Jeff Buckley Scores First Top 100 Hit Nearly 30 Years After His Death

On May 29, 1997, musician Jeff Buckley’s seemingly impromptu decision to take a swim—fully clothed—in Memphis’ Wolf River Harbor, ended with the acclaimed singer’s death at the age of 30.

While Buckley has continued to attract new fans as the decades have gone by, it turns out that social media of all things that just helped him score one of his biggest commercial achievements. 

As The Guardian reports, a new TikTok trend has users setting their videos to “Lover, You Should Have Come Over,” a hauntingly beautiful ballad from 1994’s Grace, the only album Buckley released during his lifetime. The acoustic tune, out being thrust into adulthood, was inspired by the demise of his intense relationship with fellow musician Rebecca Moore, whom he dated from 1991 until 1993—and remained close friends with until his death.

The melancholy ballad seems to have struck a chord with TikTokkers, however, who have seemingly inspired a new generation of music lovers to discover Buckley’s work. “Lover, You Should Have Come Over” just squeaked into the U.S. Hot 100 singles list at No. 97—a first for the late singer-songwriter, who never managed to crack the chart during his lifetime.

What Is Jeff Buckley’s Legacy?

Though Buckley, son of acclaimed singer-songwriter Tim Buckley—who died at age 28 from a heroin and morphine overdose—released just one studio album during his lifetime, 1994’s Grace, its impact was immeasurable. 

Rolling Stone labeled Grace one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, sandwiching him between Blondie’s Parallel Lines and Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange. Adele, Lana del Rey, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Phoebe Bridgers, and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke have all cited Buckley as personal inspirations in their own work. 

But even the most legendary musicians have sung Buckley’s praises: both Jimmy Page and David Bowie cited Grace as one of their very favorite albums, with Bowie going so far as to describe it as one of his desert island albums. In 1998, Bob Dylan described Buckley as one of the greatest songwriters of the decade. 

The TikTok Effect is not just limited to Buckley. As The Guardian reports, the Radiohead song “Let Down,” which appeared on the band’s OK Computer album from 1997, had its own moment thanks to TikTok last year—hitting the Top 100 for the first time ever.

In January 2025, Amy Berg's documentary, It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to wide acclaim. It was released in theaters in August and is currently available for streaming on HBO Max.