Natural inside Cowpens, South Carolina, Garland began playing a guitar at the age of Sextuplet & experienced the million-selling hit at Xix by having Sugar Foot Rag. He is probably better known for his operate on the early Elvis Presley recordings such as Little Sister & Heavy Hunk of Love''. Still, Garland besides worked sustaining several of the country music stars of the late 1950s and early Sixties including Brenda Lee, Mel Tillis, Marty Robbins, Everly Brothers, Boots Randolph, Roy Orbison, Conway Twitty and Hank Williams Sr.. He likewise played by owning jazz greats rather George Shearing and Charlie Parker.

He played by owning Elvis from either 1957 to 1961 but the car crash left him around a coma for months. He sooner or later recovered however experienced wasted virtually all of his memory. When he did view to hike, talk & play a guitar over again, he was never suspire to last back to performing.

Garland died in December 27, 2004 of a staphylococci malady within Orange Park, Florida.