Guitarist and frontman J. Geils (John Warren Geils Jr.) of the J. Geils Band has died at the age of 71. WCVB-TV Boston reported that J. Geils was found in his Groton, Massachusetts home. J. Geils classics “Centerfold” and “Freeze Frame” were played constantly by me when I was growing up in the 80s.

SPIN“>SPIN wrote:

As leader of The J. Geils Band, the group had 17 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including 10 top 40-charting hits. The band’s biggest single, “Centerfold,” spent six weeks at No. 1 and “Freeze-Frame” peaked at No. 4.

Billboard reached out to the Groton Police Department to confirm the report, but they declined to comment at this time.

Geils formed The J. Geils Band in 1967 with Danny Klein, Magic Dick Salwitz, Stephen Jo Bladd and Peter Wolf (later Seth Justman joined) while studying mechanical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. They released 11 studio albums before breaking up in 1985. The group would reunite on and off over the years following.

Some of J. Geils hits: