Peter Wolf | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Peter Walter Blankfield |
| Also known as | Woofa Goofa |
| Born | March 7, 1946 New York City, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1964–present |
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| Formerly of | The J. Geils Band |
| Website | www |
Peter Wolf (born March 7, 1946) [1] is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of The J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983 [2] and as a solo artist. [3]
Wolf was born Peter Walter Blankfield on March 7, 1946, in the Bronx, New York City. [1] He attended the High School of Music & Art, located in west Harlem, Manhattan, near the Apollo Theater. He often attended the Apollo, seeing many of the famous soul, rhythm & blues, and gospel artists who influenced him.
He moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to attend the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts [1] on scholarship, where he studied painting. His first roommate was film director David Lynch.
In 1964, Wolf and fellow art students Paul Shapiro (guitar), Doug Slade (guitar), Joe Clark (bass), and Stephen Jo Bladd (drums) formed a music group, The Hallucinations. They performed at nightclubs in the Combat Zone area of Boston and developed a large following as one of the first bands to play at the Boston Tea Party. During this period, they appeared on bills with The Velvet Underground, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison (who became close with Wolf while residing in nearby Cambridge, Massachusetts), John Lee Hooker, and Sun Ra. [4]
During his time performing with the Hallucinations, Wolf was asked to help establish Boston's radio station WBCN and became their first all-night deejay creating the moniker Woofa Goofa as his on-air personality. [1] His show became a popular late night staple where he interviewed many of the well-known rock, blues, and jazz artists that were touring through Boston in the late 1960s.
In 1967, Wolf and Bladd joined the J. Geils Band. Wolf and keyboardist Seth Justman were responsible for most of the band's songwriting.
During 1982 and the early days of MTV, the band enjoyed heavy airplay of their videos "Centerfold" and "Love Stinks". They toured stadiums with the Rolling Stones and others. Following the success of Freeze Frame , the other band members wanted to take the band in a new pop direction musically, but Wolf wanted to stick to a more roots-based direction so he was asked to leave in 1983. In the ensuing years the band has been nominated five times for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Wolf's first solo record Lights Out (1984) was produced with Michael Jonzun of the Jonzun Crew. The album features Adrian Belew, G. E. Smith, Elliot Randall, Yogi Horton, Mick Jagger, Elliot Easton, and Maurice Starr. The single "Lights Out" written with Don Covay became a hit the same year, peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was all featured in the 1984 Rob Reiner film The Sure Thing.
In 1985, Wolf duetted with Aretha Franklin on the track "Push" from her album Who's Zoomin' Who? and also appeared on the Artists United Against Apartheid song, "Sun City". In 1987, Wolf released his second solo album Come as You Are , with the title track notching Wolf another top-15 hit on the pop chart and a number one hit on the Mainstream Rock Chart. A later single "Can't Get Started" received radio play.
His album Long Line (1996) received four stars from Rolling Stone magazine. Long Line and Fool's Parade (1998) started his collaboration with singer/songwriter Kenny White producing. Sleepless (2002) featured guest appearances from Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and was highly praised by Rolling Stone. as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Wolf has collaborated with Angelo Petraglia and long-time writing partner Will Jennings. Wolf's 2010 album Midnight Souvenirs won Album of the Year at the Boston Music Awards. [5] [6] On the album, Wolf performed duets with Shelby Lynne, Neko Case, and Merle Haggard. His eighth solo album, A Cure for Loneliness, was released in April 2016. [7]
Wolf inducted Jackie Wilson and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Wolf married actress Faye Dunaway in 1974. [8] They divorced in 1979. [9]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [10] | US Rock [11] | US Folk [12] | US Indie [13] | AUS [14] | SWE [15] | ||||||||
| Lights Out |
| 24 | — | — | — | 94 | 17 | ||||||
| Come as You Are |
| 53 | — | — | — | — | 26 | ||||||
| Up to No Good |
| 111 | — | — | — | — | 46 | ||||||
| Long Line |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| Fool's Parade |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| Sleepless |
| — | — | — | 39 | — | — | ||||||
| Midnight Souvenirs |
| 45 | 12 | — | — | — | — |
| |||||
| A Cure for Loneliness |
| 144 | 18 | 5 | — | — | — | ||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
| Year | Song | US Hot 100 | US MSR | US Dance | AUS [14] | CAN | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Lights Out" | 12 | 6 | 11 | 46 | 15 | Lights Out |
| 1984 | "I Need You Tonight" | 36 | 22 | - | 85 | ||
| 1984 | "Crazy" | - | 26 | - | |||
| 1985 | "Oo-Ee-Diddley-Bop!" | 61 | - | ||||
| 1987 | "Come as You Are" | 15 | 1 | 49 | 72 | 29 | Come as You Are |
| 1987 | "Can't Get Started" | 75 | 16 | - | |||
| 1990 | "99 Worlds" | 77 | 9 | - | 56 | Up to No Good | |
| 1996 | "Long Line" | - | - | - | Long Line | ||
| 1998 | "Turnin' Pages" | - | - | - | Fool's Parade |
Sir Michael Philip Jagger is an English singer, songwriter, actor, filmmaker, and dancer. He is the front man and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. Jagger has written most of the band's songs alongside lead guitarist Keith Richards; their songwriting partnership is one of the most successful in history, and they continue to collaborate musically. His career has spanned over six decades, and he has been widely described as one of the most popular and influential front men in the history of rock music. His distinctive voice and energetic live performances, along with Richards' guitar style, have been the Rolling Stones' trademark throughout the band's career. Jagger gained notoriety for his romantic involvements and illicit drug use, and has often been portrayed as a countercultural figure.
