Posted on 04/11/2017 4:46:17 PM PDT by Drew68
GROTON, Massachusetts —
5 Investigates has learned John Warren Geils Jr., the artist known professionally as J. Geils and part of the rock group The J. Geils Band, was found dead in his Groton, Massachusetts home.
He was 71.
Geils and the band are best known for their album, "Freeze Frame" and the song "Centerfold," which hit No. 1 for six weeks.
Geils formed the band during his time at 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" came out in 1980.
After 11 albums, the band's 12th album, "Freeze Frame," hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts for four weeks in 1981 and remained on the chart for 70 weeks. The title track "Freeze Frame" made it to No. 4.
While on tour, opening acts for the band included the Eagles, Billy Joel, ZZ Top and U2.
The band broke up a few years later.
Geils has called Groton his home for 35 years.
It was probably March 1982.
j-geils-band-tour-dates-1970-1983
I saw them in New Haven, either Dec 26 or 29 1981. (I think it was the 29th.)
Whammer Jammer
Great harmonica in that one.
“We got the Deetroit Demolition here for ya!”
It seemed so racy at the time, and looking at it today it is quite charming in its comparative innocence.
They named orange juice after her. Before that, it was called “orange liquid.” /joke from GTA San Andreas radio host Mary-Beth Maybell
Centerfold is an evil song. Totally not down with centerfold behaviour, but assuming the gal is a ho, is worse.
They were the second concert I ever went to (1981), the first I actually bought the tickets for. They constantly had girls coming up on stage to dance for about 15 seconds before security ushered them back off the stage. I didn't realize how unusual it was until I had seen many more concerts.
I always thought this video of "I Do" did a great job capturing the J Geils band concert experience. (I also liked the live version of the song much better than the studio version.)
"I Do" - J Geils Band
I saw them in 1973 at Winterland in San Francisco.
A show for the ages.
For live bands, only the Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Pike Floyd were comparable.
Which one’s “Pike?” /variation of the old joke :)
Juice Newton? She’s not dead is she?
Ok, that got some synapses snapping. Duke and the Drivers! Double billing with J. Geils. I passed out on the concert hall floor during “Check Your Bucket”. In Boston, at a WBCN simulcast, probably ‘74ish’.
From a previous life . . . Bloodshot
Any word on Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
Just seen the J. Geils Band in November of 2014 at TD Garden in Boston with Bob Seger. I knew most of the band in the late 70s when I was a teen...they used to come into the ice cream shop my girlfriend worked at stoned, late at night, to get some sweets. Great guys. Left all the girls a ten dollar tip for scooping their ice cream up.
The Ramones are the unluckiest band in rock history.
3 of the 4 were dead of cancer before they became senior citizens and, I would think, before they actually made any real money.
Any tour with Joey + somebody from the original lineup today would probably make them more in one night than any year in the 70s and 80s.
One of my all time favorite bans. A cult favorite. They weren’t too popular until the Sanctuary album came out and then they were called sell-outs. It is my favorite Geils Album.
RIP, J. Geils.
The silver lining to his death is that I just now found out Magic Dick had a last name. I had no clue!
Oh well... Love Stinks. And, no anchovies please.
This is a song about L O V E and if you abuse it you’re gonn’ lose it
And if you lose it you’re gonn’ ‘buse and if you ‘buse it
You ain’t gonn’ be able to choose it
‘Cuz you ain’t gonn’ have it further on down the line
Things ain’t gonn’ be so fine, you’re gonn’ to be sitting there
On your little machine tryin’ to look and keep it clean
And you’re going to be playin’ bingo all night all alone
And that’s why your sittin’ there by the telephone
And you know that she ain’t goin to call you
So you put on the TV and you’re watchin’ Johnny Carson
Segueing right into the ‘Tomorrow Show’ but that don’t got the go
So you turn it off and turn on the radio
The radio don’t’ seem to get the click so you say
“Hey man, I can’t lickety split”
You start to open up a little book
And there’s somethin’ there you got to overlook
And you say “Baby, you know there’s somethin’ on my mind”
You say, “Baby there’s somethin’ on my mind
I know that you’re home and I know you ain’t all alone”
So you start walkin’ over to her house
You get over to her house, you walk over to her door
You start poundin’ on her door and you say
“Open up the door bitch
This is Wooba Gooba with the green teeth, let me in”
Well, she opens up the door
And then you just kinda walk up to her and say, “Baby”
You look up way up at her green mascara
And you say “Oh my darlin’, you know her and me
Was at the party as friends, do not believe what they say
That’s only gossip that they tellin’ you down the wise crack of lies”
You say darlin’, “Take your big curls
And just squeeze ‘em down Ratumba
What’s the name of that chick with the long hair? Rapunzel
Hey Rapunzel, hey Reputa, hey Reputa, Reputa the Buta
Hey Reputa the Beautah flip me down your hair
And let me climb up the ladder of your love
Because this is the Wooba Gooba sayin’ to ya
“Love comes once and when it comes
You better grab it fast ‘cuz sometimes the love
You grab ain’t gonn’ last and I believe I musta
You know I think I musta, you know, baby, I think I musta
You know I think I musta, I musta got lost
Not everyone can say The Eagles, ZZ Top, Billy Joel, and U2 opened for their show!
R.I.P.,Mr. Geils!
Jeez! When did the Queen of Hearts pass away???
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