Groton Police went to Geils’ home for a simple well-being check, but he was found to be unresponsive and was declared dead at the scene. Foul play wasn’t suspected, and preliminary investigations suggest Geils died of natural causes, according to police.
Their biggest hits included Must of Got Lost, which reached No. 12 on Billboards Top 100 in 1975 and Love Stinks, a humorous rant against unrequited love, the title song of their 1980 album. Their most recent tour was in 2014-15 when they opened for classic rocker Bob Seger.
The band released twelve albums over the course of their decades-long career.
The J. Geils Band was one of the most popular American touring bands of the 1970s. The band officially broke up in 1985, occasionally coming together for reunion shows. He founded the J. Geils Band in 1968 and the group landed on the Billboard 200 in 1973 for their record Bloodshot.
When not playing music, Geils was restoring sports cars, starting a performance shop, KTR European Motorsports, in Ayer, Mass., after he started collecting Italian motorcycles and sports cars.
Guitarist J. Geils band mate and lead vocalist Peter Wolf shared a message on Facebook on his demise. The group was comprised of Stephen Jo Bladd, Danny Klein, “Magic” Dick Salwitz, Peter Wolf and Seth Justman. The 71-year-old Geils hadn’t performed alongside Wolf since 2011, when it was discovered that the guitarist had trademarked the name “J”. The J. Geils Band was so huge at the time that the likes of The Eagles, U2 and Billy Joel served as their opening acts at the height of their popularity.
Geils and the band are best known for their album, “Freeze Frame” and the song “Centerfold”, which hit No. 1 for six weeks.
Geils’ contemporaries, including musicians from the band Foghat and The Fixx, expressed their condolences on Twitter. The band released their first self-titled album, The J Geils Band, after dropping the “Blues” name. “R.I.P Jay Geils”, Wolf wrote.
When the J. Geils Band hit the road in 2012, its namesake had been replaced on guitar by Duke Levine, and Geils never played with the band again.