Today marks the 15th anniversary of the day Jeff Buckley went swimming in the Mississippi River singing Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” and never came back — such a tragic and haunting coda for one of the most promising short-lived musicians of the past two decades. In the case of Buckley, though, that old cliché of “the music will live on” has proven true. For one, behind every snarky call for a moratorium on “Hallelujah” covers lies the unimpeachable fact that Buckley did it best and should probably be the last. Grace has earned its spot in the canon, sure, but it still seems to barely scratch the surface (particularly regarding original material) of what was to come from Buckley. Not to mention his posthumous LP, Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk, and numerous live bootlegs only make that lost potential more keenly felt. Arriving somewhat late to Buckley myself, a first proper biographical introduction came in the form of this BBC documentary a half-decade or so ago. What makes the hourlong program a worthy remembrance on this day, for me, is that it focuses on the context to Buckley’s rise from struggling rock musician to carrier of the torch left by his father to becoming a legend in his own right. Tracing that trajectory feels essential toward appreciating the 30 short years we were lucky enough to have that voice in our midst. Check it out above.
