Kris Geils
Kris Geils used to be married to rock and roll guitarist John Geils of The J. Geils Band. Her ex-husband was found dead at his home in Massachusetts reports say. Jay Geils was 71.
Kris Geils and her famous hubby were married for nearly three decades before their split in 1999. The two had an amicable split and remain friends after, according to the Boston Globe. Her husband was one of the most recognized names in rock music.
The New York native formed the J. Geils Blues Band with Danny Klein, Magic Dick Salwitz, Stephen Jo Bladd and Peter Wolf at Worcester Polytechnic Institute while studying mechanical engineering.
The group later shrunk to just Geils, Klein and Salwitz under the name The J. Geils Band and signed with Atlantic Records in 1970.
After 11 albums, the band’s 12th album, ”Freeze Frame,” went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts for four weeks in 1981 and remained on the chart for 70 weeks. MTV was just gaining momentum, and the video shot to accompany the single ”Centerfold” exposed the band to a whole new generation of fans. ”Centerfold” spent six weeks at No. 1 on Billboard. The title track ”Freeze Frame” made it to No. 4.
For those not old enough to remember them properly, they were big, and to prove it, TMZ notes, the Eagles, U2 and Billy Joel all opened for J. Geils on the road.
Following the band’s break-up in 1983, Jay Geils led a quiet life in Groton, playing jazz and blues on his collection of vintage guitars and producing tracks in a studio in Acton. The band was thrown in the spotlight again by their nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the first time in 2004.
The got back together for several reunion tours and shows, a reunion tour of the J Geils Band in 1999 packed venues and renewed interest in one of Boston’s original party bands.
Most recently as the opening act for Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band in 2014 and 2015.
Kristine A Geils and John Geils were married for 28-years. During happier times the two moved from a modest home in Carlisle to a horse farm in Groton.
The couple led quiet lives in the suburbs and tried to remain out of the spotlight.
However fame put a strain to the marriage. During an interview Jay revealed that, between 1971 and 1984, he was on a plane every third day.
During those years, Kris Geils surrounded herself with friends and the families of the other band members, and focused on her horses and dogs on the farm. But at times, the fame became intrusive.
She said: ”I used to say to Jay that I cannot imagine what it would have been like to have been someone really famous, like Elizabeth Taylor, because at times, I felt that I couldn’t even walk around my own house in my nightgown.”
She also added ‘It was the fans that made him a success that also made it difficult at times.’
After their split Kris Geils worked as a real estate agent.
