Garland Jeffreys (Photo via his Facebook page)
When Garland Jeffreys turned 80 on June 29, 2023, he wrote on Facebook, “Made it to 80! Miracles do happen.” The musician announced on April 9, 2019, that he was retiring from touring but emphasized that he would continue to write and record. A few years later, however, it was revealed that he has suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for a while.
Jeffreys, born on June 29, 1943, in Brooklyn, began performing in New York at such Greenwich Village clubs as Gerde’s Folk City, the Bitter End and Kenny’s Castaways in the mid-1960s, where he captured the public’s attention performing songs that reflected on life as a multi-racial man in America.
In 1969, Jeffreys formed Grinder’s Switch with several other musicians and they recorded and released a self-titled album for Vanguard. The LP was produced by Lewis Merenstein, best known for his later work with Van Morrison.
Jeffreys subsequently released his first solo album for Atlantic in 1973. He call his “Wild in the Streets” his “pride and joy, his first rock and roll record.”
He released many solo albums throughout the 1970s and ’80s, and collaborated and performed with legendary artists from across the musical spectrum including Dr. John, the E Street Band, John Cale, Michael Brecker, Larry Campbell, the Rumour, James Taylor, Phoebe Snow, Sonny Rollins, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Lou Reed, among many others.
Watch Jeffreys and Springsteen perform “Wild in the Streets” in 2012
In 1981, his album for Epic, Escape Artist, featured an assemblage of significant musicians including guitarist Adrian Belew, horn players Randy Brecker and Michael Brecker, the E Street Band’s Roy Bittan and Danny Federici, and guest vocals from David Johansen and Lou Reed, among others. The very “New York” album included “R.O.C.K.” and Jeffreys’ cover of “96 Tears,” which became a modest hit, reaching #66 on the Hot 100, and helping the album to #59 on the album chart.
Jeffreys’ complete announcement on his Facebook page, from when he retired in 2019: After more than fifty years of performing, I’ve decided to hang up my rock and roll shoes. There are a few more shows on the books in the next couple of months but after that it will be only the occasional guest spot or something in that vein. I’m not going to stop writing songs or recording. As you can imagine, it hasn’t been an easy decision since you know how much I love being on stage. I want to thank everyone for coming out to see me over all these years and for being there for me. More details to follow, I just wanted to let you know — Garland
He is the subject of a new feature-length documentary, Garland Jeffreys: The King of In Between.
Jeffreys’ recordings are available here.
Related: Listings for 100s of classic rock tours
1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationGarland is the coolest guy.
Between his music and his personality no one comes close to him..Happy birthday Garland