Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, rock and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

guitarist, singer and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " Angel Eyes" and reached the Top 10 in Canada with the songs "I Think I Love You Too Much" and "How Long Can a Man Be Strong".

Early life

Born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Healey was raised in the city's west end. He was adopted as an infant; his adoptive father was a

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

. When he was almost one year old, Healey lost his sight due to

retinoblastoma Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a rare form of cancer that rapidly develops from the immature cells of a retina, the light-detecting tissue of the eye. It is the most common primary malignant intraocular cancer in children, and 80% of retinoblastoma cas ...

, a rare cancer of the eyes. His eyes had to be surgically removed, and he was given ocular prostheses.

Early career and success

Healey began playing guitar when he was three, developing his unique style of playing the instrument flat on his lap. At nine years old, his musical talents were showcased in an interview on the TVOntario children's programme ''

Cucumber The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables. including the Colonial Tavern. Healey began hosting a jazz and blues show on radio station CIUT-FM, where he was known for playing from his massive collection of vintage 78 rpm gramophone records. Shortly thereafter he was introduced to bassist Joe Rockman (born January 1, 1957, Toronto) and drummer Tom Stephen (born February 2, 1955, New Brunswick – died February 20, 2023), with whom he formed a trio, the Jeff Healey Band. The band made their first public appearance at the Birds Nest, located upstairs at Chicago's Diner on Queen Street West in Toronto. They received a write-up in Toronto's '' NOW'' magazine, and soon were playing almost nightly in local clubs, such as Grossman's Tavern and the famed blues club Albert's Hall (where Jeff Healey was discovered by guitarists

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (band), Double Trouble. Although his ma ...

and Albert Collins). After being signed to

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

in 1988, the band released the album '' See the Light'', which appeared on the RPM Top 100 chart in 1989. It featured the hit single " Angel Eyes" and the song "Hideaway", which was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. While the band was recording ''See the Light'', they were also filming (and recording for the soundtrack of) the

Patrick Swayze Patrick Wayne Swayze ( ; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and dancer. Known for his romantic, tough, and comedic roles in blockbusters and cult films, Swayze was nominated for three Golden Glob ...

film '' Road House''. Healey had numerous acting scenes in the movie with Swayze, as his band was the house cover band for the bar featured in the movie. In 1990, the band won the

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

for Canadian Entertainer of the Year. The albums '' Hell to Pay'' and '' Feel This'' gave Healey 10 charting singles in Canada between 1990 and 1994, including a cover of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' "

While My Guitar Gently Weeps "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album ''The Beatles (album), The Beatles'' (also known as the "White Album"). It was written by George Harrison, the band's lead guitarist, as ...

", which featured

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

and

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and, latterly, sole member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) which was formed in 1970. He has written all of ...

on backing vocals and acoustic guitar.

Later work and life

By the release of the 2000 album '' Get Me Some,'' Healey began to concentrate on

. He went on to release three CDs of music of traditional American jazz from the 1920s and 1930s. He had been sitting in with these types of bands around Toronto since the beginning of his music career. Though known primarily as a guitarist, Healey also played trumpet during live performances. His main jazz group for touring and recording was Jeff Healey's Jazz Wizards. Healey was an avid

record collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...

and amassed a collection of well over 30,000

78 rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...

records. Starting in 1990 he hosted a radio program of very early jazz on CIUT at the University of Toronto with Colin Bray. Later he went national on CBC Radio's program entitled ''My Kind of Jazz'', in which he played records from his vast vintage jazz collection. He moved the show two years later to Jazz FM – CJRT; as a part of ongoing celebrations for what would have been Healey's 50th birthday in 2016, the latter program began to air in repeats Wednesdays 9pm on jazz.fm. For many years, Healey toured throughout North America and Europe and performed at his club, "Healey's" on Bathurst Street in Toronto, where he played with his blues band on Thursday nights and also with his jazz group on Saturday afternoons. The club moved to a larger location at 56 Blue Jays Way and was rechristened "Jeff Healey's Roadhouse." Though he had lent his name to the club and often played there, Jeff Healey did not own or manage the bar. (The name came from the 1989 film, '' Road House,'' in which Healey appeared.) At the time of his death, he had been planning to perform a series of shows in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands, with his other band, the Jeff Healey Blues Band (aka the "Healey's House Band") in April 2008. Over the years, Healey toured and sat in with many well-known performers, including The Allman Brothers,

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaug ...

