Peter Wolf

Biography

Peter Wolf (born March 7, 1946) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of The J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983 and as a solo artist.

Early life and education

Wolf was born Peter Walter Blankfield on March 7, 1946, in the Bronx, New York City. He attended the High School of Music & Art, located in west Harlem, Manhattan, near the Apollo Theater. He often attended the Apollo, seeing many of the famous soul, rhythm & blues, and gospel artists who influenced him.
He moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to attend the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts on scholarship, where he studied painting. His first roommate was film director David Lynch.

Career

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 the Combat Zone area of Boston and developed a large following as one of the first bands to play at the Boston Tea Party. 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.
During his time performing with the Hallucinations, Wolf was asked to help establish Boston's radio station WBCN and became their first all-night deejay creating the moniker Woofa Goofa as his on-air personality. 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 the J. Geils Band. Wolf and keyboardist Seth Justman were responsible for most of the band's songwriting. Wolf was working in California in 1970; Barret Hansen credits Wolf with helping to develop the persona of Dr. Demento, which Wolf conceived as "some mythical character" while, as Hansen recalled, Wolf was "smoking some weed" with a mutual colleague.
During the early days of MTV, the band enjoyed heavy airplay of their videos "Centerfold" and "Love Stinks". They toured stadiums with the Rolling Stones and others. Following the success of Freeze 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 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Solo work

Wolf's first solo record Lights Out (1984) was produced with Michael Jonzun of the Jonzun Crew. The album features Adrian Belew, G. E. Smith, Elliot Randall, Yogi Horton, Mick Jagger, Elliot Easton, and Maurice Starr. The single "Lights Out×Lights Out1984 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Lights Out4:272I Need You Tonight3:403Oo-ee-Diddley-Bop!4:154Gloomy Sunday3:385Baby Please Don't Let Me Go4:046Crazy3:527Poor Girl's Heart3:078Here Comes That Hurt3:189Pretty Lady3:4710Mars Needs Women2:4211Billy Bigtime4:40" written with Don Covay became a hit the same year, peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was featured in the 1984 Rob Reiner film The Sure Thing.
In 1985, Wolf duetted with Aretha Franklin on the track "Push" from her album Who's Zoomin' Who? and also appeared on the Artists United Against Apartheid song, "Sun City". In 1987, Wolf released his second solo album Come as You Are×Come as You Are1987 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Can’t Get Started3:012Love on Ice4:123Thick as Thieves2:594Blue Avenue4:075Wind Me Up2:506Come as You Are2:447Flame of Love4:168Mamma Said4:049Magic Moon3:39102 Lane3:2411Run Silent Run Deep4:39, with the title track notching Wolf another top-15 hit on the pop chart and a number one hit on the Mainstream Rock Chart. A later single "Can't Get Started×Can't Get Started1987 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksA1Can't Get Started (Extended Mix)4:38A2Can't Get Started (LP Version)3:02B1Can't Get Started (Dub Version)5:03B2Mamma Said4:04" received radio play.
His album Long Line×Long Line1996 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Long Line3:332Romeo Is Dead3:243Rosie4:274Forty to One3:025Goodbye (Is All I'll Send Her)3:546Wastin' Time4:167Sky High3:458Two Loves3:309Break This Chain4:4610Seventh Heaven3:4811Starvin' to Death3:2712Riverside Drive5:25 (1996) received four stars from Rolling Stone magazine. Long Line and Fool's Parade (1998) started his collaboration with singer/songwriter Kenny White producing. Sleepless (2002) featured guest appearances from Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and was highly praised by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Wolf has collaborated with Angelo Petraglia and long-time writing partner Will Jennings. Wolf's 2010 album Midnight Souvenirs×Midnight Souvenirs6 April 2010 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Tragedy4:312I Don't Wanna Know2:543Watch Her Move3:584There's Still Time5:095Lying Low3:126The Green Fields of Summer2:577Thick as Thieves2:448Always Asking for You2:589Then It Leaves Us All Behind3:3310Overnight Lows5:0811Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky2:1412Don't Try to Change Her3:3313The Night Comes Down (For Willy Deville)3:5714It's Too Late for Me2:47 won Album of the Year at the Boston Music Awards. On the album, Wolf performed duets with Shelby Lynne, Neko Case, and Merle Haggard. His eighth solo album, A Cure for Loneliness×A Cure for Loneliness8 April 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Rolling On4:072It Was Always So Easy (To Find an Unhappy Woman)2:413Peace of Mind3:494How Do You Know3:075Fun for Awhile3:376Wastin’ Time (live)4:017Some Other Time, Some Other Place3:518It’s Raining4:199Love Stinks (live)2:2510Mr. Mistake1:4311Tragedy2:4612Stranger1:30, was released in April 2016.
Wolf inducted Jackie Wilson and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Wolf married actress Faye Dunaway in 1974. They divorced in 1979.

Memoir

Wolf, Peter (2025). Waiting on the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters, and Goddesses. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 9780316571722.