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Jeff Healey: 1966-2008

Jeff Healey's lifelong battle against cancer ended today. The Toronto-born blues-rock musician died at Toronto's St. Joseph's Hospital. He was just 41.
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Jeff Healey's lifelong battle against cancer ended today.

The Toronto-born blues-rock musician died at Toronto's St. Joseph's Hospital.

He was just 41.

Healey lost his sight to a rare form of eye cancer at the age of one, learning to play guitar just two years later.

He used his unorthodox across-the-lap playing style in his blues band, the Jeff Healey Band, which sold more than one million albums in the United States.

Healey was also a skilled jazz musician.

He played favourites from his collection of more than 30,000 vinyl records as a radio host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and JAZZ-FM in Toronto.

Healey performed three years ago at the Dream Makers Theatre at Kewadin Casino in the Michigan Soo.

He also played the Old Town Hall in Hilton Beach.


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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