John Geils, guitarist and leader of the J. Geils Band dead at 71

John Geils of the J. Geils Band  

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John Geils, the guitarist and leader of the J. Geils Band — which churned out 80s hits like “Centerfold” and “Love Stinks” — was found dead Tuesday inside his Massachusetts home, a report says.

The 71-year-old was discovered unresponsive by police in Groton at around 4 p.m. after officers conducted a well-fare check at the residence, according to WCVB-TV Boston.

Sources told the local outlet that he was pronounced dead at the scene and that there was no foul play suspected.

Geils, who was born John Warren Geils Jr., had lived in Groton for the past 35 years.

The guitar-shredding rocker formed The J. Geils Band in 1967 with Danny Klein, Magic Dick Salwitz, Stephen Jo Bladd and Peter Wolf. Keyboard player Seth Justman joined the group two years later.

Before breaking up in 1985, the band released 11 studio albums and a slew of big hits — 17 of which landed in the Billboard Hot 100.

They included their biggest single, “Centerfold,” which sat at No. 1 for six weeks, and the 1981 song “Freeze-Frame,” which made it to No. 4.

The group would reunite repeatedly over the years, but in 2012, Geils decided to leave for good.

They had been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year for the fourth time, but were ultimately passed over as part of the 2017 class.

After learning of his passing, social media users from Boston and across the country began urging their local radio stations — and even the organist at Fenway Park — to pay tribute to Geils by playing some of the band’s most famous jams.

“I know you usually only take in-park requests, but maybe you could play a J. Geils tune in light of this sad breaking news,” one person asked Josh Kantor, who plays the organ at Red Sox games.

“Please play some J.Geils,” tweeted another fan. “Not centerfold…deep catalogue lots to play.”








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