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 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, 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, 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
its blues roots, the J. Geils Band
was unsure of its direction, a factor emphasized 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.
Photographs of J.Geils and Peter
Wolf by John Robert Rowlands.
