People living in Memphis usually don't think of the murky,swirling waters of the Mississippi River as mysterious or tragic.But one summer night in late May more than five years ago, theriver took on those characteristics. In its wake a life ended andan extraordinary musical legacy was cut short.
Jeff Buckley moved to Memphis in February 1997. After finding asomewhat unwanted fame and following in New York City, the30-year-old musician hoped to find solace in this southern cityknown for its musical heritage and world-famous barbecue.
"He needed a place where people would leave him alone -- wherehe could woodshed his next album," Buckley's mother, Mary Guibert,said in a phone interview. "He could ride his bike down the streetand he was just another schmoe on a bike."
Much of what brought Buckley to Memphis was his appreciation andfriendship with the Bluff City-based band The Grifters. He andGrifters guitarist and vocalist Dave Shouse had previouslydeveloped a musical and personal relationship.
"(Buckley) liked the sound of (The Grifters) work and the soundthey were getting from (Easley) studios," Guibert said. "That wasthe first thing that put Memphis on the map."
In 1994, Buckley released his first and last studio album,"Grace." The Columbia Records release received accolades fromcritics.
Buckley was to begin recording his second studio album in June1997 at Easley Studios in Memphis.
Musician and Commercial Appeal music journalist Bill Ellisdescribed Buckley's music as a m�lange of different stylesand eras.
"His music was a consolidation of many things," Ellis said. "Youhear about Led Zeppelin and Van Morrison (as influences). But therewas also Middle Eastern music and Qawwali music. The Grifters werea great influence. They're a weird amalgam of low-fi art rock.(Buckley's music) was too ambitious to be commercial. But itcreated devoted fans. It was very emotional."
"His tastes were so broad," Guibert said. "It was impossible topin him down to anything anyway, anything from Henry Purcell to LedZeppelin. That's pretty eclectic."
Despite proving himself as an eloquent, talentedsinger-songwriter in his own right, Buckley was often compared tohis estranged '60s folk singer-father Tim Buckley, who died at theage of 28 from a heroine overdose. Father and son never built arelationship.
"(Jeff) saw him a couple of times when he was an infant and twoand a half, three months before Tim died," Guibert said.
"In a BBC documentary, they have a tape of an interview (withJeff). They said 'I know you don't want to talk about your father.'Jeff said 'the truth is, as a musician, I thoroughly respect myfather... as a human being, he embarrasses the hell out ofme.'"
Buckley rented a small house on Rembert Street in MidtownMemphis in Feb. 1997. According to Guibert, he was makingarrangements to buy the modest property.
For a series of Monday nights, he played small shows at thedowntown bar Barristers, sometimes for only a few patrons. Guibertsaid Buckley enjoyed his time out of the limelight of New York orLos Angeles. Ellis said he could understand why.
"The thing about Memphis is it allows famous people to just bepeople," he said. "If you want to escape the pressures of stardom-- even impending stardom -- it's a good place to go."
Buckley spent much of his time in his home, sometimes ridingdown to Shangri-La Records or to pick up Indian food. He would workon songs for his upcoming album.
The rest of his band were set to arrive in Memphis May 29, 1997.That night, he and an acquaintance, Keith Foti, left Buckley'shouse to venture to a rehearsal space on Young Avenue. However, theintertwined streets of Memphis caused the two to give up on findingthe two-story Young Avenue building and head downtown. At around 9p.m., Buckley decided to take a dip in the Wolf River. Guibertrecalled the events of that night as told to her by Foti.
"Jeff had been to this spot a dozen times and gone wading in theWolf Marina without any problems," Guibert said. "We have a minuteby minute eye witness account of everything that happened. He wassinging and smiling. He was talking about love."
As Foti sat on the rocky banks, he turned to grab a portablestereo he had brought when he lost sight of Buckley.
"That river tug boat came by and it sucked him under," Guibertsaid. "Because the water was so muddy and murky, he probably swamin the wrong direction. And because he had been singing, heprobably had very little breath."
Buckley disappeared into the waters of the Mississippi. Thefollowing day, it began to rain.
"When I flew in the next day," Guibert said, "it was black asnight and thundering and lightening and raining buckets. I stood inmy hotel window with my face pressed against the glass, hoping tosee a gray figure walking down the street -- and it would be myson.
"I cursed the city of Memphis and said 'if my son is dead, Ihope it rains in the city of Memphis for all eternity.'"
But it did stop raining. And after six days of exhaustivesearching, Buckley's body surfaced near the southern tip of MudIsland at the foot of Beale Street.
After his body was found and identified by close friend andmanager Gene Bowen, speculation began to fly. After all, Buckleywas fully clothed, swimming at night in waters known by locals asdangerous with its strong undercurrents.
People who allegedly knew Buckley began to come out of thewoodwork to express their opinions on what had happened and whatkind of a person Buckley was. Some of the media would paint apicture of a sullen man, who jumped fully clothed, head first intothe dark waters of the Mississippi. Guibert said some of the mediaaccounts were skewed and intentionally insinuated suicide.
"This boy loved life. If he had known for an instant thatputting a toe in Wolf River would have killed him, he would havenever done it. He wanted to live a long life, and he wanted to liveit in Memphis."
Many of the lyrics of Buckley's first posthumous album "Sketches(For My Sweetheart the Drunk)," might lend themselves to a previewof things to come. Four tracks on the second disc were written inhis home in Midtown.
However, Ellis, who also covered Buckley's death for theCommercial Appeal, said there is in general a separation between anartist's work and life.
"I've never met Buckley, so I'm not going to speculate," Ellissaid. "But there's some interest of death in those lyrics. What anartist writes and does is separate. It's not all confessional.
"You have to wonder, though. You can quote some of the lyrics ofhis songs and it sounds like pretty active foreshadowing."
Since Buckley's untimely death, his music has found an audienceleft wanting more. Two albums were released this year alone, "Songsto No One 1991-1992" and the "Grace EPs" which was released lastweek.
Although Buckley's posthumous albums far exceed in quantity thetwo albums released before his death, University of Memphisgraduate Kerry Vaughan said she grew to love Buckley's music afterthe release of "Grace."
"I was a fan before he died," Vaughan said. "When I found out hehad moved to Memphis, I wanted to come there. I was living inClarksville.
"I really wanted to come to Memphis to see him play. The week Icame (to Memphis) for freshman orientation was the weekend hedied."
"I thought he was a phenomenal musician and a great guitarplayer," Ellis, also an accomplished guitarist, said. "The greatloss of the 90s (in music) was Buckley, not Kurt Cobain. I knowmost people might disagree."
Although Buckley's legacy is not fully written, he has left fanswith a taste of things to come and yet, a vision of what might havebeen. Like many other musical martyrs that came before him,adoration and respect for his music has grown.
"Every artist dies," Ellis said. "At some point if that artistis real and speaks to people, you want more of (their music) tocome out."
Buckley would have celebrated his 36th birthday in November.
As for Mary Guibert, she is taking care of what her son leftbehind, one thing being an exceptional body of work created in sucha short time. Since that staggering summer in 1997, Guibert haschanged her opinion about Memphis and the connection it has withher son.
"I have come to love Memphis -- probably for the same reasonsJeff loved it so much," Guibert said. "It will always have aspecial place in my heart, because that was the last place his feettouched."
