Peter Wolf

Peter Wolf (born Peter W. Blankfield, March 7, 1946) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of the J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983 and for a successful solo career with writing partner Will Jennings.

Peter Blankfield was born in The Bronx, New York City, New York to Allen and Lillian Blankfield.

He attended the High School of Music & Art, located in west Harlem near the Apollo Theater. He often attended the Apollo, seeing many of the great soul, rhythm & blues and gospel artists that had an enormous influence on him. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to attend the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University on scholarship, where he studied painting. His first roommate was film director David Lynch.

In 1964, Wolf and fellow art students Paul Shapiro, Doug Slade, Joe Clark, and Stephen Jo Bladd formed a group called 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 nightclub. 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.

While performing with the Hallucinations, Wolf was asked to join Boston's radio station WBCN as their "all night" deejay. He used the name Woofa Goofa for his on-air personality. His show was very popular, and he interviewed many of the great rock, blues and jazz artists that were touring through Boston in the late 1960s.

In 1967, a revamped J. Geils Band was formed with Wolf on vocals. As the group's frontman, Wolf was known for his charismatic presence and fast-talking quips made him known as one of rock's most dynamic stage performers. During the early days of MTV, the band achieved wider success with their widely played videos. Because of the band's constant touring, they established international success and toured stadiums with The Rolling Stones. Wolf and keyboardist Seth Justman were responsible for most of the band's songwriting. Creative differences followed their multi-platinum album Freeze Frame. Wolf parted ways with the J. Geils Band in 1983 to pursue a solo career.

Peter Wolf with the J. Geils Band in Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California

In 1999 the J. Geils Band reunited for a series of tours, while Wolf continued recording and performing as a solo artist.

The J. Geils Band have been nominated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame five times.

Peter Wolf jumping (1982)

Wolf's first solo record, Lights Out (1984), was produced with Michael Jonzun, of the Jonzun Crew, and featured Adrian Belew, G. E. Smith, Elliot Randall, Yogi Horton, Mick Jagger, Elliot Easton, and Maurice Starr. The single "Lights Out" written with Don Covey became a hit the same year, peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Wolf appeared on the Artists United Against Apartheid project's song, "Sun City" in 1987.

In 1987, Wolf released his second solo album, Come As You Are, with the title track notching Wolf not only another top-15 hit on the pop charts but also a number one hit on the Mainstream Rock Charts.A later single, "Can't Get Started", also had wide radio plays.

His album Long Line (1996) and with his fifth album, Fool's Parade (1998), started his long collaboration with singer/songwriter Kenny White and Sleepless (the latter featuring guest appearances from Mick Jagger and Keith Richards), were both highly praised byRolling Stone, receiving five stars, respectively. Sleepless (2002) was noted as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time in Rolling Stone issue 937.

Wolf's 2010 album Midnight Souvenirs won Album of the Year at the Boston Music Awards.

On the album Midnight Souvenirs, Wolf performed duets with Shelby Lynne, Neko Case and Merle Haggard.

Wolf had inducted one of his idols, Jackie Wilson and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band into The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.

His eighth solo album, A Cure for Loneliness, was released in April 2016 to critical acclaim.

Wolf married actress Faye Dunaway in 1974. They separated in 1978 and divorced in 1979.

Studio albums

Singles