The night I met Tim Buckley (briefly)

The combination of talk about Starsailor and Straight Records has me thinking about the late Tim Buckley. I had the pleasure of seeing him play live several times so please allow me to share the story, in case there are any Buckley fans among you.

Tim was opening for Frank Zappa at the Madison Square Garden Felt Forum in NYC, a fairly large and impersonal venue, in support of the "Sefronia" lp. The Zappa audience was unreceptive to Tim's music and began booing after a while. Tim was clearly miffed with them and called them "chimps" at one point. The next time I saw him, he was headlining at an intimate Long Island club called "My Father's Place" and he was incredible. (I still remember his version of Fred Neil's "The Dolphins".) In between sets, my girlfriend and I struck up a conversation with his bass player, who then invited us backstage. After a few minutes, I found myself standing within arm's length of Buckley. I nervously told him we had seen him open for the Mothers and I apologized for the shoddy treatment the audience had given him. Tim smiled and said reassuringly, "That's okay. It's nothing that Ethel Merman didn't go through."

It still makes me laugh.

JD

 

JD,

Great story, thanks for sharing. I didn't know that Ethel Merman also opened for the Mothers.

JimW.

 

John,
Nice story.

Even though I have ALL of Tim Buckley's LPs, I wish Sundazed or Rhino would re-release his albums. Last time I talked to the Sundazed folks they told me they were trying to work something out. Tim is now more popular than ever, and like Tom Waits, his LPs are always in demand. Every time I go to a used record store, Tim's and Tom's space is always empty.

BC

 

I've been looking for Starsailor for years ... LP, CD, whatever. I've yet to have any luck ... A reissue from anyone would be very welcome.