Route 66 - January 17, 2019

Continuing our feature on albums released 25 years ago, this week's selection is from the late, great Jeff Buckley.

His album "Grace" was released on August 23, 1994. It was not an immediate hit, and most people had never even heard of him at the time. Despite his father being Tim Buckley - also an iconic folk singer from the 60s and 70s, Jeff burst on the scene seemingly out of nowhere. His sound was and remains truly unique. His romantic and soulful style did not follow the popular trends that dominated the airwaves that year. And even now, his sound is very distinctive.

"Grace," however, caught on quickly. Anyone who attended college or even high school in the mid-90s probably remembers a friend playing this CD over and over. It's a beautiful, poetic album filled with music from a singer-songwriter sharing his pain.

What adds to this album's mystique is that it is Jeff Buckley's one and only album. Tragically, Jeff drowned while swimming in the Mississippi River on May 29th, 1997 at the age of 30.

But the music never went away. "Grace" continues to gain fans and was re-released in a 10th Anniversary Legacy Edition that featured several unreleased tracks.

Here are the second and third songs from the album "Grace" - Jeff Buckley's "Grace" and "Last Goodbye."

Also, beginning tonight and continuing throughout the year, we are looking back 50 years to the anniversary of the Woodstock Music Festival. It was held August 15-17, 1969 and featured many amazing American rock musicians.

Tonight we're featuring a song by Richie Havens, who was the very first act to take the stage on Friday, August 15th, 1969. Propelled by his star turn as the festival's opener, Richie Havens went on to a long, respected career. Here is one of his later records, covering Bob Dylan's "Tombstone Blues" from the "I'm Not There" soundtrack.