"Centerfold" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by The J. Geils Band | ||||
from the album Freeze Frame | ||||
B-side | "Rage in the Cage" | |||
Released | September 13, 1981 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:36 5:01 (12") | |||
Label | EMI America | |||
Songwriter(s) | Seth Justman | |||
Producer(s) | Seth Justman | |||
The J. Geils Band singles chronology | ||||
|
"Centerfold" is a song by the J. Geils Band, released in September 1981 as the lead single from their tenth album Freeze Frame . It reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in February 1982 and held that spot for six consecutive weeks, becoming the most successful single of the group's career.
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. [5] 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. [5]
The song was the band's biggest hit and the only one to reach 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. 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.
Record World 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." [6]
In 2018, the song was ranked at No. 66 on Billboard's All Time Top Songs. [7] Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated it to be the band's all-time greatest song. [8]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
All-time charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [21] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada) [22] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [23] | Silver | 250,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [24] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
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 Dick" Salwitz, drummer Stephen Bladd, vocalist/keyboardist Seth Justman, and bassist Danny Klein. Wolf and Justman served as principal songwriters. The band played R&B-influenced blues rock during the 1970s and soon achieved commercial success before moving toward a more mainstream radio-friendly sound in the early 1980s, which brought the band to its commercial peak. They performed a mix of cover songs of classic blues and R&B songs, along with original compositions written primarily by Wolf and Justman, as well as some group compositions written under the pseudonymous name Juke Joint Jimmy, representing compositions credited to the entire band as a whole. After Wolf left the band in 1983 to pursue a solo career, the band released one more album in 1984 with Justman on lead vocals, before breaking up in 1985. Beginning in 1999, the band had several reunions prior to the death of its namesake, J. Geils, on April 11, 2017.
Freeze-Frame is the tenth studio album by American rock band the J. Geils Band, and the last one to feature original vocalist Peter Wolf. The album was released on October 26, 1981, by EMI Records. It reached number one on the United States Billboard 200 album chart in February 1982, and remained at the top for four weeks. The album featured the hit singles "Centerfold" and "Freeze Frame". "Angel in Blue" also reached the US Top 40.
"Physical" is a song recorded by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John for her 1981 eleventh studio album of the same name. It was released as the album's lead single in 1981. The song was produced by John Farrar and written by Steve Kipner and Terry Shaddick, who had originally intended to offer it to Rod Stewart. The song had also been offered to Tina Turner by her manager Roger Davies, but when Turner declined, Davies gave the song to Newton-John, another of his clients.
"Open Arms" is a song by American rock band Journey. It was released as a single from the Heavy Metal soundtrack and their 1981 album, Escape. Co-written by band members Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain, the song is a power ballad whose lyrics attempt to renew a drifting relationship. It is one of the band's most recognizable radio hits and their biggest US Billboard Hot 100 hit, reaching number two in February 1982 and holding that position for six weeks. It also reached number two in Canada.
"Hard to Say I'm Sorry" is a 1982 power ballad by the group Chicago. It was written by bassist Peter Cetera, who also sang the lead vocals on the track, and producer David Foster. It was released on May 17, 1982, as the lead single from the album Chicago 16. On September 11 it reached No. 1 for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the group's second No. 1 single. It was their first top 50 hit since "No Tell Lover" in 1978 and it spent twelve weeks in the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100. The single was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in September of the same year. Songwriter Cetera, a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), won an ASCAP Pop Music Award for the song in the category, Most Performed Songs.
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"Long Train Runnin'" is a song recorded by American rock band the Doobie Brothers and written by band member Tom Johnston. It was included on the band's third album, The Captain and Me (1973), and was released as a single by Warner Bros., becoming a hit and peaking at No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Telephone Line" is a song by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in May 1977 through Jet Records and United Artists Records as part of the album A New World Record. It was commercially successful, topping the charts of Canada and New Zealand and entering the top 10 in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
"Big Bang Baby" is a song featured on Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop, the third album by the band Stone Temple Pilots. It was the first single to be released from the album, which appeared on several Billboard record charts: No. 28 on the Hot 100 Airplay, No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and No. 2 on the Modern Rock Tracks charts.
