John Warren Geils Jr., founder of The J. Geils Band, was found dead in his home Tuesday in Massachusetts. He was 71.
TMZ reports that John’s body was found in his home in Groton. Police say the death is not suspicious.
John’s namesake band released their first album in 1970. Their first big hit, “Love Stinks” came in 1980, and they finally scored a number one with “Centerfold” in 1981. The album it came from, Freeze Frame, was also number one for 4 weeks, and stayed on the charts for 70 weeks.
The Eagles, U2 and Billy Joel all opened for J. Geils on the road. J Geils formed in the 60’s but found their biggest commercial success in the 80’s before breaking up in 1985. The band reunited in 1999, 2005, 2006, and 2009. Geils Jr. left the band in 2012.
Geils was born in New York City and grew up in Far Hills, New Jersey. His father was an engineer at Bell Labs and a jazz fan. From an early age, he heard his father’s albums by Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie, and was escorted by his father to a Louis Armstrong concert. He worked out Miles Davis music on trumpet and drums, and he listened to blues guitarists Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters on the radio.
In 1964, he went to Northeastern University and was a trumpeter in the marching band. When he was drawn to folk musicians in Boston, he left Northeastern for Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he studied mechanical engineering. At Worcester, he formed J. Geils Blues Band with Danny Klein, Magic Dick Salwitz, Stephen Jo Bladd, and Peter Wolf, with Seth Justman becoming the last member before the band released its debut album in 1970.
The J. Geils Band was influenced by soul music and rhythm and blues, but it moved toward pop and rock by the time the album Love Stinks (EMI, 1980) came out. Their next album, Freeze Frame, produced the song “Centerfold”, which sat at number one for six weeks. Tension and conflict arose among band members, and Peter Wolf left to pursue a solo career. The band broke up in 1985.
Geils put down the guitar to concentrate on auto racing and restoration. He returned to music in 1992 when he produced an album for Danny Klein and formed the band Bluestime with Magic Dick. He played in the New Guitar Summit with Duke Robillard and Gerry Beaudoin and in the acoustic trio Kings of Strings with Beaudoin and Jerry Miller. In 2005, he released his first solo album, jazz album.
In 2015, Geils was named to the Wall of Honor at his alma mater, Bernards High School in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
