Garrity, Freddie

▪ 2007

Frederick Garrity 

      British singer and entertainer (b. Nov. 14, 1936, Manchester, Eng.—d. May 19, 2006, Bangor, Wales), was the lead singer for Freddie and the Dreamers, a British Invasion–era rock group that had a series of U.K. hits (including “If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody”) before topping the charts in the U.S. in 1965 with “I'm Telling You Now.” The diminutive Garrity, who sported a shock of curly hair and horn-rimmed glasses, was best remembered for the leaping exuberance he brought to performances filled with lighthearted comedy. He inspired an eponymous dance craze and capitalized on it with the American hit “Do the Freddie.” After his relatively short-lived rock stardom, he performed in children's television and acted until he was compelled to retire because of emphysema and systemic sclerosis.

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