I was a beat cop in Toronto back in the 80’s and my beat included Bloor St W and Spadina area. In his early days Jeff and his band Played all of the bars along Bloor St W. and I saw him and his band dozens of times. Sometimes there were only 10-12 people watching but he always put on a great show. I was one lucky bastard. RIP Jeff. Toronto will never forget...
Watching Jeff Healy gave me strength when I started going blind. The way he plays and seeing him in Roadhouse showed me you don’t have to act a certain way just because you’re different. And he’s cool. Totally awesome.
What a band. Dr John (piano), Marcus Miller (bass), and Omar Hakim (drums). Jeff was amazing on his own, but to surround himself with all these legendary status musicians is pure awesomeness.
Marcus Miller actually co-hosted this show with Jools Holland. This show was a creation of Lorne Michaels and was called "Sunday Night" at one point. It attracted a who's who of the rock and blues talent from across the globe.
Not his " ailment" or his "disability" or his "deficit".....but you referenced it as his "difference"! Yes, yes, YES!!! Shows that true heart of yours! much love!
I met Jeff Healey at one of his club performances in 1988 or 89, he was an incredibly talented musician, a generous and soft spoken soul, who took the time to meet and greet anyone who approached him. He signed autographs and flirted with the ladies. His blindness was oftentimes barely noticeable. You should check out his video where he performs with Stevie Ray Vaughn. Stevie Ray Vaughn was once quoted as saying that he thought Jeff Healey was one of the greatest guitarists of all time
I have been following Jeff for many years. We are fellow Canadians born in 1966. Him March me May. Jamal your sincere and heartfelt words of my favorite nand brought a flood of tears, happy tears. Jeff was also an avid blues muscian as well. He lost his sight at 3. His adoptive, firefighter father did the rest. Just saying , don't abort ladies, if you can help it. Love to you all.
Worth noting: Angel Eyes was written by the incomparable John Hiatt who has probably written more hit songs than any American alive. Hiatt isn't known as a star but he is a brilliant songwriter and a very good performer, just overlooked as a performer. His songwriting history includes Thing Called Love, Drive South, Tennessee Plates, Through Your Hands, and a few dozen more songs that other artists got into the top 20.
@Purple people Eater Not sure how his numbers compare to Diamond -- Neil was a much bigger star than John Hiatt as a performer. Hiatt's signature was clever lyric hooks - things like rhyming amoeba with queen of sheba in Thing Called Love. I know had a couple of dozen top 20s recorded by other artists and none by himself which is very different from Neil Diamond who was also a spectacular performer. Also, Hiatt is distinctly rockabilly at times but ventures well into blues and rock.
Also worthy of checking out is Dr. John, playing piano in this video. He was a legendary musician, and man of New Orleans. Sadly, we lost him too last year. Start with "Right Place Wrong Time."
@@netrioter I did look it up. It seems that Benmont Tench did play on a few tracks on the "See The Light" album. However, he is not on the title track. Also the Jeff Healey official site says it was Dr. John on this show. jeffhealey.com/2012/09/night-music/ .
I saw him play in small venues in Toronto many times, and every time he gave it his all. He held nothing back, whether playing to a small crowd or a huge one. Pedal to the metal all the way. A great musician and a class act.
Love the look on the bass player's face when he starts playing with his teeth. Jamel, all of us in the great white north appreciate you sharing this with all of your followers who were not familiar with this great talent. All-star band here too.
@@zilspeed - Yep...and you got to be pretty damn good to impress someone like the legendary Marcus Miller who has played with some of the greats of all time.
What this guy did was mind blowing. Guitarists play with feel but almost all still need the ability of sight to see where they are going on the fretboard at times. Jeff was all soul and the epitome of playing with feel. Completely astonishing.
@@johncritchlow8156 That's very true and poetic. But I didn't say it was wrong or impossible. I said it's a correct example of irony. Unlike the entire song "Ironic."
Jeff had a love of music that couldn’t be contained. He had more raw talent in his pinkie than most have in their entire body. From my understanding, the cancer that took his sight as a child, came back. It was a tragic loss.
Jeff was an old school Jazz enthusiast as well and delved deeply into his passion, performing popular standards from the 1920s and 1930s with the Canadian group known as the Jazz Wizards in the last years of his life. He played trumpet as well as guitar on these numbers in addition to doing most of the vocals. Truly a renaissance man of music.
@@Lee4364 I went to the tribute to Jeff at a club in TORONTO called The Docks,as soon as I heard Jack Bruce and Ian Gilliam where going to be there,but others Randy Bachman etc,what a show,Jeff's house band was in the house,they did All Along The Watchtower w Jack, he smiling lugging that fretless bass, he said to the crowd I have played w both, the guitarist was killer, and said I am indifferent,yeah that is getting props big time from a legend, comparing your playing,I bet you had to be humbled.
