Co-founding J. Geils Band guitarist J. Geils was found dead on Tuesday (April 11th) in his home in Groton, Massachusetts, where he had lived since 1982. Boston’s ABC affiliate WCVB was the first to report the guitarist's death, and cite that although the cause of death is not yet known, foul play has been ruled out.
Ultimate Classic Rock reported Geils was born John Warren Geils Jr. on February 20th, 1946 in New York City and in the mid-’60s formed the genesis of the Geils Band when he teamed up to form the acoustic blues trio, Snoopy & The Sopwith Camels, with bassist Danny Klein and harmonica player Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz. After moving to Boston the band added drummer Stephen Jo Bladd, keyboardist Seth Justman, frontman Peter Wolf, and was eventually signed in 1970 to Atlantic Records.
- The J. Geils Band will always be best remembered for their incendiary live shows and such classics as "Give It To Me," "Musta Got Lost," "Come Back," "Love Stinks," "I Do," and their two Top 10 hits -- "Freeze Frame," which peaked at Number Four and their 1982 six-week chart-topper, "Centerfold.
- Peter Wolf quit the band in 1983, and they limped on with Seth Justman as their lead singer until 1985. The band -- with Wolf -- has reunited regularly for special gigs and short tours in recent years. Geils filed suit against his bandmates back in 2012 after allegedly copyrighting the band's name without their knowledge. The J. Geils Band -- without Geils -- last toured in 2014 and '15, where they opened for Bob Seger during a string of shows.
INTERNET COMMENTS -- via RollingStone.com:
Paul Staubus wrote: "The best live rock band the world has ever known. That's how good the J. Geils Band was. We still have Pete, Danny, Seth and Magic D though, and J, had quit the Band and was fighting with them. (And there's still Stephen Bladd, though he hasn't performed for 20 years due to his back.) All these guys made a huge difference in my life since they stole my soul back around 1970. Not a day goes by that I don't think of them. Sad about J...."
FGFM wrote: "Last band to play the Uptown Theatre in Chicago."
Timothy007ish wrote: "That song 'Wammer-Jammer' from The Morning After album was insane! One of my all time favorites. The world lost some of its luster today."
Pudman wrote: "J Geils 'Live Full House' made me a believer. Seeing them live was always worth the price of the ticket! Still one of the best 'road trip' albums ever."
@nsmartinworld wrote: "If you haven’t heard the Geils band, they were tremendous for three albums. Check out 'J Geils Band,' 'The Morning After,' and 'Bloodshot.' Good as any band in the land at the time."
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