocket to stardom can be attributed to his first and only studio album, Grace, released in 1994. With its emotionally wrenching lyrics accompanied by Buckley’s impressively wide vocal range, the album creates a listening experience that feels like the grief of loss. The praise he received for this masterpiece is undoubtedly well-earned, though despite this, the fame eventually became a crushing weight for the singer. The documentary combines interviews from those who knew and loved Buckley the most, and they tell his story of how he became the artist the world knows now. While each interview does include information regarding the relationships between Buckley and the interviewees, they also detail about the people that inspired Buckley in his musical pursuits. Three inspirations of particular note are his father Tim Buckley, Nina Simone, and Led Zeppelin. Though his life and career came to a sudden, tragic end, a lifetime of inspiration and musical abundance made his 30 years incredibly fulfilling. The timeless comfort of Buckley’s gloomy yet technically excellent sound is having a resurgence due to society’s renewed need for some healthy wallowing. In trying times like these, it is natural to flock to music that shares a certain sadness, and Buckley’s is arguably the perfect option. His songs offer a comfortable relatability for anyone facing tribulation, and it seems recently the world has needed an artist to join them in their despondence. 

A primary influence in Jeff’s life was his father, Tim Buckley. Tim was a folk-rock musician prominent during the 1960s. His experimental style and vocal talent drew attraction, however according to All Music, his incessant need to rapidly vary his discography led to a downward slope in his popularity. His career came to an unexpected close, but he remains a timeless figure in folk music despite his absences in Jeff’s life. Tim was somewhat of an anti-influence in his son’s life, as Jeff attempted to defy his father’s footsteps by any means possible. Jeff avoided drug use, which was sadly the cause of Tim’s death. Even at a young age he valued family connectivity, which again, was something Tim notably did not attach much meaning to. Seemingly, the only true similarity between Jeff and Tim was their passion for music. Tim abandoned Jeff and his mother, Mary Guibert, during Jeff’s childhood. According to San Diego Troubador, the instability and chaos that filled Jeff’s upbringing led him to form a deep reliance and attachment to music. In a slightly twisted way, Tim’s lack of fatherhood pointed Jeff down his path of musical excellence. Following this same odd fate, Jeff’s first large scale show doubled as his father’s memorial concert. The concert took place at St. Anne’s Church in Brooklyn, and served as Jeff’s musical debut to the general public.

Musically speaking, Tim's more folky sound contrasted Jeff’s melancholic rock sound. He incorporated elements of jazz, pop, and rock into his work, but ultimately, his admiration for the folk style shines brightest. Though Jeff didn’t have a traditional folk sound, his lyrics share the same poetic quality characteristic of folk music. Jeff valued poetry greatly; in fact, he believed that “Some songs just come out of poems and some poems come out of dreams.” While this could have been a mere coincidence, it also could have likely been the influence of his father’s love for folk music casting its toll on Jeff’s musical voyage. Buckley established a name for himself at Club Sin-é, a venue that was located in New York’s East Village, a club he frequented throughout his early career. In the documentary, Shane Doyle, co-founder of Club Sin-é, said that Jeff’s voice was “Not [Tim Buckley’s] voice … [but] the voice of generations passed down.” Despite their innate similarities, this quote shows that Jeff distinguished himself as a unique artist and not simply an extension of his father. 

