The band started as an acoustic blues trio in the mid 1960s with singer and guitarist J. Geils (born February 20, 1946; died April 10, 2017), bassist Danny Klein (Dr. Funk) and harpist Richard Salwitz (stage name Magic Dick). The band formed under the name Snoopy and the Sopwith Camels while Geils was attending Worcester Polytechnic Institute for a couple of semesters. In 1967 the band switched focus, starting to play electric guitar and bass and recruiting drummer Stephen Jo Bladd and fast-talking ex-disc jockey singer Peter Wolf, born Peter Blankenfeld, both from Boston. The following year Seth Justman joined as an organist, and the group signed to Atlantic Records in 1970.
The J. Geils Band first received FM radio airplay with the live single "First I Look at the Purse", then had several hit singles in the 1970s, the most successful of which was "Must Of Got Lost" (1974). Later in the 1970s, the band signed with EMI America Records.
The band had good success covering soul singles. Besides the well-known aforementioned "First I Look at the Purse" from The Contours, they covered the more obscure "I Do" from The Marvelows and "Ain't Nothing But a House Party" from The Showstoppers.
The group's commercial fortunes improved in the early 1980s, first with the humorous "Love Stinks", then with their great success with the Freeze Frame album which included "Centerfold" (#1 for six weeks on the Billboard Hot 100) and then the title cut (#4). Wolf left the group in 1983 for a solo career not long after, over disagreements about whether to continue to take the band in more of a popular direction, or continue with the purist tradition.
The band went on to record one more album of new material, You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd, after Wolf left. He was not replaced, and Seth Justman took over most of the vocal duties. The album produced only one single - "Concealed Weapons", a song about breasts - and was not a success. The band toured in support of the album, but never again recorded anything new. The group then disbanded in 1985 after contributing the title song to the 1985 horror film Fright Night.
The group was not reunited with Wolf until 1999, and subsequently broke up again when ticket sales proved extremely disappointing. Wolf continues to tour with his own backup band, and the rest of the Geils band makes occasional appearances. Since the semi-retirement of the band, Geils has been restoring sports cars in Massachusetts.
On 22 May 2006, the six original members had a surprise reunion, the first time they had all played together in over 20 years, at bassist Danny Klein's 60th birthday party at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston.
Since 2009 they are reunited once more.
The band disbanded in 2017 after the death of bandleader J. Geils.
Angel in Blue
The J. Geils Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Out on Chesapeake Bay
With her white patent boots
And her blouse red lame
A table top dancer
She would smile on cue
Oh those lips of an angel
She'd been dancin for ages
Through cities of bars
She was kickin' the habit
Of scoring in cars
She'd been drained of her spirit
All caged up in this zoo
A wild cat angel
Angel in blue
And as she stared out into nowhere
I thought yes I thought she might break down and cry
Oh when I whispered I thought I could love her
She just said, "Baby don't even bother to try"
And I watched as she spoke
Her words chilled my bones
All her friends did her favors
That were really just loans
And she never had dreams
So they never came true
Oh the palest of angels
Angel in blue
And the bees they had stung her
The birds they had flown
There were guys she could number
But none had she known
And she never had dreams
So they never came true
Oh my fade away angel
Angel in blue
Angel in blue
Angel in blue
Angel in blue
The J. Geils Band's song Angel in Blue depicts the story of a woman named Angel who works as a table-top dancer in bars scattered throughout various cities. The singer meets Angel in a bar out on Chesapeake Bay where she appears in her white patent boots and red lame blouse. Angel isn't quite the typical table-top dancer, though; she would smile at the cue, and her lips give away the impression that she is an angel in blue.
The song goes on to describe Angel's backstory, wherein she's been stripped of all the vitality she once had, all because she feels trapped like in a caged zoo. Angel has been dancing for ages, but regardless, she's trying to kick her addiction of obtaining drugs in exchange for sexual favors. She's never been able to follow her dreams, and her so-called friends would lend her money, which was everything she thought constituted companionship. The singer can feel her pain and offers her his love, but Angel shuns him and asks him not even to bother trying. The song ends with the realization that Angel's fate was never meant to change.
Line by Line Meaning
We met in a bar
Our encounter took place at a bar
Out on Chesapeake Bay
The bar was located near Chesapeake Bay
With her white patent boots
She wore white patent boots
And her blouse red lame
She wore a red lame blouse
A table top dancer
She was a performer of table top dancing
She would smile on cue
She was able to smile whenever required
Oh those lips of an angel
Her lips were as appealing as those of an angel
Angel in blue
She was an angelic character with a blue mood
She'd been dancin for ages
She had been performing for a long time
Through cities of bars
She had danced at many bars across different cities
She was kickin' the habit
She was trying to overcome her addiction
Of scoring in cars
She was trying to end the habit of engaging in sexual activities with strangers in cars
She'd been drained of her spirit
She had lost her vitality
All caged up in this zoo
She felt trapped or confined
A wild cat angel
She was like an untamed angel
And as she stared out into nowhere
She looked into the distance without any specific focus
I thought yes I thought she might break down and cry
I had a feeling that she might burst into tears
Oh when I whispered I thought I could love her
I suggested that I could love her
She just said, "Baby don't even bother to try"
She rejected my offer and asked me not to bother attempting to love her
And I watched as she spoke
I observed her as she spoke
Her words chilled my bones
Her words had a shivering effect on me
All her friends did her favors
Her friends helped her out
That were really just loans
Her friends actually lent her money
And she never had dreams
She never had aspirations
So they never came true
As a result, her aspirations remained unfulfilled
Oh the palest of angels
She was a very pale or faint angelic character
Angel in blue
She was an angelic character with a blue mood
Angel in blue
She was an angelic character with a blue mood
Angel in blue
She was an angelic character with a blue mood
Angel in blue
She was an angelic character with a blue mood
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MU JIN JANG, SETH JUSTMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind