American rock band
The J. Geils Band
was an American
rock
band formed in 1967, in
Worcester, Massachusetts
, under the leadership of guitarist
John "J." Geils
. The original band members included vocalist
Peter Wolf
, harmonica and saxophone player
Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz
, drummer Stephen Bladd, vocalist/keyboardist
Seth Justman
, and bassist
Danny Klein
. Wolf and Justman served as principal songwriters. The band played
R&B
-influenced
blues rock
during the 1970s and soon achieved commercial success before moving toward a more mainstream radio-friendly sound in the early 1980s, which brought the band to its commercial peak. They performed a mix of cover songs of classic blues and R&B songs, along with original compositions written primarily by Wolf and Justman, as well as some group compositions written under the pseudonymous name
Juke Joint Jimmy
, representing compositions credited to the entire band as a whole. After Wolf left the band in 1983 to pursue a solo career, the band released one more album in 1984 with Justman on lead vocals, before breaking up in 1985.
[1]
Beginning in 1999, the band had several reunions prior to the death of its namesake, J. Geils, on April 11, 2017.
The band first released several
Top 40
singles in the early 1970s, including a cover of the song "
Lookin' for a Love
" by
The Valentinos
(which reached No. 39 on the
Billboard
Hot 100 in 1972), as well as the single "
Give It to Me
" (No. 30 in 1973). Their biggest hits included "
Must of Got Lost
" (No. 12 in 1975), "Come Back" (No. 32 in 1980), "
Love Stinks
" (which reached No. 38 in 1980 and was featured in several films), "
Centerfold
" (No. 1 in 1982), and "
Freeze-Frame
" (No. 4 in 1982).
Early days
[
edit
]
The band started in the mid-1960s while John Geils was attending
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
for a couple of semesters after transferring from
Northeastern University
in Boston (where he lived in "The Playboy Room" of the Gamma Phi Kappa Fraternity). Originally named
Snoopy and the Sopwith Camels
, the group was an
acoustic
blues
trio with Geils on guitar, bassist
Danny Klein
("Dr. Funk"), and
harmonica
player Richard Salwitz ("
Magic Dick
").
In 1968, the band switched focus, going electric and recruiting two fellow musicians from
Boston
band The Hallucinations, drummer Stephen Jo Bladd and vocalist Peter Blankenfeld, a fast-talking former
WBCN
disc jockey
with the
air name
Peter Wolf
.
[2]
Initial influences included
James Cotton
and
Little Walter
? in 2008 interview, harmonica star Magic Dick said they were all "harp freaks".
[3]
They became The J. Geils Blues Band, later dropping the word "Blues" from the band name. Soon, fan
Seth Justman
joined on keyboards and the band started to earn a sizable following in the Boston area.
[4]
The band took its time carefully considering various offers of contracts. Unofficial live recordings circulated: as noted in
Creem
, "WBCN had the infamous J. Geils 'bathroom tapes' (that were almost exactly what the name implies) and a tape of their performance at Alternate Media Conference at Goddard College, but these hardly sufficed" to fans who wanted a proper album.
[5]
The group ultimately signed to
Atlantic Records
in 1970.
1970s touring, recordings and early top 40 success
[
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]
After spending the better part of 1970 playing live shows around the US opening for artists as eclectic as
BB King
,
Johnny Winter
,
The Allman Brothers
, and
The Byrds
,
[6]
The J. Geils Band recorded their debut LP
The J. Geils Band
in August 1970 in A&R Studios in New York City and it was released in November. The band started to get airplay with release of their first single, a rock-cover of
The Contours
' Motown hit, "
First I Look at the Purse
", and soon the band would get more
AM radio
airplay with a series of several successful singles in the early 1970s, the first one being a cover version of
The Valentinos
' "
Lookin' for a Love
", which appeared on their second album
The Morning After
and was their Top 40 debut in 1972 (at No. 39 on the Billboard chart). The album was released in October 1971. The song "Cry One More Time" (also on
The Morning After
) was later covered by
Gram Parsons
on his
debut album
in 1973.