"Kiss You All Over" is a 1978 song performed by American group Exile, written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. It was included on the band's third album, Mixed Emotions (1978), and featured lead vocalist Jimmy Stokley and guitarist J.P. Pennington on vocals. On the American Top 40 broadcast of May 26, 1979, Casey Kasem reported that Chapman stated his source of inspiration for "Kiss You All Over" was "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" by Barry White. The song was a number one single in the United States, but proved to be Exile's only big hit in the pop market.
The following is a comprehensive discography of John Mellencamp, an American singer-songwriter. During Mellencamp's career in the recording industry, he has released 24 studio albums, two live albums, four compilation albums, and 71 singles.
"The One Thing" is a song by Australian rock group INXS, released in July 1982 as the first single ahead of their third studio album, Shabooh Shoobah, which appeared in October that year.
"Lookin' for a Love" is a song written by J. W. Alexander and Zelda Samuels and was the debut hit of the family group the Valentinos, which featured Bobby Womack. The song was a hit for the Valentinos, climbing to number eight on the R&B chart and crossing over to number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962, released on Sam Cooke's SAR label. The song became a much bigger hit when Womack issued a solo version in 1974; this version reached number one on the R&B chart and number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. As well, an interim version of "Lookin' for a Love" by the J. Geils Band in 1971 was a top-40 hit for them, peaking at number 39.
"Angel in Blue" is a song written by Seth Justman that was first released by the J. Geils Band on their 1981 album Freeze Frame. Cissy Houston and Luther Vandross appear on the song as back up vocalists. "Angel in Blue" was also released on a number of J. Geils Band compilation albums, including Centerfold, The Very Best J. Geils Band Album Ever and Best of The J. Geils Band, as well as several multi-artist compilation albums.
"Love Stinks" is a song written by Peter Wolf and Seth Justman that was the title track of the J. Geils Band's 1980 album Love Stinks. The song was released as a single and peaked in the US at #38, spending three weeks in the Top 40. In Canada, the song reached number 15, as it did on WLS-AM in Chicago.
"Freeze-Frame" is a song written by Seth Justman and Peter Wolf for the J. Geils Band. It was first released as the opening track on the chart-topping 1981 album of the same name. The song was released on a 45 in early 1982 as the second single from the album, following the million-selling US #1/UK #3 hit "Centerfold". The single's flip side, "Flamethrower", received airplay on urban contemporary radio stations throughout the United States, and reached #20 on the Billboard Soul Chart.
"Come Back" is a song by the J. Geils Band, appearing on their 1980 album Love Stinks. "Come Back" was the first single from the album, and reached the US Top 40, peaking at No. 32 and remaining in the Top 40 for five weeks. It peaked at No. 19 for two weeks in Canada. It also made Billboard's Club Play Singles chart, peaking at No. 69. The song remains in the rotation of classic rock radio stations.
The discography of American rock band The J. Geils Band consists of 11 studio albums, three live albums, eight compilation albums, one video album, and 30 singles. Formed in 1967 in Worcester, Massachusetts, the band consisted of guitarist J. Geils, singer Peter Wolf, harmonica player Magic Dick, bassist Danny Klein, keyboard player Seth Justman, and drummer Stephen Jo Bladd. Their debut album, The J. Geils Band (1970), released by Atlantic Records, charted at number 195 on the United States Billboard 200. Their second album, The Morning After (1971), peaked at number 64 on the Billboard 200 and number 73 on Canada's Top Albums chart. It produced the single "Looking for a Love", which reached the top 40 in the US and in Canada.
"Flamethrower" is a song by the J. Geils Band released in 1982 as the B-side to the single "Freeze Frame", from their multi million selling album of the same name.
The '80s pop-rock staple from the '70s road warriors that hits all the right notes through 3:36 of organ...
The band doesn't take the situation too seriously, either. Instead, they build a supercharged synth-rock motor for it.