That was the "house band" for that show...amazing! I have always been a fan of Jeff, but hearing him play with Dr. John, Marcus Miller and Omar Hakim was magical. Everyone playing that night are legends in their own right. Been watching this video for well over a decade. Before The Jeff Healy channel put it up 8 years ago some random channel had it up for several years before that.
His five fingered style was of his own making. His father once got him a private teacher to teach him proper technique, hand the teacher correctly threw his hands up and said "he's not touching this". "This style is completely his own and it would be a tragedy to take that from him."
The bass player is one of my all time favorites Marcus Miller, you got Dr John on piano and Omar Hakim on drums. Probably the best player available in New York.
They played a lot in the house band for this TV show, "Night Music," hosted by David Sanborn, a legendary sax man in his own right. The show was like "The Midnight Special" for jazz and blues. I saw a lot of legendary cats play on the show back in the day.
I was fortunate enough to watch him play in music class from the hallway. Everyone was like "you gotta see this guy play the guitar". No one had seen someone play a guitar on their lap before. That high school was big and we were in different classes but I still got to meet him. That was about 1982. He was a tremendously talented guy who left us far too early.
The Jeff Healy band knows the blues.. If you react to more of Jeff's music try these songs. "Angel Eyes" "While my guitar gently weeps" Jamel you're so right Jeff Healy was so underrated it's sad when people don't know what really great music is. It's also their loss. I love 💘 LOVE this kinda passionate musician & singer. He's also a great actor..🌟🌟
@@kevinthursby2744 I believe you it's makes me proud,, of course Australia also has their own blues legends. I 💘 Love Jimmy Barnes. Man, can that guy give you goosebumps. I just love good real music. I'm 55 now I've known heartbreaks and heartaches and music has saved me more than once. It's life's therapist ....🌷🌷
R.I.P Jeff Healy. A true legend! Other notable songs he did were "Angel Eyes" and a fantastic cover of "While my guitar gently weeps". He had so many great songs! If you love the blues you will love Mr. Healy.
I remember being blown away when he came on the scene.... first time I personally saw a lap guitar.... first time I saw a guitar played perfectly with the left hand upside down... awsome riffs.... he was so talented. He left us to early.....
We were the same age Jeff and I. I was 19 when I first went to the rainbow bistro in Ottawa. When my buddy Dan who was 24 at the time asked the doorman who was playing that night, he said "I don't know, some blind kid from Toronto"!
Good story. Those are the things I like to hear. I got the heads up about Amanda Marshall before she became a hit. One of my friends would tell me about the bars in TO where he played (bass) the last weekend and this one time mentioned, "Oh yeah. There was this girl there with really long hair and an amazing voice. Amanda Marshall. Watch out for her. I think she'll be going places." Within the year I think it was, she was appearing on U.S. late night TV. Too bad the music business is run by people that can't think much outside the box.
Love this performance; that bass player was hammering rivets. Damn! I love JH forever. the rhythm players never get the nod and they KILLED it along with Jeff (God, rest his soul). Amen.
As someone who has messed around with a guitar and learned to play bits and pieces of things I can't, for the life of me, figure out Jeff Healy's left hand fingering. With the guitar in his lap like that, he presses down on the strings from over the top of the neck. How does he do bends or barre chords? However he does it he's a master of it. That boy can play.
Saw him a few years before he passed and he came to Texas to play at a Stevie Ray Vaughan remembrance concert in the Dallas area. It was amazing!! So privileged to see him perform live. Truly an underrated guitarist who many people have never heard of.
My wife and I were fortunate to see him live twice in Ottawa, not long before his death. We were just a few feet from him during that second concert. It was at our Fall Exhibition and people just started showing up, leaving the rides and games behind to hear this exceptional talent. They were in awe--and so were we. Oh, we miss Jeff so much!
I grew up just down the qew in Hamilton hear is another great Canadian artist Michael pagliaro from Quebec some sing some dance ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-C83hAPd9USk.html
I remember my parents telling stories about seeing him play in bars in Kingston (Ontario) in the late 80s and say just how absolutely insane it was to see live. The man was crazy underrated on an international level but you couldn’t and still can’t turn on a rock radio station in Canada without hearing one of his songs. Another great band to check out would be the Tragically Hip, wheat kings, New Orleans is sinking or locked in the trunk of a car are great songs.
