Jeff Buckley’s mysterious death as he walked into river fully clothed – | Music News

The music world was devastated by the loss of an iconic artist on May 29, 1997, in what stays a perplexing death stemming from an uncommon circumstance.

Though the official reason behind death of Jeff Buckley was dominated unintended drowning; the circumstances surrounding the actions that led to his tragic end add a haunting aspect of thriller to the total heartbreaking incident. Buckley was born to 2 musicians – his mom, Mary Guibert, a classically educated pianist, and his father, celebrated musician Tim Buckley.

Tim left Jeff and his mom before his delivery and died tragically from a heroin and morphine overdose at just 28-years-previous. This comes as Fans ‘sobbing’ after the trailer for a documentary about a tragic ’90s musician lastly drops.

Raised by his mom, the artist encountered his father only as soon as, fleetingly, when he was eight. He told The New York Times that he “never knew him” and that during their sole assembly, “he was working in his room, so I didn’t even get to talk to him.”

Buckley achieved stardom in 1994 following the launch of his debut full-length album, Grace. By 1997, the studio was pushing him to ship a observe-up album quickly.

That 12 months, the singer journeyed to Memphis to start work on his sophomore album. Yet, on the day recording was speculated to start, the very night in May when his band was anticipated to reach, the celebrated artist tragically died at just 30-years-previous.

That day, the singer was reportedly rising more and more annoyed as he and his companion and roadie, Keith Foti, tried to search out the Memphis recording studio the place they had been scheduled to satisfy the band.

After failing to find the constructing, Buckley recommended they take a fast break, and the pair made their manner all the way down to Wolf River Harbor, a channel of the Mississippi River.

Dressed in his denims, T-shirt, and boots, and ignoring the particles littering the waterfront, Buckley waded into the water round 9 pm, dismissing repeated cautions from his pal, while cheerfully singing Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin.

At first, a small tugboat moved past in the darkness, and Foti yelled at Buckley to get out of the boat’s path, which the singer did.

But when a bigger vessel approached, and while Foti shouted to Buckley to maneuver out of the manner again, he momentarily glanced away to retrieve the boombox they’d delivered to the water’s edge, shifting it away from the approaching wake.

When he turned again towards the Wolf River, Foti told Rolling Stone: “There was no sight of Jeff.”

It’s believed that the wake from the passing vessel and the harmful currents of the Mississippi’s tributary pulled the singer under the floor and triggered his drowning.

A frantic search commenced after Keith alerted the authorities, however Buckley remained lacking. Six days later, on June 4, his physique was discovered by a passenger on a riverboat named the American Queen in the harbor close to Beale Street, according to The New York Times.

His face and physique had been impacted by the water, and the singer was reportedly recognized by his purple-beaded navel ring.

An post-mortem concluded Jeff’s death was an unintended drowning, with no medication present in his system and a minimal blood alcohol level equal to at least one beer, suggesting the singer wasn’t intoxicated when he died.

In the days main as much as his death, those spending time with him grew to become anxious about his conduct, with Jeff’s supervisor, Dave Lory, describing the singer as “acting erratically.”

Speaking to NPR in 2018, Lory recalled: “He was trying to buy a house that wasn’t for sale. He was trying to buy a car that wasn’t for sale. He proposed to Joan [Wasser, Buckley’s girlfriend]. He even applied for a job to be a butterfly keeper at Memphis Zoo – a lot of weird stuff that was uncharacteristic for him.”

In 1993, 4 years before his death, Buckley had told The New York Times, “I’m sick of the world. I’m trying to stay alive.”

Those round him also recall him dealing with important stress and strain while recording his second album. According to Music Radar, the night before his death, Jeff recorded a voicemail for his ex-girlfriend Rebecca Moore, saying, “Think of me and smile…I’m gonna work my ass off, baby…I’ll see you on the other side.”

Reports counsel the singer also contacted his girlfriend Joan Wasser, confiding that he had found he exhibited bipolar traits.

During a 2025 People interview, Rebecca confirmed this revelation, recalling, “He mentioned bipolar, … and he said, ‘And I’m stopping eating animals.'” He apparently positioned a number of other calls to longtime buddies from earlier years.

In that same People dialog, Rebecca maintained her conviction that Jeff had no intention of dying that fateful May night, characterizing it as “a moment of joy that was a 100 percent patented Jeff-type move.”

She elaborated, “I believe his death was an accident with him just swimming out in a moment of joy, killing time.”

Their final trade left her “very concerned about him,” with Rebecca describing it as “the most beautiful conversation” during their seven-12 months friendship, “but it was also the most disturbing.”

The 2025 posthumous documentary It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley options archival materials displaying the singer addressing the profound query of his legacy, as an unseen interviewer posed, “How would you like your fans to think of you?”

Jeff’s reply was simple and direct, “Just the music. Because when I’m dead, that’s the only thing that’ll be around.”

In the years following his death, his iconic legacy has lived on.