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{{Short description|American musician}}{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}{{BLP sources|date=April 2010}}

factoids

Brooklyn, New York>Brooklyn, New York CityRock and roll, Americana (music)>Americana, reggae, blues, soul| occupation = Musician, songwriter, record producer| instrument = Vocals, guitar| years_active = 1966—presentAtlantic Records>Atlantic, A&M Records, Epic Records>Epic, RCA Records/Bertelsmann Music Group>BMG, Universal, Luna Parkgarlandjeffreys.com}}}}Garland Jeffreys (born June 29, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter in rock and roll, reggae, blues, and soul music.

Career

Jeffreys is from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, of African American and Puerto Rican heritage. He majored in art history at Syracuse University, where he met Lou Reed before The Velvet Underground became active.WEB,weblink Alumni Profiles : Syracuse University Magazine, Marc, David, sumagazine.syr.edu,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150807221932weblink">weblink August 7, 2015, February 3, 2017, bot: unknown, In 1966, Jeffreys began to play in Manhattan nightclubs including Gerde's Folk City, The Bitter End, Gaslight, Kenny's Castaways and later Reno Sweeney, where he began to explore racially conscious themes in his work, sometimes utilizing blackface masks and a rag doll named Ramon in performance. Jeffreys played guitar on John Cale's 1969 debut solo album Vintage Violence and contributed the song "Fairweather Friend".WEB,weblink Fairweather Friend – John Cale {{!, Song Info {{!}} AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=February 3, 2017}} In 1969 he founded Grinder's Switch with Woodstock-area musicians including pianist Stan Szelest, guitarist Ernie Corallo, and percussionist Sandy Konikoff. Lewis Merenstein, producer of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, produced this one album before the band dissolved in 1970.In 1973, he released his first solo album, Garland Jeffreys, on Atlantic Records. Around the same time Atlantic also released a single, "Wild in the Streets," that was not included on the album. Jeffreys wrote the song after hearing about a pre-teen rape and murder in the Bronx. Dr. John played clavinet and helped arrange the song, with backing from guitarist David Spinozza, drummer Rick Marotta, the Brecker Brothers on horns and David Peel on background vocals. After the single's rerelease in 1977, the track received airplay on the progressive FM album-oriented rock radio stations, and became one of his best-known songs and something of an unofficial anthem for the skate community after the cover by The Circle Jerks was featured in the 1986 film Thrashin'. It has been covered by several musicians, including:

• The Circle Jerks, on the 1980 Posh Boy album Rodney On The Roq
• The Circle Jerks, their re-recording on the 1982 album Wild in the Streets
• Chris Spedding, on the album Hurt
• British Lions, on their album British Lions
• Hot Water Music, on the 1999 compilation Twelve Ounces of Courage (Songs About Drinking Episode Three)
• Hurriganes, on Fortissimo
• Electric Frankenstein, on We Will Bury You
• Leæther Strip, on Æppreciation IV

