After Losing His Brother, Jack Daley Sings Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Life Without You” for Three Families in Grief

TRIPI Shares Soul-Stirring Cover of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Life Without You,” Featuring Lead Vocals by Jack Daley (Lenny Kravitz, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, Spin Doctors)

New single from Close to Fire: Roman’s Anthology Release Part I follows “Charlie’s Song” and continues the album’s mission of turning grief into remembrance, connection, and community

Listen to “Life Without You” HERE
Watch the official lyric video HERE

Watch the official lyric video for “Life Without You”

Musician and songwriter Tony Tripi, known musically as TRIPI, has shared “Life Without You,” the latest single from his upcoming album Close to Fire: Roman’s Anthology Release Part I, due October 30th, 2026. A deeply felt cover of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s elegiac classic, the track features a lead vocal from acclaimed bassist, producer, current Spin Doctors member, Little Steven and Disciples of Soul and longtime Lenny Kravitz bassist Jack Daley, whose own recent loss brought the song into even sharper focus.

Originally written by Vaughan after the loss of a dear friend, “Life Without You” takes on new resonance within the world of Close to Fire, an album created in the wake of the loss of Tripi’s grandson Roman, who passed away just one day after his birth. Across the project, Tripi uses rock and soul music as a way to enter grief directly, hold space for remembrance, and invite connection among families and communities who have experienced unimaginable loss.

“‘Life Without You’ was requested by my son-in-law,” says Tripi. “I hadn’t heard it before, but Stevie Ray Vaughan wrote the song after the loss of a dear friend. I tried to sing the vocal for it while we were tracking, and I just couldn’t get close to it. It was almost as if something was choking and blocking my mind from the melody and rhythm. It was clear I wasn’t meant to be the one to sing it. Late one night, Jack Daley went into the Dug Deep Production studio alone, pressed record, and began singing it. He had lost his brother not long before that moment, and he said it just came out of him. He did the song, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and the album a huge honor.”

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

The version heard on Close to Fire began as a live studio take with Aaron Comess, Rob Clores, Andrew Carillo, and Daley on bass, with Marc Ribler later adding the song’s searing guitar solo.

“We first tracked ‘Life Without You’ with Tripi singing the lead vocal,” says Daley. “We recorded it live at Dug Deep Production with Aaron Comess, Rob Clores, Andrew Carillo, and me on bass, and what you hear is the first take. Marc Ribler played the crushing solo as an overdub. Tony mentioned that he wasn’t sure he was supposed to be the one to sing it, so I offered to step in. My big brother, Frank, had just passed away. That night, I went into the studio alone, and I sang it for Frank. It meant the world to be able to honor Tony, Roman, Frank, and Charlie. Lead vocals have always been something I’ve loved, even though most of my career has been spent as a sideman, learning to keep my mouth shut. I played it for my wife, Thea, before anyone else, and I knew by the look on her face that it was the right thing to do.”

Photo credit: Mike Caffrey

“Life Without You” follows the album’s lead single, “Charlie’s Song,” a tender and devastating portrait of child loss and the sacred act of remembrance. Centered on Charlie, a child who was “almost three,” the song expands into a larger roll call of love, naming children whose lives continue to echo through the families who carry them.

Created as an unveiling process for Tripi, Close to Fire marks his most intimate and collaborative musical project to date. The album was recorded primarily at Dug Deep Production, with additional sessions at three other studios, and brings together nearly two dozen acclaimed musicians, including several artists with strong ties to Asbury Park: executive producer Jack Daley, Johnny Gale, Ken Wallace, James Maddock, Emily Grove, Aaron Comess, Rob Clores, Marc Ribler, Jesse Wagner, Tommy Byrnes, Mike DelGuidice, and other special guests.

Born in Western New York near Buffalo and raised between the Midwest and Western New York. Tripi grew up in constant motion, moving through farms, suburbs, trailer parks, and inner-city projects, each place calling for a different version of himself. At the age of three, he survived a near-fatal house fire that left him and his brothers hospitalized with severe burns. It was his earliest close encounter with fire, and one that would echo throughout his life.

He later joined the Coast Guard as a teenager, made a living in the trades, battled addiction, built a life in recovery, and found success as a financial estate advisor and founder of Frequency Group. Through it all, music has remained the throughline. Performing as TRIPI, he bridges rock and soul with a deeply personal, mission-driven voice.

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

For TRIPI, grief is a flame. It is as much a roaring rage as it is a silent, lonesome burn. Grief brings about a full aliveness that requires us to walk directly into the fire. For TRIPI, that same aliveness can be felt in the room at a rock and roll show.

The release of Close to Fire will be marked by Close to Fire: A Grief Support Benefit Concert, a special musical event planned for October 30th at The Cutting Room in NYC. Held during International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, the evening will bring together TRIPI and many of the album’s contributing musicians for a full-album live performance, special guest appearances, and collaborative moments designed to raise awareness and support for families, caregivers, and communities navigating grief.

“I realize I could probably write a novel about this album,” says Tripi. “The moments with the doctors at the hospital, the Priest, and the families who have reached out. This has touched so many lives and has grown into something I could never have imagined. There are so many stories to tell. It is my hope that by coming together in a shared musical community, we can lean on each other when the grief is too much to carry on our own.”

Through Close to Fire, TRIPI uses rock and roll to open the door to conversations people often avoid, creating space to feel, remember, say the names, and sit with one another in the fire.

Event Snapshot
Event: Close to Fire: A Grief Support Benefit Concert
Date: October 30th, 2026
Location: The Cutting Room (44 East 32nd Street, New York NY 10016)
Featuring: Performances by featured artists from the album, details TBA
Mission: Raising awareness, connection, and support for families, caregivers, and communities affected by infant loss and grief
Partnerships: Venue, sponsorship, media, and nonprofit partnership opportunities are currently in development

Close to Fire: Roman’s Anthology Release Part I by Tripi
1. Charlie’s Song
2. You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down
3. Tears in Heaven
4. Sleep Well
5. Ronan
6. Come to Papa
7. Life Without You
8. I Don’t Mind
9. Angel Eyes
10. Somewhere Over the Rainbow

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