Leif Garrett

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leif Garrett (2016)

Leif Garrett (* 8. November 1961 in Hollywood , California as Leif Per Nervik ) is an American actor and pop singer , the late 1970s, especially in the United States has been successful but was able to record several hits in Europe. The song I Was Made for Dancin ' became the most popular .

biography

childhood

Leif Garrett is the son of cameraman, stunt performer and actor Rik Nervik and actress and costume designer Carolyn Stellar. His younger sister Dawn Lyn is also an actress.

Career

Garrett began his acting career at the age of five and has been in front of the camera since the late 1960s. His career as a teenage idol began in 1975 with one of the lead roles in the miniseries Three for the Road , which earned him numerous letters from fans. He had roles in the films Peter Lundy and the Medicine Head Stallion and Skateboard and, as a teenager, in television series such as An American Family , CHiPs and Wonder Woman .

His first album Leif Garrett was a great success in 1977: The song Surfin 'USA , which was already known in the Beach Boys version in 1963 and is based on the melody of the Chuck Berry hit Sweet Little Sixteen , was successful; The single reached number 6 in Germany. Garrett's greatest success was the first single from his second album Feel the Need : I Was Made for Dancin ' . She reached number 10 in the charts in Germany and the USA, and number 4 in Great Britain. His trademarks were long blond hair and shirts that were unbuttoned to the navel. The following singles were less successful.

Shortly before his 18th birthday, Garrett emerged unharmed as a driver from a car accident, but his best friend Roland Winkler suffered paraplegia . In 1983 he played a supporting role in the successful film The Outsider by Francis Ford Coppola , but the lasting popularity did not return afterwards. In the following years he could not attract much attention as an actor or as a musician.

More often Garrett made the headlines with his personal life. In 1999 he again attracted media attention with an episode of Behind the Music on the American broadcaster VH1 , where he was filmed during the reconciliation with his paralyzed former friend Roland Winkler. In early 2006, he was arrested in Los Angeles for drug possession and sentenced to 90 days in prison. Garrett was arrested again for heroin possession in early February 2010 and went to trial on February 24th. He participated in the fourth season of the reality TV show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew took part and was accompanied by this during a drug withdrawal.

In 2007 he tried his comeback , first with the Original Idols , a retro show of former greats of the 1970s like Ian Mitchell of the Bay City Rollers , Merrill Osmond , Rex Smith , Danny Bonaduce , Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods , The Cowsills , etc. but he separated again at the end of 2007. In 2007 the album Three Sides of… was released . In the meantime two more - commercially unsuccessful - Garrett singles have been released: The Final Countdown (a cover version of the hit by the Swedish band Europe ) and Hot Blooded (a cover version of the hit by the band Foreigner ). Today Garrett still performs in smaller halls with his old hits from the 1970s.

Discography

Albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1977 Leif Garrett - - - - US37
gold
gold

(24 weeks)US
First published: November 1977
Arranger: John D'Andrea
1979 Feel the need - - - - US34
gold
gold

(19 weeks)US
First published: November 1978
Producer: Michael Lloyd
1980 Same goes for you - - - - US129 (22 weeks)
US
First published: November 1979
Producer: Michael Lloyd
1981 My Movie of You - - - - US185 (7 weeks)
US
First published: November 1981
Producers: John D'Andrea, Shun Tokura

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More albums

  • 1980: Can't Explain
  • 1981: The Very Best of Leif Garrett
  • 1998: The Leif Garrett Collection (compilation)
  • 2007: Three Sides of ...

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1977 Surfin 'USA
Leif Garrett 		DE6 (14 weeks)
DE 		AT20 (4 weeks)
AT 		CH4 (10 weeks)
CH 		- US20 (15 weeks)
US
First published: August 1977
Author: Chuck Berry
Original: Chuck Berry - Sweet Little Sixteen , 1963
Runaround Sue
Leif Garrett 		DE19 (11 weeks)
DE 		- - - US13 (14 weeks)
US
First published: October 1977
Authors: Dion DiMucci , Ernie Maresca
Original: Dion , 1961
1978 Put Your Head on My Shoulder
Leif Garrett 		- - - - US58 (7 weeks)
US
First published: February 1978
Author and original: Paul Anka , 1959
The Wanderer
Leif Garrett 		- - - - US49 (7 weeks)
US
First published: April 1978
Author: Ernie Maresca
Original: Dion, 1961
I Was Made for Dancin '
Feel the Need 		DE10 (10 weeks)
DE 		- - UK4th
silver
silver

(10 weeks)UK 		US10 (21 weeks)
US
First published: October 1978
Author: Michael Lloyd
1979 Feel the Need
Feel the Need 		DE43 (4 weeks)
DE 		- - UK38 (4 weeks)
UK 		US57 (8 weeks)
US
First published: April 1979
Author: Abrim Tilmon
Original: Detroit Emeralds , 1971
When I think of you
feel the need 		- - - - US78 (5 weeks)
US
First published: October 1979
Author: James Williams
Memorize Your Number
Same Goes for You 		- - - - US60 (9 weeks)
US
First published: December 1979
Author: Billy Kirkland
1980 I Was Looking for Someone to Love
Same Goes for You 		- - - - US78 (5 weeks)
US
First published: March 1980
Authors: Howard Greenfield , Michael Lloyd
1981 Uptown Girl
My Movie of You 		DE74 (1 week)
DE 		- - - -
First published: November 1981
Authors: Shunichi Tokura, Jeff Harrington, Jeff Pennig
Runaway Rita
My Movie of You 		- - - - US84 (6 weeks)
US
First published: November 1981
Authors: Shunichi Tokura, Jeff Harrington, Jeff Pennig

More singles

  • 1977: Come Back When You Grow Up
  • 1978: Johnny B. Goode
  • 1978: I Wanna Share a Dream with You
  • 1979: Moonlight Dancin '
  • 1979: New York City Nights
  • 1980: You Had to Go and Change on Me
  • 1980: Bits and Pieces
  • 1981: Just Like a Brother
  • 1981: I'm a Rebel
  • 1982: Santa Monica Bay
  • 1986: The Way to Happiness (with Gayle Moran)
  • 1987: The Path to Happiness (with Julia Migenes )

Awards for music sales

Golden record

  • SpainSpain Spain
    • 1980: for the album Feel the Need

Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.

Country / Region Silver record icon.svg silver Gold record icon.svg gold Platinum record icon.svg platinum Sales swell
Awards for music sales
(country / region, awards, sales, sources)
Spain (Promusicae) Spain (Promusicae) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg gold1 0! P- 50,000 Sólo éxitos: año año, 1959-2002
United States (RIAA) United States (RIAA) 0! S.- Gold record icon.svg 2 × gold2 0! P- 1,000,000 riaa.com
United Kingdom (BPI) United Kingdom (BPI) Silver record icon.svg silver1 0! G- 0! P- 250,000 bpi.co.uk
All in all Silver record icon.svg silver1 Gold record icon.svg 3 × gold3 -

Filmography (selection)

Artist awards

  • 1977 Silver Bravo Otto Category Actor
  • 1978, 1979 and 1980 Golden Bravo Otto category singer

swell

  1. ↑ a b Chart sources: Singles UK US1 US2
  2. ↑ Top Pop Singles 1955-2006 by Joel Whitburn , Record Research 2007, ISBN 978-0-89820-172-7
  3. ↑ a b Gold / Platinum databases: UK US

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Garrett, Leif
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nervik, Leif Per (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor and pop singer
DATE OF BIRTH November 8, 1961
PLACE OF BIRTH Hollywood , California , USA