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Garland Jeffreys
Biography
Born and raised in Brooklyn, singer, songwriter, and guitarist Garland Jeffreys began his career performing in Manhattan nightclubs as a solo act in 1966 after attending college at Syracuse University as an art major, where he became friends with Lou Reed. After graduation, he spent a short time in Italy studying art before coming back to Manhattan to further his education at New York's Institute of Arts while working with several city bands, including Train and Romeo. After forming a group called Grinder's Switch in 1969, they released one album, Garland Jeffreys and Grinder's Switch, before breaking up in 1970.

Jeffreys soon returned to performing as a solo act, playing small Manhattan clubs until signing with Atlantic Records in 1973, where he released his self-titled debut album later that year. The album, which featured songs about New York street life, aligned him with Reed and other early punk rock pioneers and spurred the hit "Wild in the Streets," which helped him stake out his place on the musical map. The song was so successful on the then emerging FM radio that he recorded it again in 1977 for his second solo album, Ghost Writer (his first for A&M Records), on which he explored topics including interracial romance ("I May Not Be Your Kind") and mandatory busing ("Why-O").
Selected Discography