"Centerfold" is a 1981 single released by the J. Geils Band from their album '' Freeze Frame''. The most successful single of the group's career, it reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1982 and held that spot for six weeks.

Overview

The song is about a man who is shocked to discover that his high school crush appeared in a centerfold spread for an unspecified men's magazine. The song's narrator is torn between conflicting feelings: his disappointment due to her loss of innocence, and his lust until the end of the song. The song was the band's biggest hit and the only one in the top of the US charts. It was released in autumn 1981, and eventually went to number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in February 1982, and stayed there for six weeks. It was the first single released from the album ''Freeze Frame'' and the music video for the song was an early staple on recently launched

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. It also peaked at number one in Australia and Canada. In February 1982, after the song hit No. 1 in the US, "Centerfold" peaked at No. 3 in the UK Top 40, earning the J. Geils Band their only major hit single in the UK, although follow-up " Freeze-Frame" would also peak within the top 40 at No. 27. The song is one of the on-disc songs on the 2010 music video game '' Rock Band 3''. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' called it a "clever rocker" and said that "the na-na chorus and Peter Wolf's carefree vocals add up to an AOR-pop hit." In 2018, the song was ranked at No. 66 on ''Billboard''s All Time Top Songs. ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Michael Gallucci rated it to be the band's all-time greatest song.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* {{authority control 1981 singles Number-one singles in Australia Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles EMI America Records singles The J. Geils Band songs Songs written by Seth Justman Song recordings produced by Seth Justman 1980 songs Works about pornography