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.
The J. Geils Band is the self-titled debut studio album by American rock band The J. Geils Band. The album was released on November 16, 1970, by Atlantic Records.
The Morning After is the second studio album by American rock band The J. Geils Band. The album was released in October 1971, by Atlantic Records. The song "Cry One More Time" was later covered by Gram Parsons on his first solo album.
"Live" Full House is the first live album by American rock band The J. Geils Band, released in 1972.
Bloodshot is the third studio album by American rock band The J. Geils Band. The album was released on April 12, 1973, by Atlantic Records. It was the breakthrough release for the band, reaching #10 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States, a peak that the band would not surpass until their 1981 multi-platinum album Freeze Frame. The single version of "Give it to Me", which had a very different ending from the album version, reached #30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #15 on the Cash Box Top 100.
Ladies Invited is the fourth studio album by American rock band The J. Geils Band. The album was released in November 1973, by Atlantic Records.
Nightmares...and Other Tales from the Vinyl Jungle is the fifth studio album by American rock band The J. Geils Band. The album was released on September 25, 1974, by Atlantic Records.
Hotline is the sixth studio album by American rock band The J. Geils Band. The album was released on September 9, 1975, by Atlantic Records.
Monkey Island is the seventh studio album by American rock band the J. Geils Band, though it is credited with the shortened band name of "Geils", the only album in their catalog for which this was done. The album was released on June 9, 1977, by Atlantic Records.
Sanctuary is the eighth studio album by American rock band the J. Geils Band. The album was released in November 1978 and is the first released by EMI Records.
Best of the J. Geils Band is the first Best Of album by American rock band The J. Geils Band, released in 1979.
Love Stinks is the ninth studio album by American rock band the J. Geils Band. The album was released on January 28, 1980, by EMI Records.
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.
Showtime! is the third and final live album by American rock band The J. Geils Band during their career. It was recorded at the Pine Knob Music Theater in Clarkston, Michigan on September 4, 1982. While some critics consider it to be weaker than the group's two earlier live albums "Live" Full House (1972) and Blow Your Face Out (1976), this release captures the band at its commercial peak. The tracks are drawn primarily from the four studio albums released since Blow Your Face Out:Monkey Island (1977); Sanctuary (1978); Love Stinks (1980); and Freeze Frame (1981). This was the last release by the band before frontman Peter Wolf's departure in 1983.
You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd is the eleventh and final studio album by American rock band the J. Geils Band and the only one recorded without singer Peter Wolf. The band's keyboardist Seth Justman produced the album, did all the song and horn arrangements, wrote all the songs with lyrical help from Paul Justman, and provided the majority of the album's lead vocals, with drummer Stephen Jo Bladd singing lead on three tracks. Compared to the band's earlier works, which leaned towards a more live rock band sound, You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd emphasizes overdubbing and production. The album was released on October 5, 1984, by EMI Records.
John Warren Geils Jr., known professionally as J. Geils or Jay Geils, was an American guitarist. He was known as the leader of the J. Geils Band.
"Under My Thumb" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Under My Thumb" features a marimba played by Brian Jones. Although it was never released as a single in English-speaking countries, it is one of the band's more popular songs from the late 1960s and appears on several best-of compilations, such as Hot Rocks 1964–1971. It was included as the fourth track on both the American and United Kingdom versions of the band's 1966 studio album Aftermath.
"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.
"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.
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