J. Geils Band
Formed in Boston, Massachusetts, USA in 1969, the group—J. Geils (b. Jerome Geils, 20 February, 1946, New York, USA; guitar), Peter Wolf (b. 7 March 1947, Bronx, New York, USA; vocals), Magic Dick (b. Richard Salwitz, 13 May 1945, New London, Connecticut, USA; harmonica), Seth Justman (b. 27 January 1951, Washington, DC, USA; keyboards), Danny Klein (b. 13 May 1946, New York, USA; bass) and Stephan Jo Bladd (b.31 July 1942, Boston, Massachusetts; drums)—was originally known as the J. Geils Blues Band. Their first two albums established a tough, raw R&B which encouraged comparisons with the respected Butterfield Blues Band. Versions of songs by Albert Collins, Otis Rush and John Lee Hooker showed an undoubted flair, and with Wolf as an extrovert frontman, they quickly became a popular live attraction. BLOODSHOT, a gold US album release in 1973, introduced the group to a wider audience, but at the same time suggested a tardiness which marred subsequent releases. The major exception was MONKEY ISLAND where Wolf, J. Geils and Magic Dick reclaimed the fire and excitement enlivening those first two albums. The group moved from the Atlantic label to EMI at the end of the '70s and secured a massive international hit in 1982 with the leering Centrefold. Now divorced from their blues roots, the J. Geils Band was unsure of its direction, a factor emphasised in 1984 when Wolf departed for a solo career, midway through a recording session. The group completed a final album, YOU'RE GETTIN' EVEN, WHILE I'M GETTIN' OLD, without him.