Garland Jeffreys: The King of in Between

This film deserves an Academy Award. It is a poignant and compelling film about an American original - singer songwriter Garland Jeffries. An artist's artist with fans all over the world Jeffries story is the story of an artist 50 years ahead of his time. An artist who combined doo wop, rock and roll as well as an early proponent of Reggae even Bob Marley was a fan. He was a brave rock and roll. Warrior using music to speak about race and justice in America .If you love him this film will vindicate that love -if you never heard of him this film will make you love him. I have seen the film 2 times already and plan to own it when it comes out!

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What an interesting story...Garland Jeffreys is an amazing musician who's written a lot of great songs in a lot of different genres. (Hell, Bruce Springsteen and a lot of other fantastic people say so in this documentary, so it must be true.)

So learning about Garland's life and music is really cool. But what elevates this doc to something more is the exploration it does into the question: What does it mean to be "successful"? How famous do you have to be, how rich do you have to be? Or is it possible to NOT achieve all your dreams and goals, and yet still be successful?

Yeah, that's a question that I think most of us can legitimately ask ourselves. And this doc shows us that success means a lot of different things. I left this thinking that Garland Jeffreys, despite not becoming a household name, was very much a success. He had a great career, wrote songs that mean a lot to a lot of people...and at the same time was able to be a loving dad to his daughter. THAT'S success.

So, in short...while I'd specifically recommend this doc to music lovers, I'd really recommend it to anyone, since the questions it asks are relevant to everyone.

Garland Jeffreys is such an great talent that not enough people know about. Hopefully, this documentary will help change that. Running a University program this will be a great resource for our music history course. I look forward to turning many more people onto Jeffreys. The documentary gives a great overview of his career and life. Also touching on the cultural history of the era he grew up in and started his career. It was interesting to see why he was on so many different record labels. Also, I didn't realize how "Matador" was such a worldwide hit for him. It's interesting to see how many artists are fans of his work and admire Jeffreys.

Garland Jeffreys is a tremendous artist but this documentary does more than show that. It shows a working artist's life. An honest depiction of a beautiful man who struggled. Struggled in the best sense of the word. He committed to being in this life, reckon with success and failure. Reckon with family and commitment. Reckon with his issues. His continued commitment to being a father, husband, community member and musician is beautiful. This movie is intimate. You see his marriage and family for real. Deeply moving. His story is an American story. One that is often left out. So grateful for this movie.

Garland Jeffrey's music has been a brilliant accompaniment to our lives... from Cool Down Boy - Matador and many others.

Seeing him perform live at Joe's Pub, Irving Plaza, and the Bottom Line - i will never forget his descent from the Irving Plaza balcony on a rope with mike in hand singing as he made his way to the orchestra level and onto the stage. The consummate showman with a heart steeped in musical history. He was loved and appreciated by Springstreen and Lou Reed along with countless others ... professional musicians and fans. This film offers a deep look into a creative genius and will introduce him to those who might not yet have heard his poetry and musicianship. Don't miss the chance to see Garland Jeffreys King of In Between.