The J. Geils Band was an American music group from Worcester, Massachusetts… Read Full Bio ↴The J. Geils Band was an American music group from Worcester, Massachusetts, USA that had a successful blues-rock/R&B-influenced sound in the 1970s, before moving towards a more pop-influenced sound in the 1980s, which brought them MTV airplay and their 1982 international hit single "Centerfold".

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.

Cruisin' for a Love
The J. Geils Band Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Somebody help me
Somebody help me now
Somebody help me now

Somebody help me
Find my baby
Somebody help me
Find my baby right now

(CHORUS)
I`m looking for a love
I`m looking for a love
I`m looking here and there
I`m searching everywhere
I`m looking for a love
To call my own

Gonna get up in the morning
And rub my head
I`m looking for a love
To call my own

Fix my breakfast
And bring it to my bed
I`m looking for a love
To call my own

Do my love
Do it all the time
I`m looking for a love
To call my own

With lots of love and kisses
But people until then
I`m looking for a love
To call my own

(CHORUS)

Stay in my corner
All the way, yeah
I`m looking for a love
To call my own

Stick by me, baby
No matter what they say
I`m looking for a love
To call my own

I`ll give my love
To her all the time
I`m looking for a love
To call my own

Loving, kissing
People on the way
I`m looking for a love
To call my own

(CHORUS)

Somebody help me
To find my baby
I said I`ve got to find
My baby right now

I`m looking in the morning
I`m looking at night
Got to find my baby
But she`s nowhere in sight

Somebody help me
To find my baby
I said I`ve got to find
My baby right now

I`m looking in the morning
I`m looking at night
Got to find my baby
She`s nowhere in sight

I`m looking, I`m looking
I`m looking, I`m looking......

Overall Meaning

The J. Geils Band's song "Cruisin' for a Love" is a classic rock ballad about searching for true and meaningful love. The song starts with the singer asking for help in finding his baby, his soulmate. He repeats the phrase "Somebody help me" several times to emphasize the urgency of his search. In the chorus, the singer says that he is looking for love everywhere and is searching for a love to call his own. The rest of the song continues with the singer talking about his daily routine in looking for love, but he still hasn't found it yet. The song suggests that finding true love is a challenging and oftentimes fruitless search, but the singer remains optimistic and persistent in his quest for love.

Line by Line Meaning

Somebody help me
The songwriter is asking for assistance

Somebody help me now
The songwriter urgently needs help

Somebody help me
The songwriter is asking for assistance

Find my baby
The songwriter wants to find their lover

Somebody help me
The songwriter is asking for assistance

Find my baby right now
The songwriter urgently needs to find their lover

(CHORUS)
The chorus is calling for love