Through constant touring, the band soon built a large following in the US for their energetic live shows,
[4]
with the charismatic stage-antics and "microphone-stand-pole-vaulting"
[7]
of singer Peter Wolf, as well as its innovative use of the
harmonica
as a lead instrument.
[
citation needed
]
Harmonicalinks.com later called Magic Dick "a pioneer in sound and style for rock harmonica."
[8]
AllMusic.com
described their 1970s period as a band "pure and simple, churning out greasy covers of obscure R&B,
doo wop
, and
soul
tunes, while cutting them with a healthy dose of Stonesy swagger."
[4]
On August 17, 1971, at a show on the
Boston Common
,
The Allman Brothers Band
named The J. Geils Band as its favorite local band.
[9]
Both bands later played the last show at the
Fillmore East
prior to the venue's closing. Although living in Boston, the band had always considered
Detroit
its second home because of its enormous popularity there.
[10]
Two of its three live albums were recorded in Detroit at the Cinderella Ballroom and Pine Knob Music Theater. Their second live album, 1976's
Blow Your Face Out
, was recorded at the
Boston Garden
and Detroit's
Cobo Arena
.
After the release of their first two albums and keeping a busy show schedule, it was The J. Geils Band's third album
Bloodshot
which was the first commercial breakthrough for the band, reaching No. 10 on the
Billboard
200 album charts in the United States in 1973 and spawning the single "Give It to Me", which went to No. 30 in the
Billboard
charts following the album's release in 1973. The original U.S. copies of
Bloodshot
were distributed in red vinyl, (instead of the customary black), with matching red 1950s style
Atlantic Records
labels. The band would continue to use these vintage-style Atlantic labels, in different colors with each album release, throughout their remaining tenure with the label. Seeking to seize on this commercial success, the band released their following album
Ladies Invited
in November of that same year, which debuted at No. 51 but did not match the commercial success of
Bloodshot
. After spending the early part of 1974 on the road with an active touring schedule, the band went back into the studio and recorded their fifth album
Nightmares...and Other Tales from the Vinyl Jungle
, which yielded a big hit single, the Justman/Wolf composition "
Must of Got Lost
", which reached No. 12 on the Billboard Top 100 in early 1975. Later that year the band started playing arenas across the US with a variety of artists including
The Rolling Stones
,
Peter Frampton
, and
Rod Stewart
.
[6]
After their initial commercial success and with constant touring, the group seemed destined to be nothing more than a party band until the release of
Monkey Island
(1977), after which the group left Atlantic Records and signed to
EMI America
for
Sanctuary
(1978), which charted at No. 49 on the
Billboard
200
and spun off a sizable hit single in "One Last Kiss" (No. 35 on the
Billboard
Hot 100).
1980s commercial peak and breakup
[
edit
]
The group hit their commercial peak and achieved mainstream success in the early 1980s, first with the humorous
Love Stinks
which was released in January 1980 and yielded two Top 40 singles, the song "Come Back" which peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard chart, as well as the title track "
Love Stinks
" which went to No. 38. "Love Stinks" remained a staple in FM radio in the '80s and was showcased in the 1998 hit film
The Wedding Singer
when
Adam Sandler
performs it in the film, and it also appeared on the film's soundtrack
The Wedding Singer Volume 2
, also released in 1998. The band spent the better part of 1980 touring the US, Europe as well as touring Japan for the first time.
[11]
The band followed up the success of
Love Stinks
with their hit album
Freeze Frame
, which reached No. 1 in early 1982 for four weeks. The first single "
Centerfold
" which hit No. 1 for six weeks on the
Billboard
Hot 100
"Centerfold" also became their first major hit single in the United Kingdom, where it reached No. 3 in February 1982. The title-cut "
Freeze Frame
" peaked at No. 4 in April 1982. The flip side of "Freeze Frame", "
Flamethrower
" received airplay on Urban contemporary radio notably, in Metro Detroit, and reached number 25 on the Billboard soul chart and peaked at 12 on U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play. The song also received airplay on rock and Top 40 stations. The third and final single released from the album "Angel in Blue" peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band's videos for "Centerfold" and "Freeze Frame" were in heavy rotation on
MTV
which also contributed to the album's success. During 1982 the band was frequently selling out arenas around the US, including a month-long tour with
U2
as their support act in March 1982.,
[11]
The band also undertook a two-month tour of Europe playing with
The Rolling Stones
from June and July of that year as well.
[11]
The band followed up on the international success of
Freeze Frame
with the release of another live album,
Showtime!
, which contained their #24 live hit cover of "I Do", originally a 1965 hit by
the Marvelows
, which the band remade for their 1977
Monkey Island
album.
Wolf left the group in 1983 over disagreements on the group's musical direction. Many years later in 2016, Wolf offered the following recollection of the disagreements within the group that led to his departure: "I did not leave the band, but the majority of the band wanted to move in another direction.[...] They wanted to continue in a pop-techno way, [and] it wasn't my thing."
[12]
The band went on to record one more album of new material,
You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd
. Seth Justman took over lead vocal duties in Wolf's absence. The album produced only one single, "Concealed Weapons", and was not a commercial success. The group then disbanded in 1985 after contributing the title song to the horror film
Fright Night
.
Reunion appearances, Geils' departure, and final dissolution
[
edit
]
The group reunited with Wolf in 1999 for a 13-date tour of the East Coast and upper Midwest.
Rollins Band
drummer
Sim Cain
sat in on drums for this tour, which also saw the band supported by backup singers Andricka Hall and Catherine Russell, as well as the Uptown Horns (who had also appeared with the group on its
Freeze Frame
Tour). After the '99 reunion tour finished at that year's end, Wolf returned to touring with his own backup band.
On February 26, 2005, the band (with drummer Marty Richards) reunited at the Charles Hotel in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
, for a charity show for the
Cam Neely
Foundation for cancer care. On May 22, 2006, all six original members had a surprise reunion at bassist Danny Klein's 60th birthday party at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston.
On February 19, 2009, the band reunited again to perform the opening concert at the new
House of Blues
in
Boston
on Lansdowne Street (formerly the location of Avalon, Axis, The Embassy and The Modern), with Marty Richards on drums and Mitch Chakour supplying backup vocals. Subsequently, they played two shows on April 24 and 25 at Detroit's Fillmore Theater (formerly State Theater). They also did a second show on Lansdowne Street on April 28.
[13]
On July 11, 2009, The J. Geils Band played at the
Borgata
Hotel/Casino in
Atlantic City, NJ
, selling out the Borgata's 2,000-seat event center. On December 31, 2009, the band reunited for a one-night live gig at the
Mohegan Sun Arena
in
Uncasville, CT
.
[14]
The band played a benefit in Boston for
Big Brothers/Big Sisters
on January 23, 2010. On August 14, 2010, The J. Geils Band reunited once again to open for
Aerosmith
at a sold-out show at
Fenway Park
.
[15]
For their 2010 dates, the band was again supported by the Uptown Horns along with backup singers Mitch Chakour, Andricka Hall and Nichelle Tillman. Hall and Tillman toured with the band for their 2012 tour, as did the Uptown Horns, while Hall, Mitch Chakour, and Ada Dyer were the backup singers on the 2011 tour. Since this time, Wolf and Geils had also both been touring as solo artists. Danny Klein formed a new band called Danny Klein's Full House that was dedicated to playing the music of The J. Geils Band.
The J. Geils Band embarked on a short U.S. tour in August/September 2012. However, they left for the tour without J. Geils, replaced by touring guitarists Duke Levine and Kevin Barry, along with touring drummer Tom Arey. A furious Geils filed a lawsuit against the other group members over using the band's name for a tour without him. He named band members Richard Salwitz, Danny Klein, Peter Wolf and Seth Justman in the lawsuit filed in Boston Superior Court, claiming that they "planned and conspired" to continue touring without him and were unlawfully using the group's trademarked name. Geils' lawsuit was unsuccessful. Angry at his bandmates for what they did, he permanently left the band, although he admitted in an interview several years later he did not bear his bandmates any ill will, saying, "I wish them well. There is no bitterness on my part..."
