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October 12, 2008 4:34:17 PM CDT

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Blind Guitarist Healey Dead at 41

Posted Mar 3, 08 3:25 PM CST in Arts & Living 

(Newser) – Acclaimed guitarist Jeff Healey died of cancer at 41 yesterday after battling the disease throughout his life, the Globe and Mail reports. Healey, who lost his eyesight as a child to retinoblastoma, a rare form of cancer, sold more than a million albums in the US, racking up hits such as “Angel Eyes,” “See the Light,” and a cover of the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

"He was a virtuoso guitar player, and they don't come along every five minutes," said Healey’s publicist. "He had an enormous range of musical genres he could play with great skill." Healey taught himself to play the guitar as a child, when he developed his distinctive technique of  holding the instrument on his lap, the AP reports. He had been planning to tour this spring in support of a new album, “Mess of Blues.”

Sources Globe and Mail, Associated Press

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Canadian blues guitarist Jeff Healey and his band perform in New York's Central Park, in this July 1, 2000, file photo. Healey, arguably one of the most distinctive guitar players of our time, died Sunday...   (Associated Press)
Jeff Healey, of the Canadian based Jeff Healey Band, performs in New York's Central Park in this July 1, 2000, file photo. Healey, arguably one of the most distinctive guitar players of our time, died...   (Associated Press)
Canadian Blues guitarist Jeff Healy and wife, Christie, attend a pre-SARS concert at Healy's July 29, 2003 in Toronto, Canada.   (Getty Images)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jeff Healey - Look at Little Sister   (drtdsararfa335 (YouTube))
Jeff Healey - While My Guitar Gently Weeps   (ShredDead (YouTube))
Jeff Healy Live In Halifax - Part 1   (willijames (YouTube))

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »
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