Wednesday, April 12, 2017

J. Geils, 1946-2017, R.I.P.

Photo by Carl Lender, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5927735

John Warren Geils Jr., better known as J. Geils, died yesterday at the age of seventy-one, apparently of natural causes.

The J. Geils Band originated in nearby (to me, that is) Worcester, Massachusetts. Geils formed a band known as Snoopy and the Sopwith Camels in the 1960s. Lead singer Peter Wolf joined the band in 1968 (some sources say 1967), at which point the band became known as the J. Geils Blues Band, an R&B-influenced blues rock band. ("Blues" was dropped from the band's name sometime later.)

The band released several albums and singles during the 1970s, singles such as "First I Look at the Purse," "Looking for a Love," "Give It to Me," "Must of Got Lost" (sic), "Where Did Our Love Go," "(Ain't Nothin' But a) House Party," and "One Last Kiss." (Many a quarter was dropped into the Sturbridge Tavern jukebox by yours truly on behalf of that last single.)

By the early 1980s, the band's style had changed to one that was more pop-oriented, at which point they released hits like "Love Stinks," "Just Can't Wait," "Freeze Frame," "I Do," and their number one hit, "Centerfold," a song I personally never cared for all that much.


Thanks for your time.

28 comments:

  1. I've heard a few of their songs, never really registered much though. I guess natural causes can get one at any age it seems.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I once knew a woman who died in her late thirties, and they called it natural causes.

      Delete
    2. Doesn't sound very natural to me. :(

      Delete
    3. What does that mean anyway... natural causes? Cancer is natural, too. We just don't like the sound of it. Natural causes sounds so... peaceful. (Yeah, right)

      Enjoy the weekend!

      I'm now reading Darwyn Cooke's Batman: Ego and Other Tails. No, that's not a typo.

      Delete
    4. "Natural causes" is too vague a term for me.

      Delete
  2. Good tribute here Fox. My favorite is Must of Got Lost. Thought Centerfold was funny when I first heard it, but it gets old quickly.
    Perspectives at Life & Faith in Caneyhead

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I much preferred the J. Geils Band's stuff from the 1970s, although I did buy the "Love Stinks" LP when it came out.

      Delete
  3. It seems that our generation of rock musicians are leaving the stage. David Bowie was a surprise, didn't know he was ill. Johnny Winters and Chuck Berry, too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Any celebrity from the 60's or 70's dying feels like a personal loss to me! Must be getting really old...sigh...


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm in the same boat, but I'm willing to bet that I have a few years on you!

      Delete
  5. I heard of his passing and it's just another one from this era that has passed which has saddened me.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This one hurts, too. You didn't have a party without J. Geils on the turntable in the '70s. They were best in concert, when Peter Wolf would let fly with the mouth, Magic Dick would wail on the harp, and Geils would take the instrumental break and light it up! Those days are gone now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had a feeling I'd be hearing from you on this one, Roy. I never got to see them perform live, but I've heard enough live recordings from them to figure that they were quite the band to see.

      Delete
  7. I was so sad when I heard this. I loved his music.
    Doree Weller

    ReplyDelete
  8. I was surprised to hear that he was in his 70s, but should have probably realized it by how long he'd been making music. Another one gone . . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He was actually a bit younger than I would have figured he was.

      Delete
  9. Replies
    1. Yes, and I enjoyed most of them. Never warmed up to "Centerfold," though...

      Delete

I strongly urge you to sign up for follow-up comments, because I (usually) reply to your comment! Comments left for me more than three weeks after a post is published will not appear until I approve them, but they will be answered eventually!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...