In 1977 Garland recorded his Ghost Writer album for A&M Records, with "Wild in the Streets" included on side two. Many of the tracks are autobiographical, encompassing bittersweet tales about coming of age as an artist in the big city ("Ghost Writer"), of racial separatism ("Why-O"), of interracial romance ("I May Not Be Your Kind"), and of overcoming conflict at home ("Cool Down Boy").{{citation needed|date=October 2011|reason=Have found more corroboration}}The next years saw a string of albums, five within five years, and the release of "Matador" (1979) from American Boy & Girl, which charted in the top five of a number of countries.Garland Jeffreys, AllMusic, June 15, 2011. This burst of productivity culminated with Guts for Love, a meditation on the challenges of monogamy and fidelity. After a break, much of it spent woodshedding, reading and researching, Jeffreys released Don't Call Me Buckwheat, devoted to the complexities of race in America. The title was triggered by an incident at Shea Stadium where Jeffreys, enjoying the game and feeling carefree, stood to go get a hotdog when a voice shouted "Hey buckwheat, sit down!" The casual epithet was a jolt and it spurred a number of memorable songs, including "Don't Call Me Buckwheat," "I Was Afraid of Malcolm" and "Racial Repertoire." In February 1992, Jeffreys' recording of "Hail Hail Rock 'n' Roll" (RCA PB49171) reached No. 11 in Germany and also spent one week at No. 72 in the UK Singles Chart.BOOK, David, Roberts, 2006, British Hit Singles & Albums, 19th, Guinness World Records Limited, London, 1-904994-10-5, 281, After taking a lengthy hiatus to regroup and raise his only child, daughter Savannah, now "an impressive composer and singer herself"MAGAZINE,weblink Garland Jeffreys, The New Yorker, February 3, 2017, Jeffreys began to perform again in the summer of 2001, and on December 6 he joined Bruce Springsteen at his legendary Christmas show in Asbury Park and began to also perform annually at the Springsteen supported The Light of Day Foundation shows to fund research for Parkinson's and other neurological conditions. With his band loosely referred to as "The Coney Island Playboys" on September 4, 2003, Jeffreys joined Jon Langford, Lenny Kaye and Ivan Julian in a benefit concert for Alejandro Escovedo, recovering from hepatitis C.NEWS,weblink Alejandro Escovedo Benefit, Christgau, Robert, September 4, 2003, The Village Voice, Jeffreys was featured in the 2003 documentary The Soul of a Man, directed by Wim Wenders as the fourth installment of documentary film series The Blues, produced by Martin Scorsese. The film explored the musical careers of blues musicians Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson and J. B. Lenoir. Jeffreys was also featured on the cover of Beyond Race Magazine in February 2007.After a long career on major labels, in 2011 Jeffreys formed his own Luna Park Records label and went back into the studio, resulting in the critically acclaimed comeback album The King of In Between. Co-produced by Larry Campbell and with players Steve Jordan, Brian Mitchell, Pino Palladino, Duncan Sheik and Junior Marvin it yielded the song "Coney Island Winter", performed on The David Letterman Show.WEB,weblink Episode Guides David Letterman, Epguides.com, October 7, 2011, "Roller Coaster Town" was voted a "best of the year" in the WFUV staff pollWEB,weblink THE BLACK KEYS, M83, PJ HARVEY AND MORE ON TAS STAFF'S BEST OF 2011, Wfuv.org, and audience poll.WEB,weblink 2011 WFUV Best Songs, Krulik, Lawrence, January 5, 2012, Playlists.net, The album made numerous annual Best Of lists with NPR naming it a "best of the year so far"WEB,weblink All Songs Considered: Discussion: The Year's Best Music (So Far), Powers, Ann, June 14, 2011, Npr.org, and Rolling Stone calling it one of the Best Under The Radar Albums of 2011.NEWS,weblink Rolling Stone, Fricke, David, December 23, 2011, The album won a third quarter of 2012 Schallplattenkritik Bestenliste prize in the Pop Rock categoryWEB,weblink Bestenliste 3-2012, Schallplattenkritik.de, de-de, February 3, 2017, August 18, 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120818001433weblink">weblink dead, and in 2013 Jeffreys was also awarded the Italian (:it:Premio Tenco|Tenco Prize). In 2016, he was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.WEB,weblink Garland Jeffreys, Limusichalloffame.org, May 12, 2021, The Circle Jerks cover of "Wild in the Streets" was used in a commercial for Vans sneakers and can be heard in the 2012 video game Max Payne 3. Other TV and film placements for "Wild in the Streets" include Life on Mars, The Get Down on Netflix (also included on the official soundtrack), and a L'Oreal commercial directed by Louis de Caunes. On May 28, 2012, at the Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, Holland, Jeffreys joined Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band onstage for a performance of ? and the Mysterians' 1966 hit "96 Tears" which Jeffreys had covered on his 1981 album Escape Artist.In September 2013, Jeffreys released the single "Any Rain" from his album Truth Serum on the LunaPark/Thirty Tigers label.weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140315002543weblink">[9] The album was crowd funded on PledgeMusic, co-produced by James Maddock and recorded at Brooklyn Recording and featured again Larry Campbell, Steve Jordan and Brian Mitchell.On April 20, 2019, Jeffreys announced on his website that "I’ve decided to hang up my rock and roll shoes" and that in the future he would continue to write but would not perform regularly. His July 8, 2019 performance at the Olympia in Montreal, opening for Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul was listed as the final concert.

Discography

Solo

• 1970: Grinder's Switch featuring Garland Jeffreys
• 1973: Garland Jeffreys
• 1977: Ghost Writer
• 1978: One-Eyed Jack
• 1979: American Boy & Girl
• 1981: Escape Artist
• 1981: Rock 'n' Roll Adult
• 1983: Guts For Love
• 1992: Don't Call Me Buckwheat
• 1992: Matador & More...
• 1997: Wildlife Dictionary {{efn|name=Europe|Only released in Europe}}
• 2007: I'm Alive {{efn|name=Europe}}
• 2011: The King of In Between
• 2013: Truth Serum
• 2017: 14 Steps To Harlem

