Why does Jeff do so many cover versions of songs?
Jeff Buckley is somewhat infamous for his repertoire of cover songs. In his early years in New York, Jeff’s coffee-house gigs included his takes on such artists as Billie Holiday, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, French treasure Edith Piaf and Qawwali devotional singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Jeff used these gigs and played these songs to learn his trade. “In my early shows,” Buckley says, “I wanted to put myself through a new childhood, disintegrating my whole identity to let the real one emerge. I became a human jukebox, learning all these songs I’d always known, discovering the basics of what I do.”2 “I’m trying to learn from the great teachers and trying to pay tribute to them.” — Jeff Buckley, Sin- -era interview It had been a few years since those early gigs and Jeff’s regard for doing covers had evolved. Before his death, Jeff had made it known that he was his own man, and along with his band, they had their own music to present: The philosophical bent of [some songs on] Gr