Isaac Chapman My husband and I have been discussing requesting the Hip for him to react to but don’t know where to start! The infamously not famous SNL set? Something grungier from maybe Up To Here, or rockier from like Phantom Power? Something more recent? Something with a storyline like Nautical Disaster or Wheat Kings (would require some info about that one to really feel that one’s purpose, we think) or go for the heart strings with Fiddler’s Green and what that’s about...it’s so hard to know where to start with a Hip newbie! 🤷🏻♀️ My husband didn’t know a lot about them until he moved here to Manitoba from Chicago 6 years ago but has adored them since...maybe there is no right song to start with, the people who can feel it, feel it. ❤️🇨🇦
@@charmingdevils So true about The Tragically Hip. Some people don't get it but Jamel might. Maybe start with 'Grace, Too' live on SNL 1995. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FEGqbyudsyQ.html
@@charmingdevils Oh yes the hip would be fantastic. You could go with New Orleans is Sinking but a song that has a story that stands very well on its own is 38 Years Old.
Todd Kelly Me too. Jeff Healey opening for Stevie Ray Vaughan opening for Jeff Beck at the (then-called) Skydome here in Toronto. Best dang show I ever did see.
My Son Ryan and I met Jeff Healey at Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Ride and Concert in Dallas, Tx! He played I'm Tore Down at my request! Met him after got autographs and our pictures taken with him! He asked me what happens to my voice because I could hardly speak and Ryan told him I was the crazy one hollering "I'm Tore Down" he said that was you and I said "Yes...thank you so much! When Mr. Healey stood up for our photo I said "Dang you sure are tall" then all of sudden he patted my shoulder then the top of my head and said "Dang you sure are short" and gave me a big hug and we laughed so hard!
As a Canadian I got to see Jeff Healey many many times when he did the college and bar circuit around the time his first album came out. He was amazing as a live performer and often wandered through the crowds playing solos with his guitar pressed up against his body like he does in this video. He was an absolute phenomenon when he first appeared on the scene and I still can't figure out why he wasn't more well known in the USA.
Jeff Healey became popular in Canada in the 80's. He was based out of Toronto and had a jazz bar downtown. Jeff was not only a consummate musician in his own right being capable of spanning all genre he promoted a lot of young talent as well. Loved him.
Jeff was music. He had the greatest collection of 20's-50's Canadian jazz and blues singles ever. Literally 35,000+. Many of them were the only ones known to exist.
The love other musicians had for Jeff when they play with him is fantastic to watch.. I've never heard a single story about Jeff being ripped off, used & abused NOTHING.. I love watching other musicians watch his solos in amazement.. And the guy can sing which gets forgotten due to his playing.. Shout out to the bass player too lol.. RIP Jeff..
First saw him in Ottawa at a Canada celebration...never heard him before that and loved him ever since.....his talent needs to be understood by today’s generation...for a blind man he really put on a live show..RIP Jeff, we miss you
I was fortunate enough to see Jeff Healy in a tiny restaurant on Danforth Avenue in Toronto before he was known (other than by local buzz). The place was probably about 20'x40' and we were right up front. Jeff had his JCM800 Marshall amp turned to the wall so he wouldn't shear the heads off the audience. It was LOUD, but wonderful. He played a lot of covers, including a whole string of Hendrix material. He didn't just play Hendrix, he seemed to channel Hendrix. Pure fire.
The first time I saw Jeff was at the "Upper Lip" at Yonge and Wellesley. They had open mic nights and some of my roomies had a band that played there. Jeff played the same night and our collective jaws hit the floor. How else can you explain something that you've never seen nor can conceive? I would walk down Yonge St and hear him play and guess what I was doing that night? I even worked one of his gigs at the Copa as a grip.
Jeff Healey put his heart and soul into his performances. His showmanship and talent is truely missed. I absolutely loved your reactions, keep up the good work!
COMING FROM A MAN WHO COULD NOT SEE ANY LIGHT, THIS IS AWESOME, SUCH AN UNDERRATD GUITAR PLAYER AND PERFORMER, THERE IS NO COLOR WHEN IT COMES TO MUSIC, A BLACK BASS PLAYER, AND DRUMMER, YOU PICK THE BEST PEOPLE FOR THE PLAYING, MUSIC IS THE BEST THING THAT IS HOLDING AMERICA TOGEATHER AT THIS TIME, WE NEED TO GET RID OF THE BAD COPS, PERIOD, R.I.P JEFF, COUSIN FIGEL
Yes indeed. A truly phenomenal player. And you can see that he's really getting off on the sound the band is making. Killer. I love to see great musicians obviously having a blast playing together.
One of the most underrated performers and guitarists ever! Played with such unbridled passion and joy. How he is not listed in many of the "greatest guitarist" list is beyond me. What an amazing performer and person! RIP Jeff!
Yessssss! More piano in rock n' roll, please! This bass player is flabbergasted. He's thinking, "this crazy blind white boy is up on his feet and playing with his teeth like Hendrix?! Gatdamn!"
Healey was great. Can’t help but think of Road House when I hear him though, which is kinda sad, because he is actually too talented to be remembered for a song from a movie. Either way, he was amazing. He could really play, and you felt the music because of how much he felt it while playing. RIP.
