John Warren Geils Jr. () (February 20, 1946 – April 11, 2017), known professionally as J. Geils or Jay Geils, was an American guitarist. He was known as the leader of

The J. Geils Band The J. Geils Band was an American rock band formed in 1967, in Worcester, Massachusetts, under the leadership of guitarist John "J." Geils. The original band members included vocalist Peter Wolf, harmonica and saxophone player Richard "Magic ...

. Growing up in New York City, Geils became interested in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

. After moving to Massachusetts for his college education, he formed the J. Geils Blues Band while still a student at

Worcester Polytechnic Institute '' , mottoeng = "Theory and Practice" , established = , former_name = Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science (1865-1886) , type = Private research university , endowme ...

. After dropping the word "Blues" from their name, the band released their first album in 1970, performing

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

-influenced

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

for most of the 1970s before turning to pop music in the 1980s. After the band broke up in 1985, Geils left regular performing to take up restoration and racing of automobiles, with occasional forays into music production. He continued to appear in reunion tours with the rest of his band sporadically during the 2000s and 2010s.

Early life

John Warren Geils Jr. was born on February 20, 1946, in New York City, and grew up in

Morris Plains Morris Plains is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,532, In 1959, his family moved to Old Farm Lane in Bedminster. He attended

Bernards High School Bernards High School is a comprehensive high school, comprehensive four-year regional state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school serving students in ninth grade, ninth through twelfth grades in Somerset County, Ne ...

in nearby Bernardsville. Before he graduated in 1964 he was a member of the math club, the physics club, student council, car club, band club and the marching band. He also was a big fan of motorcycles. His father was an engineer at

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

and a jazz fan. From an early age, he heard his father's albums by

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

, and

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, and was escorted by his father to a

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

concert. He learned to play

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

music on the trumpet and drums, and he listened to blues singers

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

and

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

on the radio. In 1964, he began attending

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

and was a trumpeter in the marching band. When he was drawn to folk musicians in Boston, he left Northeastern for

, where he studied

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

. He dated

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

, who had moved to

Bernardsville Bernardsville () is a borough in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is nestled in the heart of the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,707,

in 1962. They were in a relationship when she was a sophomore and junior in high school.

Musical career

Geils began playing jazz trumpet but eventually switched to blues guitar. He formed an acoustic blues trio, 'Snoopy and the Sopwith Camels', with bassist

Danny Klein Daniel Klein (born May 23, 1946) is an American bassist best known as a member of The J. Geils Band. Early life Daniel Klein was born on May 23, 1946, in the Bronx, New York City. He moved to New Jersey at age 6 and in 1964 he began attending ...

and harmonica player Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz, while studying mechanical engineering at

in the mid-1960s. In late 1965 their line-up consisted of vocalist/saxophone player Peter Kraemer, guitarists Terry MacNeil and William "Truckaway" Sievers, bassist Martin Beard (born 1947, London), and drummer Norman Mayell. They soon moved to Boston, where they added new drummer

Stephen Jo Bladd Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

and lead vocalist

Peter Wolf Peter Wolf (born March 7, 1946) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of the J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983 and as a solo artist. Early life and education Peter Wolf was born Peter Walter Blankfield on March 7, 1946 in The ...

, who was a late-night DJ on WBCN. Geils later formed the 'J. Geils Blues Band' with Klein, Salwitz, Bladd, and Wolf, with

Seth Justman Seth Justman (born January 27, 1951) is the keyboard player for the U.S. rock band, The J. Geils Band. Biography Justman was born in Washington, D.C., grew up in Atlantic City, and is Jewish. He co-wrote many of the band's songs with singer Pet ...

becoming the final member before the band released its debut album in 1970. Renamed "

", the band released eleven albums between 1970 and 1985. Although they were influenced by soul music and rhythm and blues, their musical style was difficult to categorize. Their success was allegedly limited by being "too white for the black kids and too black for the whites". The band's sound moved toward pop and rock by the time the breakthrough album '' Love Stinks'' (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

, 1980) came out. Their next album, '' Freeze Frame'', produced the song "

Centerfold The centerfold or centrefold of a magazine is the inner pages of the middle sheet, usually containing a portrait, such as a pin-up or a nude. The term can also refer to the model featured in the portrait. In saddle-stitched magazines (as opp ...

", which sat at number one for six weeks, and the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may al ...

, which was a ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Top 10 hit. Tension and conflict arose among band members, and Wolf left to pursue a solo career. The band broke up in 1985. Geils took a break from music to concentrate on auto racing and restoration. In 2012 he filed a lawsuit against the other band members when they allegedly planned to tour without him while using the band's trademarked name. This prompted him to quit the group permanently.

Solo career

Geils recorded two blues albums with Magic Dick during the 1990s, then formed a jazz trio with guitarists

Duke Robillard Michael John "Duke" Robillard (born October 4, 1948) is an American guitarist and singer. He founded the band Roomful of Blues and was a member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Although Robillard is known as a rock and blues guitarist, he also play ...

and

Gerry Beaudoin Gerry Beaudoin is an American jazz guitarist who was a member of the New Guitar Summit with Jay Geils and Duke Robillard. Career Beaudoin's father listened to Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Andrés Segovia, and country music. Inspired by Chet At ...

. He released his first solo album, ''Jay Geils Plays Jazz!'', in 2005. In 2015, Geils was named to the Wall of Honor at his alma mater, Bernards High School, in

, New Jersey.

KTR Motorsports

In addition to passing on an interest in jazz, Geils's father took him to auto races in Pennsylvania in the 1950s. Geils became fascinated with Italian sports cars. He drove in five races a year during the early 1980s, at the peak of the J. Geils Band's popularity. He opened KTR Motorsports, an automobile restoration shop in

Ayer Ayer may refer to: Places * Ayer, Massachusetts, United States ** Ayer (CDP), Massachusetts, the central village in the town of Ayer ** Ayer (MBTA station), commuter rail station * Aller, Asturias, a municipality in Spain known in Asturian as A ...

, Massachusetts to service and repair vintage sports cars such as

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

and

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

. He sold the shop in 1996, though he continued to use the shop and participate in the company.

Personal life and death

In 1982, Geils moved to Groton, Massachusetts. The town honored him by proclaiming J. Geils Day on December 1, 2009. In September 2016, Geils was arrested and charged with drunk driving after allegedly rear-ending a car in

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

, Massachusetts. On April 11, 2017, Groton Police conducted a well-being check on Geils and found him unresponsive at his home. He was pronounced dead from

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

at age 71.

Discography

As Jay Geils * ''Bluestime'' - with

Magic Dick Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

(

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

, 1994) * ''Little Car Blues'' - with Magic Dick (Rounder, 1996) * ''Jay Geils Plays Jazz!'' ( Stony Plain, 2005) * ''Jay Geils, Gerry Beaudoin and the Kings of Strings featuring Aaron Weinstein'' ( Arbors, 2006) * ''Toe Tappin' Jazz'' (North Star, 2009) As New Guitar Summit * ''New Guitar Summit'' - with

(Stony Plain, 2004) * ''Live at the Stoneham Theatre'' (Stony Plain, 2004) * ''Jazzthing II'' - with

Randy Bachman Randolph Charles Bachman (; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Bachman recorded as a solo artist and was part of a num ...

(Koch, 2007) * ''Shivers'' (Stony Plain, 2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geils, J. 1946 births 2017 deaths American jazz guitarists American male guitarists American rock guitarists Lead guitarists American rock singers Atlantic Records artists Bernards High School alumni Blues rock musicians EMI Records artists Harmonica blues musicians People from Far Hills, New Jersey Rounder Records artists The J. Geils Band members Worcester Polytechnic Institute alumni 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Massachusetts 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians American people of German descent