Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American vocalist, songwriter, guitarist and producer. His music and style changed considerably through the years. Buckley began his career based in folk music, but his subsequent albums experimented with jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, avant-garde and an evolving voice-as-instrument sound. He died at the age of 28 from a heroin and morphine overdose, leaving behind his sons Taylor and Jeff.

Tim Buckley was born in Washington, D.C. on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1947, to Elaine (née Scalia), an Italian American, and Timothy Charles Buckley Jr., a decorated World War II veteran and son of Irish immigrants from Cork. He spent his early childhood in Amsterdam, New York, an industrial city about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Albany. At five years old, Buckley began listening to his mother’s progressive jazz recordings, particularly Miles Davis.

On June 28, 1975, Buckley completed a tour with a last show in Dallas, playing to a sold-out crowd of 1,800 people. He celebrated with a weekend of drinking with his band and friends. The following night, Buckley accompanied longtime friend, Richard Keeling, to his house. At some point, Keeling produced a bag of heroin, some of which Buckley ingested.

Buckley’s friends took him home and—seeing his inebriated state—his wife Judy laid him on the living-room floor and questioned his friends as to what had happened.She moved Buckley into bed. When she checked him later, Buckley’s wife found he was not breathing and blue. Attempts by friends and paramedics to revive him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead.

The coroner‘s report stated Buckley died at 9:42 p.m. on June 29, 1975, from “acute heroin/morphine and ethanol intoxication due to inhalation and ingestion of overdose”. Buckley’s sound recorder was surprised by the musician’s death, recalling that at Buckley’s last show that “someone offered him a drag off a joint and he refused. He didn’t appear strung out in any way. He was very together both physically and psychologically.”

Buckley’s tour manager, Bob Duffy, said Buckley’s death was not expected, but “was like watching a movie, and that was its natural ending.”

Other friends saw his fate as predictable, if not inevitable. Beckett recalled how Buckley took chances with his life, including dangerous driving, drinking alcohol, taking pills and heroin.

Given the circumstances of his death, police charged Keeling with murder and distribution of heroin. At his hearing on August 14, 1975, Keeling pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and, after failing to complete community service, was sentenced to 120 days in jail and four years’ probation.