Died On This Date (April 11, 2017) John Geils / Founder Of The J. Geils Band

John Geils
February 20, 1946 – April  11, 2017

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John Geils, known professionally as J. Geils, was the founder and lead guitarist of the popular Boston blues rock band, the J. Geils Band.  From an early age, Geils was surrounded by jazz and blues music thanks to his dad’s influence.  As a child, he could work out Miles Davis’ music on the trumpet and drums. He also taught himself the by listening to the likes of Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters on the radio.  When it came time for college, Geils chose Northwestern University where he played trumpet in the marching band.  He soon moved over to Worcester Polytechnic University where he met Peter Wolf, Danny Klein, Magic Dick Salwitz and Seth Justman, and the J. Geils Band was soon formed. They released their first album in 1970, but even though they received plenty of FM airplay and marveled concert audiences all over the country, it took another 12 years and 11 albums before they hit #1 with Freeze Frame.  The band have several charting singles throughout their run, including “Musta Got Lost,” “Freeze Frame,” “Love Stinks,” and most famously,  “Centerfold.”  The J. Geils Band broke up in 1985, after which, Geils began driving race cars and opened an auto restoration shop.  In 1996, he sold the shop and went on to participate in band reunions over the next two decades before retiring in 2012.  On April 11, 2017, local police paid a well-being visit on J. Geils’ home only to find him deceased at the age of 71.  Cause of death was not immediately released.

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Died On This Date (March 16, 2017) James Cotton / Blues Great

James Cotton
July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017

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According to a press release from Alligator Records, world-renowned blues harmonica master James Cotton, whom Rolling Stone called, “One of the greats of all time, burning with brilliant virtuosity,” died on March 16, 2017 of pneumonia at St. David’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas. He was 81. His overwhelmingly powerful harmonica playing was one of the iconic sounds of the blues. He toured worldwide for over 60 years.

Born on a cotton plantation in Tunica, Mississippi on July 1, 1935, Cotton was a working musician by age nine. He learned harmonica directly from Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller), toured with Williamson and Howlin’ Wolf, and recorded for Sun Records in 1953 before spending 12 years touring and recording with Muddy Waters (starting at age 20). Cotton was featured on Muddy’s famous 1960 At Newport LP on Chess Records, including the iconic version of Got My Mojo Working, one of the classic recordings of Chicago Blues.

After his 1953 Sun sessions, Cotton didn’t record under his own name again until the mid-1960s, with tracks included in the groundbreaking Chicago/The Blues/Today! series of LPs on Vanguard. Along with Otis Spann, he cut The Blues Never Die! for Prestige.

In 1966 he formed The James Cotton Band, quickly earning a reputation as one of the most commanding and potent live blues performers in the world—a man who could literally suck the reeds out of his harmonica from the pure force of his playing. He made his initial solo albums, three for Verve and one for Vanguard, in the late 1960s.

Cotton’s blistering talent and full-throttle energy kept him in demand at concert halls all over the country. He played the Fillmore East in New York, the Fillmore West in San Francisco and every major rock and blues venue in between. During the 1970s, he cut three albums for Buddah and one for Capitol.

Cotton signed with Alligator Records in 1984, releasing two solo albums and the famed Harp Attack! with Junior Wells, Carey Bell and Billy Branch. He won a Grammy Award in 1996 for his Verve album, Deep In The Blues and recorded four albums for Telarc Records before returning to Alligator in 2010. His most recent recording was 2013’s Grammy-nominated Cotton Mouth Man.

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Died On This Date (May 30, 2012) Pete Cosey / Guitarist For Miles Davis

Pete Cosey
October 9, 1943 – May 30, 2012

Pete Casey was a legendary Chicago guitarist who is most often associated with Miles Davis with whom he played between 1973 and 1975.  But his musical footprint by no means stopped with the jazz great.  For several years, Cosey was a house guitarist for Chess Records which afforded him the opportunity to play on records by the likes of Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Etta James.  After he parted ways with Davis in 1975, Cosey continued working but with mostly far lower-profile artists than he had during his early years.  Pete Cosey passed away on May 30, 2012.  He was 68.

Thanks to Harold Lepidus for the assist.




Died On This Date (December 4, 2011) Hubert Sumlin / Chicago Blues Legend

Hubert Sumlin
November 16, 1931 – December 4, 2011

Hubert Sumlin was a Chicago Blues electric guitarist and singer who is most often remembered for his time playing with Howlin’ Wolf during the 1960s.  Decades later, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at #43 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time. Raised in Arkansas, Sumlin was just six when he began playing to guitar, and he was still just a youngster when he first met Wolf after sneaking into one of his shows.  Years later, Wolf, who had by then settled in Chicago, invited Sumlin to move up and join him in his band.  By 1955, Sumlin was the lead guitarist of the group, and would stay as such for the rest of Wolf’s career.  Sumlin can be heard on Wolf’s landmark album, Howlin’ Wolf, which is considered one of the greatest blues albums of all times.  He also played with Muddy Waters for a brief time.   Sumlin released several of his own albums between 1964 and 2004 when he had to give up recording after having one of his lungs removed.  He did, however, continue to perform up into his final years.   In 2008, Sumlin was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, and over the years he received four Grammy nominations.  Hubert Sumlin died of heart failure on December 4, 2011.  He was 80.

Thanks to Harold Lepidus for the assist.

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I Know You - Hubert Sumlin

Died On This Date (November 20, 2010) Albert “Little Smokey” Smothers / Chicago Bluesman

Albert “Little Smokey” Smothers
January 2, 1939 – November 20, 2010

Little Smokey Smothers was a popular Chicago-area blues singer and guitarist.   Smothers was playing the guitar by the time he turned 15, and within two years, he had moved from his home in Mississippi to Chicago to make his mark.  In those early years, he played with the likes of Magic Sam, Otis Rush and Howlin’ Wolf, for whom he played on his Chess recordings.   During the early ’60s, Smothers met Paul Butterfield and soon helped him form the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.  He played with most of the blues greats during the ’60s, but his career all but dried up by the ’70s so he left the business to work construction.  His music career enjoyed a renaissance during the ’90s – he spent the next several years performing at popular blues festivals and recording albums.  After his health began to deteriorated during the mid-2000s due to diabetes, old friends and collaborators like Elvin Bishop stepped in to help with fund raisers, etc.  On November 20, 2010, Little Smokey Smothers died of natural causes.  He was 71.

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That's My Partner! - Elvin Bishop