During high school, Buckley was elected to class offices, played on the baseball team and quarterbacked the football team. During a football game, he broke two fingers on his left hand, permanently damaging them. He said that the injury prevented him from playing barre chords. This disability may have led to his use of extended chords, many of which don't require barres. However, this disability claim seems to be invalidated because Buckley's performance on the final episode of the television show, "The Monkees", broadcast on March 25, 1968, clearly shows Buckley using barre chords while performing "Song to the Siren" on an out-of-tune 12-string guitar.