Grammy award-winning blues and jazz guitarist and trumpeter Jeff Healey lost his lifelong battle with cancer Sunday at age 41. The Toronto native lost his sight as a baby, but a new gift befell him just a few years later; at three years old he picked up the guitar, becoming a child prodigy noted for his distinctive playing style where he held the guitar in his lap. Songlines’ own Sean Coakley was fortunate enough to have worked with Healey, and here he shares a few memories:

I got to work with Jeff at Arista in the ‘80s. I was given a cassette and video by one of our regional promoters and he begged me to listen so he could “get his brother off his back.” A few days later I watched the video and honestly thought someone was pulling a sleight of hand. No one plays that way. I gave the package to A&R man Mitchell Cohen. He hopped on a plane to Toronto and was floored. Six months later we had the debut, See the Light, which eventually went platinum based on the strength of its two John Hiatt covers, “Confidence Man” and “Angel Eyes.”

But the best part of promoting Jeff wasn’t the chart success. It was watching people react to his live performance for the first time. I stood next to Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top in Memphis and watched the bearded one bob his head up and down until his mouth erupted into a huge smile. I watched Little Feat do it the night Jeff joined them on stage for “Apolitical Blues.” (I had to sing him the song in advance of the encore, because he’d lied to Paul Barrere about knowing it!) I saw Bobby Whitlock introduce himself to Jeff following a show and offer to take him out on the town. We all piled into the van and drove to a bar. Healey, Whitlock and Co. asked the local band if they might play a song or two and then took over the stage for two hours. They played Hendrix, Muddy Waters, and, best of all, Derek & the Dominos. I was in heaven. Nobody had ever seen anyone play lead guitar that way before; I know I never have since. Jeff, your adventurous spirit and talent will be missed.

–Sean Coakley

Healey’s death comes just a month before the scheduled release of his first rock album in eight years, Mess of Blues.