[Deathwatch] Jeff Healy, musician, 41

[Deathwatch Central]

Canadian rocker Jeff Healy dies of cancer

Sun Mar 2

OTTAWA (AFP) - Blind Canadian rocker Jeff Healy, who uniquely played
his guitar flat on his lap, died of cancer Sunday on the eve of his
latest album release, his publicist said in a statement.

Healy, 41, died in a Toronto hospital of a rare cancer, retino
blastoma, that he had fought since birth and which claimed his eyesight
at the age of one.

"Visually, Jeff was an intriguing player to watch, because he played
guitar -- by any conventional standard -- all wrong, with it flat
across his lap," his publicist Richard Flohil told broadcaster CTV.
"But he was a remarkable, a virtuoso player."

The Jeff Healy Band's 1988 Grammy-nominated album "See the Light,"
which included the hit "Angle Eyes," sold more than one million copies
in the United States.

He played with blues legends B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughn, and
recorded with George Harrison, Mark Knopfler, and the late Jimmy
Rogers.

At the time of his death, he was about to release his first rock-blues
album in eight years, "Mess of Blues." The CD will be released in March
and April in North America and Europe, respectively.

A tour of Germany and Britain, as well as an appearance on the BBC's
Jools Holland Show have been canceled.

Last year, Healy had surgery to remove the cancer from his legs, and
later from both lungs. He also underwent radiation treatment and
chemotherapy.

Many thanks to Deathwatch Central for posting this obituary