The J. Geils Band was formed in 1967 by guitarist Jerome Geils, bassist Danny Klein, harmonica player "Magic Dick" (Richard Salwitz), drummer Stephen Jo Bladd and singer Peter Wolf. The first three had played in an acoustic blues group beforehand, but the new band did electric bluesy rock that was very different from the psychedelic scene of the time. Seth Justman joined on keyboards the next year, and the band got a record contract in 1970.

Their self-titled first album was a regional hit; their second album contained the top 40 single "Looking for A Love," and their third album was a live recording that showed off the band's strength: performing. Their fourth and fifth albums each had a top 40 hit ("Give It To Me" and "Must of Got Lost," respectively) but they never became real stars. They released three more albums on Atlantic, and then changed to EMI; the second record on the new label, Love Stinks, had a more pop sound and gained more success with the title single. The following album, Freeze Frame, featured "Centerfold," the band's biggest hit, in 1981 and also "Freeze Frame," which did nearly as well.

Peter Wolf and Seth Justman were not getting along well, and Wolf left the band in 1983. Justman became the singer, and the band released one album in 1984 which was a failure. The band broke up completely the next year. Wolf had a solo album in 1984, Lights Out, that was a moderate hit, but didn't achieve much afterwards. Geils and Magic Dick came back together in 1993 to form the contemporary blues band Bluestime.

Source: www.allmusic.com

Editors Note:

On April 11, 2017, Groton Police conducted a well-being check on Geils and found him unresponsive at his home. He was pronounced dead from natural causes at age 71.

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