Before he cultivated such a rich discography of original songs, Jeff’s performances at Sin-é included many classic covers. One artist that Buckley consistently covered was Nina Simone. The documentary regarded her as a vastly impactful influence on Buckley’s musical life. In fact, the film included an audio interview of Buckley in which he expressed that apparently as a child, he “secretly wanted to be Nina Simone.” Despite their difference in musical styles, vocally, Buckley and Simone shared many qualities. Simone’s voice was raspy, wavering, and deep. She utilized a lower register, but not exclusively, as she incorporated higher pitches abruptly into her usual groveling tone. According to Dazed, this component of her vocal quality often provokes criticism saying that her voice was “unstable” and “fluctuating.” Buckley’s voice shared this raspy quality. He had the same gloomy and lower-toned sound that Simone did, and while his vibrato during the high notes may have been slightly more stable, his voice still fluctuated heavily in the majority of his songs. Buckley mimicked Simone’s wavering voice in both his tone and his pitch, which points to this influence she had on him.  
The song “Lilac Wine” was originally written by James Shelton and first performed by Hope Foye, however there is no archived recording of Foye’s performance. Eartha Kitt's rendition is the first that is publicly available, and differs from both Simone and Buckley’s versions significantly. Kitt’s sound is far more haunting than either of the two latter covers. Her voice is animated, and the overall sound of the piece is ghostly due to her rapid vibrato. This version of the song lacks the hope and softness that Simone and Buckley’s covers evoke. While their voices do differ, they approach the piece in a similar manner. Dramatically sustained vocal notes, a key component of “Lilac Wine,” create another parallel between the two artists. The ominously quiet beginning contrasts with punchy proclamations, such as “When I think more / than I want to think” and “I drink much more / than I ought to drink,” that appear just moments later in the track. The intensely pronounced delivery of lines in the intro differs from the drawn-out notes that permeate the following verses and choruses. For example, in the very first line of the song “I lost myself on a cool damp night,” both artists accentuate the word “cool” by extending it. However, in the next lyric, “I gave myself in that misty light,” they punctuate each word individually without extra emphasis on any particular one. Both of their covers revolve around juxtaposing tones and inconsistent sounds, and while unsettling, that is the intention. The unconventionality of these artists’ music opened a space for societal outcasts. Despite any lack of representation or belonging, listeners were able to find solace in the moody and troubled themes that both of their repertoires reflect. They both mastered the concept of disturbing the comfortable and comforting the disturbed, and Simone influenced Buckley to embrace this possibility of strangeness in music.  

Arguably, the most direct musical influence on Buckley was Led Zeppelin. According to the documentary, Buckley idolized Zeppelin to the point of forming a complete infatuation with them. When Buckley met the band in person, Robert Plant told him that he was “the best new artist in the world.” Buckley proceeded to go missing for days, presumably overwhelmed by such high praise from people he admired so fervently. When describing what inspiration he used to comprise Grace, Buckley simply stated, “Love, anger, depression, joy, dreams… and Zeppelin.” For him, it seems that his emotions towards the band continued past a surface level appreciation for their music. They became a central aspect to the way he lived his life, all the way up to his death. According to Performing Songwriter and the documentary, Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” was playing right before Buckley unexpectedly passed.

Buckley and Zeppelin shared a remarkable intensity. In many of Buckley’s songs, such as “Mojo Pin” and “Forget Her,” the vocals start as isolated, bringing them to the forefront of the track. Then, with about one minute left, he fully embraces the sound of rock and roll. Guitar, drums, and a plethora of other instrumentation culminate to create an unmistakably rock and roll sound, resembling Zeppelin’s “Since I’ve Been Loving You.” Both this song and Buckley’s “Forget Her” begin with guitar layered over syncopated drum beats. Slowly, they climactically build from bluesy to authentic rock. After luring the listener in with a lusciously smooth blend of soulful vocals and instrumentation, both artists blow up the ends of these songs with true-to-form rock and roll. Buckley’s subtle rasp and breathy line endings mimic those of Robert Plant. While the two have their own distinct sounds, Plant also seems to have inspired Buckley to interrupt any given song with a surprising outburst. In “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” Plant shocks the audience with the line “I’ve really been the best / the best of fools” with a sudden upward spike in pitch. Similarly, in “Forget Her,” when Buckley sings “But don’t fool yourself,” he imitates Plant’s technique by juxtaposing his previously delicate voice with a much more powerful delivery. The contrast and genre fluidity that Buckley mastered must be at least partially credited to the influence Zeppelin had on him, and it seems he would agree that if it weren’t for the band, he would have been a vastly different artist. 

Though Buckley only lived to be 30, his talent and authenticity created a legacy like none other. His music transcends the limitations of genre and has gone on to inspire many of today’s greatest artists, like Radiohead and Lana Del Rey. Despite these grand influences, he was a unique artist who understood the importance of vulnerability in the musical realm. His music truly represented the contents of his undying soul.