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.
Don't Try To HideYourself
The J. Geils Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It hurt so bad that they ended our relationship
I can't believe it
Four years go down the drain
How I wish things would have happened so differently
I tried to say this many times but still you couldn't see
You kept insisting and resisting
And now you're trying to tell me that you're sorry
And you're trying to come back home
You're telling me you really need me
Crying begging both knees on the floor
But baby, I
Don't want to try
Don't want to try
Don't want to try no more
You keep insisting
When you know our love is out the door
Don't want to try
Don't want to try cause all we do is fight
And say the things that we want to hold back?
To where we both begin to cry
Don't want to try
Don't want to try about your sadden love
It's been a rough road
Baby just let it go
Don't want to try
Don't want to try
Don't want to try no more
Tell me what's the use of holding on
When all we do is hurt our love
You've died? in many conversations on the telephone
Talks about one day of having a place of our own
Wake up in the morning and have breakfast ready on the table
But all of that seems so far away from me
Had to wake up face reality
It all just seemed to good to be true
After all you put me through
And now you're trying to tell me that you're sorry
And you're trying to come back home
You're telling me you really need me
Crying begging both knees on the floor
But baby, I
Don't want to try
Don't want to try
Don't want to try no more
You keep insisting
When you know our love is out the door
Don't want to try
Don't want to try cause all we do is fight
And say the things that we want to hold back?
To where we both begin to cry.
Don't want to try
Don't want to try about your sadden love
It's been a rough road
Baby just let it go
Don't want to try
Don't want to try
Don't want to try no more
Tell me what's the use of holding on
When all we do is hurt our love
The song "Don't Try To Hide" Yourself, by the J. Geils Band, explores the aftermath of a failed romantic relationship, with the singer refusing to try again despite their partner's pleas for reconciliation. The lyrics express a deep sense of hurt and betrayal, as the singer reflects on how their love story has come to an end, with four years of their life feeling wasted. They are unable to forgive their partner, who hurt them deeply by saying things that caused the relationship to fail. Despite their partner's attempts at reconciliation, they are adamant about not wanting to try again, stating that their love is "out the door."
The lyrics convey a sense of deep pain and loss, as well as the struggle to move on from a failed relationship. The singer is torn between their desire for a happy future and their inability to forget the past. The song's poignant lyrics are beautifully accompanied by the music, which features intense guitar solos and a powerful drumbeat. The J. Geils Band's unique sound, which blends rock, blues, and soulful R&B, is on full display in this song, making it a beloved classic.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't believe you had the nerve to say the things you said
Your hurtful words were unacceptable and ended our relationship.
It hurt so bad that they ended our relationship
Your words caused so much pain and damage that our relationship couldn't survive.
Four years go down the drain
The time and effort invested in us has gone to waste.
How I wish things would have happened so differently
I regret the way things turned out and wish they had been different.
I tried to say this many times but still you couldn't see
I tried to communicate my feelings, but you didn't understand or listen to me.
You kept insisting and resisting
You refused to accept my perspective or acknowledge the problems in our relationship.
That you would not fall again
You were determined to avoid getting hurt or experiencing the same pain as before.
And now you're trying to tell me that you're sorry
You're attempting to apologize and make amends for your past actions.
And you're trying to come back home
You want to return to our relationship and reconcile with me.
You're telling me you really need me
You're expressing your dependency and desire for me to be in your life.
Crying begging both knees on the floor
You're pleading and desperate for a second chance, displaying outward distress.
But baby, I
However, I
Don't want to try
I don't want to put in any further effort or attempt to fix our relationship.
Don't want to try no more
I've given up on trying to salvage our relationship, as it's beyond repair.
You keep insisting
Despite my refusal, you continue to persist in trying to win me back.
When you know our love is out the door
You're aware that our love has faded away and is irretrievable.
Don't want to try cause all we do is fight
Our interactions only lead to more conflict and strife, making it not worth the effort to try and reconcile.
And say the things that we want to hold back?
We end up saying hurtful things that we wish we could take back and keep unsaid.
To where we both begin to cry
Our emotional conversations cause us both to become upset and cry.
Don't want to try about your sadden love
I don't want to attempt to address or fix the issues that have caused you to be unhappy in our relationship.
It's been a rough road
Our relationship has been marked by difficulty and hardship.
Baby just let it go
It's time to move on from our relationship and let it go.
Tell me what's the use of holding on
There is no point in continuing to cling to our relationship when it is no longer working.
When all we do is hurt our love
Our relationship causes more harm and pain than good, making it not worth holding on to.
Lyrics © JELLYBEAN MUSIC GROUP, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: FRANCISCO BAUTISTA, JAIME ISMAEL GALVEZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Robert Hylton
WOW.
I remember when this band came out.
This song did not get a lot of airplay when it was released.
Because of the lyrics and vocal style, it was too hot to be played until after 10 PM.
Most stations singed off at midnight or on Fr&Sa night until 2AM .
These were local mom and pop owned AM stations.
If I remember correctly this band was in a horrible low budget "Hippy" movie from that time.
Just a hideous train wreck of a movie.
What made this a minor hit was the fuzzed out lead guitar.
Yes Jimi had that sound however by that time this sound had been around since the begining of the British Invasion.
Mostly if not the first for this sound was the YARDBIRDS.
The other bands started so it became part of the English sound.
Jim lived in England and had met tons of his peers.
Point is this Fuzz sound came from mostly San Francisco or LA.
I guess you could call it the
Hippy Garage Band sound.
TheCWPFilms
Spontaneous Corruption were a psychedelic rock trio that included Danny Sheridan (bass), Kenny Hamlin (guitar), and Greg Giancola (drums).
Robert Hylton
WOW.
I remember when this band came out.
This song did not get a lot of airplay when it was released.
Because of the lyrics and vocal style, it was too hot to be played until after 10 PM.
Most stations singed off at midnight or on Fr&Sa night until 2AM .
These were local mom and pop owned AM stations.
If I remember correctly this band was in a horrible low budget "Hippy" movie from that time.
Just a hideous train wreck of a movie.
What made this a minor hit was the fuzzed out lead guitar.
Yes Jimi had that sound however by that time this sound had been around since the begining of the British Invasion.
Mostly if not the first for this sound was the YARDBIRDS.
The other bands started so it became part of the English sound.
Jim lived in England and had met tons of his peers.
Point is this Fuzz sound came from mostly San Francisco or LA.
I guess you could call it the
Hippy Garage Band sound.
The Married Pranksters Channel
This is great stuff!
Narinder Dhanjal
Johnny dude - this is the psych nuts - awesome stuff!
Mario Fiammenghi
primitive sound but energic and cool ! ! !
The Married Pranksters Channel
Great Stuff! Thanks for sharing!
TheCWPFilms
The band recorded a couple songs at Cleveland Recording and got it on Philips records through producer Roger Karshner. "Freaky Girl" was a band original and sounds like a bluesy snarl take off on Hendrix's "Purple Haze". The flip side "Looking Glass of Time" includes some outrageous non-sequiteurs like "Mr. Jones' kidney stones on the ground....a crack is running through my seam....".
ForeverCones
i saw this lp at the youth ranch yesterday, i just might go back and get it now.
Dale Sutter
Band name is actually Spontaneous Corruption. Lable is shown in the booklet.
Barry De Lisle
The 60s were cool