Grace

Photographer Merri Cyr captured one of the most iconic album covers of the 1990s during a December 1993 shoot at Arcadia studios in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The session took place at her friend Billy Basinski's loft, where Jeff Buckley spent most of the day posing for his debut album cover.

The chosen image wasn't even Cyr's favorite from the contact sheets. Buckley pointed to the photograph and said "That's it. That's the cover. I can tell I am listening to music in this shot." The candid moment shows him with eyes closed, holding a microphone, wearing a women's sequined jacket he'd purchased from a thrift store.

Sources conflict about what Buckley was listening to when the photo was taken. Some accounts say he was hearing a playback of his song "Dream Brother," while Cyr has stated they were both listening to Patti Smith's album "Horses" - a CD they'd both coincidentally brought to the shoot.

Columbia Records executives strongly opposed the image. Some felt Buckley looked like new wave singer Adam Ant, while Sony head Don Ienner said he resembled a lounge singer. Management worried the sequined jacket appeared too effeminate, and others thought it was "too much of a pretty boy shot."

Buckley rejected all of Columbia's suggested alternatives, insisting on the peaceful expression captured while listening to music. According to Cyr, the photo represented Buckley's "split personality" and the conflict he felt seeking media exposure on a major label while "wanting to act like he was on an indie label."

The cover became a defining image of 1990s alternative rock, perfectly capturing the ethereal and introspective nature of the music within. Cyr, who became Buckley's official photographer, would later say the image crystallized the artist's complex relationship with fame and artistry.