[16]
Geils died in 2017.
[17]
[18]
Despite losing their eponymous leader, the J. Geils Band remained active. On May 30, 2013, they performed six songs as part of the Boston Strong concert at the
TD Garden
in Boston. The concert, a benefit for victims of the recent
Boston Marathon bombing
victims, also featured Aerosmith,
James Taylor
,
Boston
,
Dropkick Murphys
,
New Kids on the Block
,
Bell Biv DeVoe
,
Boyz II Men
,
Jimmy Buffett
,
Carole King
,
Extreme
and
Jason Aldean
.
In 2013 the band was the opening act for
Bon Jovi
in multiple locations across the United States. Beginning in the fall of 2014 and through the beginning of 2015, The J. Geils Band was the opening act for
Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
on most tour dates across North America, along with a few solo shows. Their final tour was in the summer of 2015 with their final show being played in Detroit, MI.
The band was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the years 2005, 2006, 2011, 2017, and 2018. They were not voted in on any of those attempts.
[19]
Projects outside of the band
[
edit
]
Since the breakup of the band in 1985, J. Geils began restoring
sports cars
in Massachusetts and started the performance shop KTR European Motorsports in
Ayer, Massachusetts
.
[20]
In 1992, he joined his old bandmate Richard "
Magic Dick
" Salwitz to form the band
Bluestime
, which released two records: the self-titled
Bluestime
(1994) and
Little Car Blues
(1996) on
Rounder Records
. In 2004, Geils produced the album
Nail It!
for Massachusetts-based blues/rock group The Installers (Francesca Records No. 1011). He also occasionally performed live with the group. The December 2009 edition of
Vintage Guitar (magazine)
featured an in-depth interview with Geils by
Mambo Sons
guitarist
Tom Guerra
. In the interview, Geils revealed his playing approach, jazz influences and choice of instruments. Geils released several jazz albums with Gerry Beaudoin.
Magic Dick contributed his harmonica playing and some vocals as part of a live recording called
Command Performance
by the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue featuring The
Tommy Castro
Band,
Deanna Bogart
,
Ronnie Baker Brooks
and others. Since 2007, he has toured as part of the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue on different Blues Cruises and again on land-based shows.
[21]
Magic Dick is still active and touring as an acoustic duo with Shun Ng. The duo released an EP "About Time".
Peter Wolf followed his time in the band with a moderately successful solo career, having six solo singles chart on the U.S.
Billboard
Hot 100
in the 1980s and early 1990s. He continued to release albums into the 2010s, with his most recent release
A Cure for Loneliness
being released in 2016. He toured with
Kid Rock
during the first half of 2008 and continues to tour heavily with his solo band, the Midnight Travelers.
Members
[
edit
]
- Peter Wolf
? lead vocals, percussion (1968?1983, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2009?2015)
- Seth Justman
? keyboards, backing vocals (1968?1985, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2009?2015), lead vocals (1983?1985)
- Danny Klein
? bass (1968?1985, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2009?2015)
- Magic Dick
? harmonica, saxophone, trumpet, occasional backing vocals (1968?1985, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2009?2015)
- J. Geils
? guitar (1968?1985, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2009?2012; died 2017)
- Stephen Jo Bladd ? drums, percussion, backing vocals (1968?1985, 2006), lead vocals (1983?1985)
Touring members
[
edit
]
- Sim Cain
? drums (1999)
- Catherine Russell ? backing vocals (1999)
- Andricka Hall ? backing vocals (1999, 2010?2015)
- Marty Richards ? drums (2005, 2009?2011)
- Mitch Chakour ? backing vocals (2009?2011)
- Nichelle Tillman ? backing vocals (2010, 2012)
- Duke Levine
? rhythm guitar (2009?2011), lead guitar (2012?2015)
- Kevin Barry ? rhythm guitar (2012?2015)
- Tom Arey ? drums (2012?2015)
- Ada Dyer - backing vocals (2011)
- Cheryl Freeman - backing vocals (2013?2015)
The Uptown Horns
[
edit
]
- Arno Hecht - tenor sax (1982, 1999?2015)
- Crispin Cioe - alto & baritone sax (1982, 1999?2015)
- Paul Litteral - trumpet (1982)
- Larry Etkin - trumpet (1999?2015)
- Bob Funk - trombone (2010)
Timeline
[
edit
]
Discography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"The Album That Broke Up The J. Geils Band"
.
