The world is not right. Its a shame that the great man couldn’t live longer in this world. Jeff Healey, blind blues rock guitar wizard & jazz musician died in a Toronto hospital today due to cancer. He was just 41 years old. His lifelong struggle with the dreaded disease that took away his eyes at the age of 1, finally gave in and the cancer won. The Grammy-nominated Healey rose to stardom as the leader of the Jeff Healey Band, a rock-oriented trio that gained international acclaim and platinum record sales with the 1988 album See the Light. The album included the hit single Angel Eyes. Healey was considered a prodigy and earned numerous Juno and Grammy nominations in the course of his career.

I got to know about Healey and his music back in 1990 when a friend of mine loaned me his copy of Hell To Pay and I played it 20 times during the following week. I soon bought my own copy of the album and was a huge fan to this day. I came to know about his blindness in 1998 and my admiration for him grew. His death came weeks before the release of his first rock album in eight years. Mess of Blues is slated for a North American release on April 22.

Rest in peace Jeff.  The cancer can’t get to you no more.