Singles{| class"wikitable plainrowheaders" style"text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2"| Year! rowspan="2" style="width:24em;"| Single! colspan="8"| Peak positions! rowspan="2"| Album style="font-size:smaller;"! width="35"| USMAGAZINE,weblink Garland Jeffreys – US Hot 100, Billboard, May 16, 2014, ! width="35"| NED! width="35"| BEL(FLA)! width="35"| FRA! width="35"| GERWEB,weblink Garland Jeffreys – German Chart, Charts.de, May 16, 2014, {{dead link|date=December 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}! width="35"| AUT! width="35"| SWI! width="35"| UKWEB,weblink Official Charts Company: Garland Jeffreys, Official Charts Company, May 16, 2014, 1970! scope="row"| "And Don't Be Late"| — Grinder's Switch1973! scope="row"| "She Didn't Lie" {{efn|First release on Atlantic 45-2948 with "Lon Chaney" b-side.}}| — Garland Jeffreys {{efn|Second version included on One-Eyed Jack.}}! scope="row"| "Wild in the Streets" {{efn|First release on Atlantic 45-2981 with "Lon Chaney" b-side.}}| — single only {{efn|Included on Ghost Writer in 1977.}}1975! scope="row"| "The Disco Kid"| — single only1977! scope="row"| "Cool Down Boy" {{efn|Extended version included on Rock & Roll Adult.}}| — Ghost Writer! scope="row"| "Wild in the Streets" {{efn|Second release on A&M 1934 with "Ghost Writer" b-side.}}| —! scope="row"| "35 Millimeter Dreams"| —1978! scope="row"| "Reelin'" {{efn|With Phoebe Snow.}}| — One-Eyed Jack! scope="row"| "She Didn't Lie" {{efn|Second release on A&M 2074 with "Scream in the Night" b-side.}}| —1979! scope="row"| "Livin' For Me"| — American Boy & Girl! scope="row"| "Matador"| —! scope="row"| "Bring Back The Love" {{efn|Only released in The Netherlands.}}| —1980! scope="row"| "Bound To Get Ahead Someday" {{efn|Only released in Germany}}| — Garland Jeffreys1981! scope="row"| "Modern Lovers"| — Escape Artist! scope="row"| "96 Tears"| —! scope="row"| "Christine"| —! scope="row"| "R.O.C.K."| —! scope="row"| "Wild in the Streets (Live)"| — Rock & Roll Adult1982! scope="row"| "Surrender" {{efn|Released only in Japan and Italy.}}| — Guts For Love! scope="row"| "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)"| —1983! scope="row"| "El Salvador" {{efn|Only released in Europe and Australia.}}| —1991! scope="row"| "Hail Hail Rock 'N' Roll" {{efn|Released in Europe as a 12" 4-song maxi-single.}}| 72 Don't Call Me Buckwheat! scope="row"| "The Answer"| —! scope="row"| "Welcome to the World"| —1997! scope="row"| "Sexuality"| — Wildlife Dictionary! scope="row"| "Original Lust"| — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

Appearances and contributions

• 1970 John Cale Vintage Violence (Columbia){{efn|Jeffreys wrote "Fairweather Friend".}}
• 1976 Lou Reed Rock and Roll Heart (Arista){{efn|Jeffreys sang background vocals on "You Wear It So Well".}}
• 1998 Diamond Cuts: Turning Two (Vol. II) (Hungry For Music){{efn|Jeffreys contributed his own "Color Line".}}
• 2003 (Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash) (Northern Blues){{efn|Jeffreys contributed his cover version of "I Walk the Line".}}
• 2003 Light of Day Tribute To Bruce Springsteen (Schoolhouse Records){{efn|Jeffreys contributed his cover version of "Streets of Philadelphia".}}
• 2003 Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: The Soul Of A Man (Sony){{efn|Jeffreys contributed his cover version of "Washington DC Hospital Center Blues".}}
• 2005 Elliott Murphy: Live Hot Point (Last Call Records){{efn|Jeffreys contributed his own "Ballad Of Me", "35 Millimeter Dreams" and "Wild In The Streets".}}
• 2011 Occupy This Album: 99 Songs for the 99 Percent (Music for Occupy){{efn|Jeffreys contributed his own "Coney Island Winter".}}

Discography notes

{{notelist}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

• {{Official websiteweblink}}
• Facebook Page
• {{Discogs artist}}
• Career Retrospective Interview from September 2015 with Pods & Sods
• Interview with Garland Jeffreys, 1983-12-01, In Black America; KUT Radio, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (WGBH and the Library of Congress),

{{Authority control}}