Peter Wolf
(Born March 7, 1946)
is an American
musician best known
as the lead vocalist
of
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
nd 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.
TRACKLIST
Freeze-Frame
Flamethrower
Just Can't Wait
I Do
[Live]
Centerfold
Come Back
Wild Man
Wild Man
Land Of A Thousand Dances
[Live]
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