Blues Guitarist Jeff Healey Passes Away at 41

Jeff Healey
It is with great sadness that I write this post about blind blues musician, Jeff Healey, as he unfortunately succumbed to a cancer on March 2nd. Healey was only 41 years old. Many knew Healey best from his appearance as Cody in the movie Road House (famous line: “I thought you’d be bigger”), so this sad news was compounded when Road House star Patrick Swayze revealed this week that he has (possibly terminal) cancer himself.

Healey lost his sight when he was eight months old, due to retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eyes which he suffered from throughout his life and which ultimately killed him. His eyes had to be surgically removed, and he was given artificial replacements. He began playing guitar when he was three, developing his unique style of playing the instrument flat on his lap.

Here’s a nice tribute to Jeff Healey that was posted on YouTube

Here’s another touching tribute

RIP Jeff. Our sympathies go out to his wife Christie and two children who he left behind.