95.9 The Fox
. October 26, 2018
. Retrieved
April 28,
2021
.
- ^
"1965/68 ? The Hallucinations ~ The J. Geils Band.Net"
.
Thejgeilsband.blogspot.com
. Retrieved
April 11,
2017
.
- ^
Modern Blues Harmonica (March 7, 2008).
"Magic Dick explains "Whammer Jammer"
"
. Retrieved
March 19,
2018
– via YouTube.
- ^
a
b
c
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
.
"J. Geils Band | Biography & History"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
April 11,
2017
.
- ^
Edmonds, Ben (March 1971).
"J Geils Band: Beantown Get-down"
.
Creem
. Retrieved
June 23,
2018
– via
Rock's Backpages
.
- ^
a
b
"THE J. GEILS BAND: Tour Dates 1970 ? 1983 ~ The J. Geils Band.Net"
.
Thejgeilsband.blogspot.com
. Retrieved
April 11,
2017
.
- ^
"Peter Wolf at The Egg"
. NewsTimes. October 7, 2015
. Retrieved
April 11,
2017
.
- ^
"Harmonica Players ? Male ? Rock/Pop/Folk Blues harp, Diatonic Harmonicas"
. Harmonicalinks.com
. Retrieved
April 11,
2012
.
- ^
"Because Music Matters ? Featured Release"
. Hittin the Note
. Retrieved
May 21,
2016
.
- ^
Pevos, Edward (September 15, 2015).
"Peter Wolf of The J. Geils Band calls Detroit 'our second home'
"
.
MLive
. Retrieved
January 12,
2023
.
'We consider Detroit our second home...Detroit embraced us in a very special way.'
- ^
a
b
c
"THE J. GEILS BAND: Tour Dates 1970 ? 1983"
.
thejgeilsband.blogspot.com
. Retrieved
March 19,
2018
.
- ^
"Peter Wolf talks J. Geils Band, new album before Atlanta concert - Atlanta Music Scene with Melissa Ruggieri"
.
ajc.com
. Retrieved
March 19,
2018
.
- ^
Sullivan, Jim (February 6, 2009).
"Open House ? Music Features"
. Thephoenix.com
. Retrieved
April 11,
2012
.
- ^
"Mohegan Sun Newsroom ≫ Blog Archive ≫ J.Geils Band Live New Year's Eve"
. Newsroom.mohegansun.com. October 27, 2009
. Retrieved
April 11,
2012
.
- ^
"Aerosmith, J. Geils Band to Play Fenway Park on Aug. 14 ? NESN Newswire"
. NESN.com. April 8, 2010
. Retrieved
April 11,
2012
.
- ^
Sullivan, Jim (April 11, 2023).
"J. Geils Talks About His Former Band: Last Interview"
.
Bestclassicbands.com
. Retrieved
January 29,
2024
.
- ^
Adam Sweeting.
"J Geils obituary."
The Guardian
. April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^
Chokshi, Niraj (April 11, 2017).
"J. Geils, Whose Band's Catchy Pop Hits Colored the 1980s, Dies at 71"
.
The New York Times
. Archived from
the original
on April 13, 2017
. Retrieved
April 13,
2017
.
- ^
"J. Geils Band's Peter Wolf Makes His Case for Roll Hall Induction: 'Our Mission Was to Share the Roots'
"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
March 19,
2018
.
- ^
"KTR Racing Homepage"
.
Ktrmotorsports.com
. Retrieved
May 22,
2016
.
- ^
"Legendary Rhythm And Blues Revue | Presented by LRBC"
.
Legendaryrevue.com
. Retrieved
May 21,
2016
.
External links
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]
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