Peter Wolf | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Woofa Goofa |
| Born | Peter Walter Blankfield (1946-03-07)March 7, 1946 (age 79) New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1964–present |
| Labels | |
| 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 ofThe J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983[2] and as a solo artist.[3]
Wolf was born Peter Walter Blankfield on March 7, 1946, inthe Bronx, New York City.[1] He attended theHigh School of Music & Art, located in westHarlem,Manhattan, near theApollo Theater. He often attended the Apollo, seeing many of the famous soul, rhythm & blues, and gospel artists who influenced him.
He moved toBoston,Massachusetts, to attend theSchool of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts[1] on scholarship, where he studied painting. His first roommate was film directorDavid 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 theCombat Zone area of Boston and developed a large following as one of the first bands to play at theBoston Tea Party. During this period, they appeared on bills withThe Velvet Underground,Howlin' Wolf,Muddy Waters,Van Morrison (who became close with Wolf while residing in nearbyCambridge, Massachusetts),John Lee Hooker, andSun Ra.[4]
During his time performing with the Hallucinations, Wolf was asked to help establish Boston's radio stationWBCN 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 theJ. Geils Band. Wolf and keyboardistSeth Justman were responsible for most of the band's songwriting.[citation needed] Wolf was working in California in 1970; Barret Hansen credits Wolf with helping to develop the persona ofDr. Demento, which Wolf conceived as "some mythical character" while, as Hansen recalled, Wolf was "smoking some weed" with a mutual colleague.[5]
During the early days ofMTV, the band enjoyed heavy airplay of their videos "Centerfold" and "Love Stinks". They toured stadiums withthe Rolling Stones and others. Following the success ofFreeze 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 theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.[citation needed]
Wolf's first solo recordLights Out (1984) was produced withMichael Jonzun of theJonzun Crew. The album featuresAdrian Belew,G. E. Smith,Elliot Randall,Yogi Horton,Mick Jagger,Elliot Easton, andMaurice Starr. The single "Lights Out" written withDon Covay became a hit the same year, peaking at No. 12 on theBillboard Hot 100. The song was all featured in the 1984 Rob Reiner filmThe Sure Thing.
In 1985, Wolf duetted withAretha Franklin on the track "Push" from her albumWho's Zoomin' Who? and also appeared on theArtists United Against Apartheid song, "Sun City". In 1987, Wolf released his second solo albumCome as You Are, with the title track notching Wolf another top-15 hit on the pop chart and a number one hit on theMainstream Rock Chart. A later single "Can't Get Started" received radio play.
His albumLong Line (1996) received four stars from Rolling Stone magazine.Long Line andFool's Parade (1998) started his collaboration with singer/songwriterKenny White producing.Sleepless (2002) featured guest appearances from Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and was highly praised byRolling Stone as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Wolf has collaborated with Angelo Petraglia and long-time writing partnerWill Jennings. Wolf's 2010 albumMidnight Souvenirs won Album of the Year at theBoston Music Awards.[6][7] On the album, Wolf performed duets withShelby Lynne,Neko Case, andMerle Haggard. His eighth solo album,A Cure for Loneliness, was released in April 2016.[8]
Wolf inductedJackie Wilson and thePaul Butterfield Blues Band into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Wolf married actressFaye Dunaway in 1974.[9] They divorced in 1979.[10]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [11] | US Rock [12] | US Folk [13] | US Indie [14] | AUS [15] | SWE [16] | ||||||||
| 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[15] | 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 |
| International | |
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