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Location: Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey | OTTAWA (AFP) - Canadian blind rocker Jeff Healey, who uniquely played his guitar flat on his lap, has died of cancer on the eve of his latest album release, his publicist said in a statement.
Healey, 41, died in a Toronto hospital of a rare cancer, retino blastoma, that he had fought since birth and which claimed his eyesight at the age of one.
"Visually, Jeff was an intriguing player to watch, because he played guitar -- by any conventional standard -- all wrong, with it flat across his lap," his publicist Richard Flohil told broadcaster CTV Sunday. "But he was a remarkable, a virtuoso player."
The Jeff Healey Band's 1988 Grammy-nominated album "See the Light," which included the hit "Angle Eyes," sold more than one million copies in the United States.
He played with blues legends B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughn, and recorded with George Harrison, Mark Knopfler, and the late Jimmy Rogers.
At the time of his death, he was about to release his first rock-blues album in eight years, "Mess of Blues." The CD will be released in March and April in North America and Europe, respectively.
Last year, Healey had surgery to remove the cancer from his legs, and later from both lungs. He also underwent radiation treatment and chemotherapy. |
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Location: Cicero, NY | Very talented blues player. And gone way too young. RIP Jeff. |
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Location: ms | Road House Rocker... |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | This is a shame. He'll be missed. |
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Location: Detroit area | Whoa. Rest in peace, indeed. The guy could play a mean guitar. |
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Location: East Tennessee | I never could figure out how he played guitar but he certainly could play.
Too young and he will be missed. |
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Location: Minden, Nebraska | For all of his disabilities, he lived well and I reckon was able to die satisfied with what he had done with his life. |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | I'm sad. |
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Location: SoCal | Damn...... |
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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Too sad...He was a great player! |
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| Too young, terrible way to go. He was phenomenal. |
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Location: Jet City | That's too bad. One of my all time favorite concert moments was watching Jeff play "See the Light".
Yeah, he'll be missed. |
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Location: chicago | Way sad....and besides his axe hammer he had an amazing voice! |
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Location: Alberta, Canada | His suffering has ended but the fruits of his labour will remain. We should all be so lucky to leave such a legacy. |
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Location: SoCal | Originally posted by colt357:
His suffering has ended but the fruits of his labour will remain. We should all be so lucky to leave such a legacy. I would prefer to be alive and not worry about a legacy...... |
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| Too true bro, too true. |
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Location: Nova Scotia, Canada | "I would prefer to be alive and not worry about a legacy......"
Unfortunately, we don't usually have much choice in all of that.
An incredible loss and he was way too young. |
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Location: Nova Scotia, Canada | |
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Location: Nova Scotia, Canada | Some bad-assed playing here.
See The Light - Jeff Healey |
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Location: Alabama | Oh yeah - and he played a pretty mean trumpet for a guitar player. |
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| He was one cool dude! Sorry to hear of this. Another good one gone before he finished making all the music he should have. |
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Location: Simpsonville, SC | Saw him a many years ago...truly an inspiration. |
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Location: Western Massachusetts | I certainly count my blessings to have seen and chatted with Jeff. His heart was as tall as he was.
Looking forward to his new release.
All the best to his wife and kids... |
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R.I.P. Jeff Healey