In a society dominated by artists such as Taylor Swift and One Direction, it is difficult for songwriters of equal or greater talent to achieve the same level of fame if they don’t adhere to the conventions of today’s popular music.
According to Rolling Stone magazine, Jeff Buckley is considered the 39th greatest singer of all time, surpassing Mariah Carey (79), Christina Aguilera (58) and Brian Wilson (52). This may be a surprising fact, considering that Buckley is generally less notable amongst the general population compared to the likes of Carey.
However, his vocals are immediately attention-grabbing, and it’s not necessarily because of his wide vocal range. Longwood sophomore and listener of Buckley, Joel Worford explains that it’s his emotion that makes his vocals feel so powerful.
“The big thing about Jeff Buckley was the way that his voice conveyed emotions… through his vocal tone, as a listener, he made you feel a certain way,” Worford said.
So, with acclaim from a popular magazine such as Rolling Stone, one may wonder why Buckley isn’t as well-known as his peers on the list of 100 greatest singers of all time.
One reason for this may be that Buckley passed away shortly after releasing his first album, “Grace.” Another reason may be the amount of profundity that Buckley tries to provoke within the listener.
“I think his music is too complicated, and his lyrics touch on subjects that are foreign to most people. If you’ve never felt loss or loneliness, then his lyrics aren’t going to mean anything to you… His lyrics really transcend basic feelings,” Worford said.
Buckley also purposefully tries to stray away from the norm with the way he writes his music. His songs tend to be longer than the three to four minutes of the average pop song. For example, his song “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” is six minutes and 43 seconds. His music also features aspects of Eastern music and vocal experimentation. In his song “Grace,” he almost sounds as if he is shrieking by the end of the song.
Despite Buckley’s tendency to deviate from the average, his music is still relatable to a lot of people. He has been covered many times, specifically his rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”
Buckley’s version of this song is generally the first to show up in the search results for the song “Hallelujah” on iTunes, ahead of Cohen’s original version. This song also gained popularity from being covered multiple times on talent shows like America’s Got Talent.
Buckley has been a huge influence on Worford, as a musician. He said that he is influenced “mainly by (Buckley’s) lyrics because his lyrics are more like poetry… And his guitar playing is just really tight.”
Although Buckley only released one album, his music proves that there still may be room for growth and diversity in a world that is dominated by pop stars. With Buckley as an example, there are more underrepresented artists and genres that need to be heard and explored.
Worford encourages others to give Buckley’s music a chance.
“I would suggest to anyone to listen to Jeff Buckley,” he said. “You just never know who it’s going to click with, and for the people who it does, it’s amazing.”
