L to R:, Not pictured:, Stephen Bladd Background information Origin, United States Genres, (early), (late) Years active 1968–1985, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2009–2015 Labels, Website Past members (deceased) Stephen Bladd The J. Geils Band was an American band formed in 1968, in, under the leadership of. The original band members included, and player, Stephen Bladd, vocalist/. Wolf and Justman served as principal.
The best album by The J. Geils Band is Freeze-Frame which is ranked number 3,736 in the overall greatest album chart with a total rank score. Geils Band is ranked number 1,826 in the overall artist rankings with a total rank score of 784. Led by Bronx-bred blues connoisseur and sometime art student Peter Wolf (nee Blakefield), the Hallucinations were an attraction on the Boston club circuit from their formation in 1967. Renamed the J. Geils Band for their lead guitarist, the group signed with Atlantic Records, which issued a self-titled debut in 1970.
The band played -influenced during the 1970s and soon achieved commercial success before moving towards a more mainstream radio-friendly sound in the early 1980s, which brought the band to its commercial peak. 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. Beginning in 1999, the band had several reunions prior to the death of its namesake founder J. Geils on April 11, 2017. The band first released several singles in the early 1970s, including a cover of the song ' by (which reached #39 in the Top 100 in 1972), as well as the single 'Give It to Me' (which reached #30 in 1973). Their biggest hits included ' (which reached #12 in the Billboard Top 100 in 1975), 'Come Back' (which reached #32 in 1980), ' (which reached #38 in 1980 and was featured in several films), ' (which reached #4 in the Billboard Top 200 in 1981), and ' (which reached #1 in the United States in early 1982). Contents.
Early days The band started as an trio in the mid-1960s, with, (Dr. Funk) and player Richard Salwitz ( ). The band formed under the name Snoopy and the Sopwith Camels while Geils was attending for a couple of semesters. In 1968, the band switched focus, starting to play electric guitar and bass and recruiting two fellow musicians from a local band called The Hallucinations, who were a frequent performing band at the concert venue on 53 Berkeley Street. They were the drummer Stephen Bladd and his bandmate, (who was the fast-talking former ) singer, born Peter Blankenfeld (originally from the ). They became The J.
Geils Blues Band, later dropping the word 'Blues' from the band name. The same year, former fan joined on keyboards, and the band started to earn a sizable local following in the Boston area. The band was choosy with its various offers of contracts, and unofficial live recordings circulated: as noted in, '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.' The group ultimately signed to in 1970. Initial influences included and, indeed in a later interview, harmonica star Magic Dick revealed that the whole band were 'harp freaks'.
1970s touring, recordings and early top 40 success After spending the better part of 1970 playing live shows around the US opening for artists as eclectic as, and, The J. Geils Band recorded their debut LP The J. Geils Band in August 1970 in A&R Studios in, and it was released in November of that year. The band started to get airplay with release of their first, a rock-cover of ' Motown hit, ', and soon the band would get more airplay with a series of several successful singles in the early 1970s, the first one being a of ' ', which appeared on their second album and was their Top 40 debut in 1972 (at #39 on the Billboard charts). The album was released in October 1971. The song 'Cry One More Time' (also on The Morning After) was later covered by on his in 1973.
Through constant touring, the band soon built a large following in the US for their energetic live shows, with the charismatic stage-antics and 'microphone-stand-pole-vaulting' of singer, as well as its innovative use of the as a lead instrument. Harmonicalinks.com later called Magic Dick 'a pioneer in sound and style for rock harmonica.' Described their 1970s period as a band 'pure and simple, churning out greasy covers of obscure R&B, and tunes, while cutting them with a healthy dose of Stonesy swagger.' On August 17, 1971, at a show on the, named The J. Geils Band as its favorite local band. Both bands later played the last show at the prior to the venue closing. Although living in Boston, the band had always considered its second home because of its enormous popularity there.
Two of its three live albums were recorded in Detroit at the Cinderella Ballroom and Pine Knob Music Theater (now ). Their second live album, 1976's, was recorded at the and Detroit's.
After the release of their first two albums and keeping a busy show schedule, it was The J. Geils Band's third album which was the first commercial breakthrough for the band, reaching #10 on the Billboard 200 album charts in the United States in 1973 and spawning the single 'Give It to Me', which went to #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 1950's style 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 in November of that same year, which debuted at #51 but didn't 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, which yielded a big hit single, the Justman/Wolf composition ', which reached #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,.
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), followed by Sanctuary (1978), which charted at No. 49 on the and spun off a sizable hit single in 'One Last Kiss' (No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100). 1980s commercial peak and breakup The group hit their commercial peak and achieved mainstream success in the early 1980s, first with the humorous which was released in January 1980 and yielded two Top 40 singles, the song 'Come Back' which peaked at #32 on the Billboard chart, as well as the title track ' which went to #38. 'Love Stinks' remained a staple in FM radio in the 80's and was showcased in the 1998 hit film when 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. The band followed up the success of Love Stinks with their hit album, which reached #1 in early 1982 for four weeks. The first single ' which peaked at No. 1 for six weeks on the ) 'Centerfold' also became their only major hit single in the, where it reached No. 3 in February 1982.
The title-cut ' peaked at #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 singles released from the album 'Angel in Blue' peaked at #40 on the Billboard Hot 100 The band's videos for 'Centerfold' and 'Freeze Frame' were in heavy rotation on as well, which contributed to the album's success. During 1982 the band was frequently selling out arenas around the US, including a month-long tour with as their support act in March 1982., The band also undertook a two-month tour of Europe playing with from June & July of that year as well. The band followed up on the international success of Freeze Frame with the release of another live album, which contained their #24 live hit cover of 'I Do', originally a 1965 hit by, which the band remade for their 1977 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 lead 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.' The band went on to record one more album of new material,.
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 1985 horror film. Reunion appearances The group reunited with Wolf in 1999 for a 13-date tour of the East Coast and upper Midwest. Drummer 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, for a charity show for the 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 in 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. On July 11, 2009, The J. Geils Band played at the Hotel/Casino in, 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 in. The band played a benefit in Boston for on January 23, 2010. On August 14, 2010, The J. Geils Band reunited once again to open for at a sold-out show at. 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 continued on in the band for their 2011 and 2012 tours, as did the Uptown Horns. 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 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.
Geils filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against the other members of the group over use of the 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, angry at his bandmates for what they did, permanently left the band.
Geils died in 2017. On May 30, 2013, The J.
Geils Band performed six songs as part of the Boston Strong concert at the in Boston. The concert, a benefit for victims of the recent victims, also featured Aerosmith,. In 2013 the band was the opening act for 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 on most tour dates across North America, along with a few solo shows. 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. Projects outside of the band Since the breakup of the band in 1985, J. Geils began restoring in Massachusetts and started the performance shop KTR European Motorsports in. In 1992, he joined his old bandmate Richard ' Salwitz to form the band Bluestime, which released two records: the self-titled Bluestime (1994) and Little Car Blues (1996) on. 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 featured an in-depth interview with Geils by guitarist. In the interview, Geils revealed his playing approach, jazz influences and choice of instruments. 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 Band, 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.
Peter Wolf followed his time in the band with a moderately successful solo career, having six solo singles chart on the U.S. In the 1980s and early 1990s. He continued to release albums into the 2010s. He toured with during the first half of 2008.
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