, B. B. King,

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...

, Steve Lukather,

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

and many more. In 2006, Healey appeared on

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

vocalist

Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is an English singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...

's CD/DVD ''

Gillan's Inn ''Gillan's Inn'' is the fourth solo album by Ian Gillan in celebration of his 40 years as a singer. The first release was a DualDisc composed of both a CD and a DVD side. The CD featured re-recorded tracks from all eras of Ian Gillan's singi ...

.'' Healey discovered and helped develop the careers of other musical artists, including Alex Pangman, Terra Hazelton, Amanda Marshall, Shannon Curfman, and

Philip Sayce Philip Sayce is a Welsh-born American and Canadian guitarist, singer, songwriter, performer, and producer. Early life Sayce was born in Aberystwyth on June 3, 1976, his family moved to Canada when he was two years old, and he grew up in Toron ...

In early 2009, Healey's album '' Mess of Blues'' won in The 8th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Blues Album. In 2009, Healey was inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame. In June 2011, Woodford Park in Toronto was renamed Jeff Healey Park in his honour. In 2014, Healey was inducted into

Canada's Walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame () in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a series of maple leaf-like stars embedded in 13 de ...

. In September 2016, Jeff Healey was inducted into the Mississauga Music Walk of Fame. In March 2016 the posthumous album ''Heal My Soul'' was released, followed by the companion album ''Holding On'' in December of the same year. Both records were compiled by Roger Costa from unreleased recordings. The 12 track ''Heal My Soul'' featured six covers and a number of collaborations with Marti Frederiksen, Arnold Lanni and Stevie Salas. The 15 track ''Holding On'' album contains ten live tracks recorded in 1999 at the Rockefeller Music Hall in Norway and five studio tracks.

Personal life

Healey married Krista Miller in 1992; they had a daughter and were divorced in 1998. He married Cristie Hall in 2004 and had a son with her.

Illness and death

On January 11, 2007, Healey underwent surgery to remove metastatic cancer tissue from both lungs. In the previous 18 months, he had two

sarcoma A sarcoma is a rare type of cancer that arises from cells of mesenchymal origin. Originating from mesenchymal cells means that sarcomas are cancers of connective tissues such as bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, or vascular tissues. Sarcom ...

s removed from his legs. On March 2, 2008, Healey died of sarcoma in his home town of Toronto at the age of 41. He was buried at

Park Lawn Cemetery Park Lawn Cemetery is a large cemetery in the Etobicoke district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It currently has around 22,000 graves. It is managed by the Park Lawn Limited Partnership, which also runs five other cemeteries in Toronto. The cemetery ...

, in Etobicoke, Ontario. Healey's death came a month before the release of ''Mess of Blues'', which was his first rock/blues album in eight years.

Discography

Jeff Healey Band

Jeff Healey solo and with The Jazz Wizards

Jeff Healey solo

*2002: ''Among Friends'' (Sensation; Stony Plain)Re-released 2006, Stony Plain. *2003: ''Live at Healey's'' (Bolder)Subtitled "The Thursday Night Recordings". *2004: ''Adventures in Jazzland'' (HealeyOphonic; Stony Plain) *2006: ''It's Tight Like That'' ( Stony Plain) *2008: '' Mess of Blues'' ( Ruf; Stony Plain) *2009: '' Songs From The Road'' (Ruf; Stony Plain) *2010: ''Last Call'' (Stony Plain) *2016: ''Heal My Soul'' (Convexe Entertainment; Provogue) *2016: ''Holding On: A 'Heal My Soul' Companion'' (Convexe Entertainment; Provogue) *2020: ''Heal My Soul: Deluxe Edition'' (Eagle Rock Entertainment)

