Legendary Canadian blues and jazz musician Jeff Healey lost his battle to cancer on Sunday, after fighting various forms of it his entire life. He was 41.
Known for his distinctive playing (with the guitar resting on his lap), Healey was considered a virtuoso by many, despite being blind from age one due to Retinoblastoma. Playing since the age of three, Healey formed his first band while still a teenager and has been a session jazz musician most of his life. He is best known for the song "Angel Eyes," off the Grammy-nominated album See the Light. Healey was never entirely interested in the world of rock/blues music and later left to pursue his true passion of vintage jazz, a style he had been performing with The Jazz Wizards as of late. An avid record collector, Healey was said to have more than 25,000 78s, which he played on his CBC Radio program, My Kind of Jazz. Healey has shared the stage with notable musicians, such as B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins, and George Harrison.
Healey leaves behind his wife, 13-year-old daughter Rachel, and three-year-old son Derek.