@@ryancementheads Although I've never really liked their music, I love the fact of The Tragically Hip: resolutely Canadian outfit, big here and nowhere else, and they were not only OK with that...they seemed to prefer it that way...
So true! We have a wealth of talent that are chart toppers and multi-platinum sellers that somehow end up escaping worldwide attention. And it's not for lack of trying either. Blue Rodeo's a good example. They've talked about how they tried breaking out into the American market, and even had their US debut on Letterman in 1991 (video's on RU-vid), and it's a smokin' performance! Yet they say they had to give up on that after realizing the uphill climb they were facing. I find it hard to believe that performance didn't get people all excited, but it just shows just how crazy competitive the industry is. Somewhat related, but I was sooo disappointed the last time Canada hosted the Winter Olympics. I thought, "here's a chance to finally show the world our musical output and dig a little deeper", but all they really did was show the world what it already knew, ie Nickelback, Celine Dion, BNL, etc, the same as always, and it's no wonder why the world thinks we don't have a good musical output if that's what it gets.
I give you three reasons why this was my all-time favorite video by you. Number 1, you're articulate expression in regards to music. Number 2, you crack me up when you drop the mic and walked off. Number 3, I love Jeff Healey. He has got to be one of the greatest rock guitar Gods ever. And I have to give a bonus reason. Number four is never number 4, I can't believe I've never seen this video so number 4 is cuz I've never seen this video. My new favorite way to listen to the music I have always loved.
I've loved Jeff since day one. Then about 15 years ago my mom kept talking about this Canadian blues/jazz trumpeter named Jeff Healy. I told her she got the name wrong. Nope, its true. He's amazing. RIP, Jeff
You are quite correct Brother Jamal! That was a great performance for any guitarist, sighted or blind. Mr Healy was a guitar master of the highest order. Respect to the max!
My friends and I saw Jeff Healy live at the Chaudieres in Aylmer Quebec when I was younger. Jeff was on the floor dancing and the music was so loud that I had a hard time hearing for three days after but I would go again in a heartbeat. One of the best live performances I've seen!
Jeff retired his rock/blues band for a while... Then taught himself how to play jazz trumpet, and clarinet, and started a jazz band, and played regularly at his own jazz club in Canada... He had a radio program, where he played songs from his personal, massive collection, of jazz 45s... He was much more than an insane guitarist.
I was a teenager in the late 80's in Toronto and loved Jeff Healey right away. My mom worked at an answering service in the city and actually dealt with the band at times and he discovered her coworker Amanda Marshall (give her a listen I can't play the guitar with vision and watch what he did. Saw him play live and was an even more amazing to watch in person. Then the day in 2008 and I was serving in Afghanistan and walked into Canada House in Kandahar and CBC was news was on and they had just reported he died of cancer. I was almost as sad for his passing as those who gave their lives that I served with. RIP Jeff.
Jeff Healey is/was Canadian royalty in the music arena. Owned a bar in Kingston, Ontario. Not only did he do blues, but he had a jazz band too where he blew the trumpet and was amazing in that. You will enjoy his version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Roadhouse Blues, Confidence Man. Sad that cancer took his eyes when he was a toddler and then took him out way earlier than any of us wanted to see him go.
Man. I’m ashamed of myself. I’ve only heard “Angel Eyes” from him. But he was truly amazing. Losing him at such a you g age was most definitely a loss for us all!!! I’m sure he’s up there with quite a few of my loved ones gone before me, just rockin on!!!!! That most definitely just warmed my heart.
To witness such musical greatness, inspired genius, his talent is staggering. I have never seen that left hand placement on the neck like that, except maybe with a Hawaiian guitar? Jeff Healey master of the guitar AND that voice is unmistakable. What a gift, what a legacy. Thank you Jamal, would have missed this if not for you man, much love. 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ !
His technique was astonishing; his dexterity and DEEP bends were amazing. His style allowed him to do things that a conventional technique would struggle to do.
I’ve seen this video and always focused on Jeff’s stellar guitar work. Then watched it again and focused on Marcus Miller’s bass playing. Marcus crushed this song!
Your reaction makes me want to call my Dad right now and talk about his favourite movie ever, Roadhouse. 😂❤️ I feel like Jeff was rather slept on outside of blues in the 80s other than his single from Road House, ‘Angel Eyes’. He actually plays a guitarist in that movie too, such good music, brings back memories! Delighted you’ve been introduced to the likes of Jeff Healey!! 🤘🏼
One of the greatest of all time I saw him open for BonJov and most of the people had no idea he was blind until the end. Guy put on a show and slayed it that night, RIP Jeff miss your music.
Bassist back there just thumping his ass off. All these guys like Hendrix, SRV, Jeff Healey...all the greats...all have backing bands filled with monster musicians. Just giving them some love.