Live albums

*1993: ''Live in Belgium'' (CD & DVD) (Eagle Vision) *2003: ''Live at Healey's'' (Bolder) *2005: ''Live at Montreux 1999'' (Eagle) *2011: ''Live at Grossman's 1994'' (Eagle Rock North/Convexe) *2013: ''As The Years Go Passing By: Live in Germany 1989-1995-2000'' (in-akustik) – note: the first release of archival material compiled with the participation and full approval of the Jeff Healey Estate. *2013: ''Live From NYC'' (Eagle Rock) *2014: ''Live at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, 1993'' (Eagle Rock)

Compilations

*1998: ''The Very Best of Jeff Healey'' ( RCA) *1998: ''The Very Best of Jeff Healey'' (MSI Music Distribution) *1999: ''Master Hits'' (Arista) *2004: ''The Platinum and Gold Collection'' (Arista) *2008: ''Super Hits'' (

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

) *2008: ''Legacy: Volume One'' (Ear Music; Arbor Records Ltd) *2013: ''Playlist: The Very Best of the Jeff Healey Band'' (Arista) *2013: ''House on Fire – Demos & Rarities'' (Eagle Rock North) *2015: ''The Best of the Stony Plain Years'' (Stony Plain)

Appearances on other albums

*1988 ''The Promise'' by Matt Minglewood ( Savannah Music/WEA) *1995 ''Let It Rock! (The Rock 'n' Roll Album of the Decade)'' (

Quality Records Quality Records was a Canadian entertainment company which released music albums in Canada on behalf of American record labels. They also released recordings by Canadian artists. The company operated between 1950 and 1985 with offices in Toron ...

) –

Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American rock and roll singer, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...

' 60th Birthday Bash, Live at Massey Hall, featuring

The Band The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

, Larry Gowan. *1999 ''Blues Blues Blues'' by Jimmy Rogers All-Stars (

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

) *2003 ''Live at Last'' by Matt Minglewood Band feat. Jeff Healey ( Norton Records) *2004 ''What's Love? A Tribute to

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

'' ( Versailles Records) *2006 ''Full Circle'' by Walter Trout ( Ruf Records)

Compilation inclusions

*1997 ''Hits of the 80s'' *2002 ''While My Guitar Gently Weeps'' *2006 '' Saturday Night Blues: 20 Years'' (

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

)

Singles

Filmography

*1989: '' Road House'' as Cody *1999: ''Live at Montreux'' *2004: ''See The Light'' ( BMG) *2013: ''As The Years Go Passing By: Live in Germany 1989-1995-2000'' (in-akustik)The first release of archival material compiled with the participation and full approval of the Jeff Healey Estate. (3CD/2DVD deluxe ed. – also available as 3 CD set) www.jeffhealey.com

References

External links

*
Official Facebook PageOfficial Youtube ChannelOfficial Jeff Healey BiographyOfficial Jeff Healey Discography
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Healey, Jeff 1966 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Canadian guitarists 20th-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian guitarists 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian singers Arista Records artists Blind musicians Canadian blind people Blind singers Blues rock musicians Canadian adoptees Canadian blues guitarists Canadian male guitarists Canadian radio personalities Canadian rock guitarists Canadian Disability Hall of Fame Deaths from cancer in Ontario Electric blues musicians Independent Music Awards winners Jazz radio presenters Juno Award winners Canadian lead guitarists Singers from Toronto People from Etobicoke Rhythm guitarists RCA Records artists Stony Plain Records artists Provogue Records artists Burials at Park Lawn Cemetery