Formed in Worcester, Massachusetts in '67, The J. Geils Band began as an acoustic blues trio. After adding hyperkinetic frontman Peter Wolf and other key members, they earned a reputation as a party band, scoring occasional FM radio hits and gaining fans one sweaty live show at a time. Their LPs started to chart regularly in the late '70s, and they made a breakthrough with 1981's Freeze Frame, which enjoyed four weeks atop the Billboard 200. The group disbanded in '85, but periodically resurfaced for live performances.