BlankJ. Geils of 1980s J. Geils band found dead in his Groton, Mass. home Maria
Puente , USA TODAY John Warren Geils Jr., the artist known professionally as
J. Geils who gave his name to the 1980s rock group he founded, The J. Geils
Band, was found dead in his Groton, Mass., home Tuesday. He was 71. Groton
Chief of Police Donald Palma Jr. confirmed the death but did not immediately
provide details. The news was first tweeted by WCVB TV in Boston. Guitarist
known as J. Geils found dead in Massachusetts home https://t.co/RWcOsC28U2 ;
pic.twitter.com/UCzlNbSp1v Geils was a vocalist and guitarist for The J. Geils
Band, which he formed in Worcester, Mass., in 1967, when he was attending
school
at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. In the 1970s, the band'achieved success
with a bluesy-rock sound and built up a strong following by constant touring,
opening for such bands as The Allman Brothers and The Byrds. They were known
for their use of the harmonica as a lead instrument. They moved to a more
mainstream hit-making new-wave sound in the 1980s. Their third album, Freeze
Frame , ' was No. 1 for four weeks in 1983, and its hit song,' Centerfold , was
No. 1 for six weeks on the Billboard Top 100. 'Another song fans might
remember from 1980: The humorous' Love Stinks . The band broke up in 1985 but
got back together for reunions regularly ever since. When not playing music,
Geils was restoring sports cars, starting a performance shop, KTR European
Motorsports, in Ayer, Mass. In 1992, he joined his old bandmate Richard "Magic
Dick" Salwitz to form the band Bluestime, which released two records: the
self-titled Bluestime (1994) and Little Car Blues (1996) on Rounder Records.