Rock Musician. A guitarist, he was a founding member of the music ensemble The J. Geils Band. They shall be remembered for their gold singles "Centerfold" (1981) and "Freeze-Frame" (1981). Born John Warren Geils Jr. in New York City, he was raised in New Jersey (Morris Plains and Bernardsville). Brought up on heavy doses of jazz music (a love of his father's), young John was first acquainted instrumentally with the drums and trumpet. He enrolled at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, where he continued to play the trumpet in the school's marching band. By this period, he had expanded his musical interests to blues and folk. He transferred to Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he prepared for a career as a mechanical engineer and met fellow musicians Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz and Danny Klein with whom he formed the early lineup of The J. Geils Band. The group was completed with Seth Justman, Stephen Jo Bladd and Peter Wolf, as their lead vocalist. After achieving a following on the Boston-area nightclub circuit, they signed with Atlantic Records and released their self-titled debut album in 1970. This was followed up with "The Morning After" (1971), "Live Full House" (1972), "Bloodshot" (1973), "Ladies Invited" (1973), "Nightmares....and Other Tales from the Vinyl Jungle" (1974, which contained the hit "Must of Got Lost"), "Blow Your Face Out"(1976), "Monkey Island" (1977), "Sanctuary" (1978) and "Love Stinks" (1980). Their album "Freeze-Frame" (1981) achieved number one status in the United States in 1982. Their hit "Centerfold" earned a number one spot, placing for six weeks on the Billboard chart. The group disbanded during the mid-1980s, but would reunite thereafter. Geils remained an active performer as both a member of The J. Geils Band and as a solo artist.