Leif Garrett Biography
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Leif Per Garrett, 8 November 1961, Hollywood, California, USA. Garrett had been acting since the age of five, but it was as a teenager that he made his commercial breakthrough as a highly photogenic bubblegum pop singer. After signing a recording contract with Atlantic Records he hit the US Top 20 with a remake of the Beach Boys Surfin USA, in 1977. His US chart career continued with updates of Dions Runaround Sue and The Wanderer and Paul Ankas Put Your Head On My Shoulder. Garrett moved to the Scotti Brothers label in 1978 and achieved his biggest hit, I Was Made For Dancin, a Top 10 smash in both the US and UK in 1979.
Garrett was by now at the peak of his fame, with his blond good looks making him a natural adornment to the walls of many a teenage pop fan. He was also instrumental in promoting the skateboard craze in the mid to late 70s in the UK. Disaster struck three days before his 18th birthday when he drove his Porsche off the road while high on drugs. His passenger, Roland Winkler, was crippled for life. A few more albums appeared at the start of the 80s before Garrett attempted to resurrect his acting career. His personal life descended into a mess of addictions for much of the following decade. Since then he has avoided the spotlight and now prefers yoga and meditation to heroin.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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