Peter Wolf (2)

Whew! There's what's shared and what remains opaque in this Zelig-like memoir from the Woofa Goofa, the former frontman of the underrated J. Geils Band. Peter Wolf was a Bronx boy who moved to Cambridge to become an artist and took a gig on WBCN, the renowned rock station that broke Springsteen, the Cars, and Aerosmith. But no mention of any of the other DJs there, including Maxanne Satori, the only woman and the possessor of the best ear. He falls in love with the blues and by virtue of show more hanging out at the clubs and being persistent, he develops strong friendships with Howlin' Wolf, James Cotton, BB King, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and Bobby "Blue" Bland. They stay with Wolf when they're in Boston and enjoy his record collection, which contains some rare discs that the artists themselves haven't heard in years. And then there's Van Morrison, whose wife sends Wolf postcards at WBCN asking him to play Van on his show. Van and Peter become tight, but Van's miserable personality and thriving on grudges keep them distant for years, although one of the best stories recounted is a concert where Dylan and Van are trying to figure out what song to duet on, with Peter as the go-between (Van says he won't do "Knockin on Heaven's Door" because it's too "commercial") but ends up doing it anyway, with George Harrison silently looking on, and then admitting it went well. Wolf also hangs out with the Hollywood crowd after marrying Faye Dunaway, who, as Dorothy Faye, seems to be his true love. After their divorce, it's life on the road, opening for the Stones and Springsteen, and loving life in Geils until his songwriting partner Seth Justman kicks him out of the band, for reasons which are not explained, and the hurt is palpable. Geils implodes and Wolf slinks off for ten years until he takes a shot at a solo career. He seems to know everyone - Warhol, Robert Lowell, Sly Stone, Julia Child, Alfred Hitchcock - and he was around for the Highwaymen sessions with Willie, Waylon, Kris, and Johnny Cash; writes songs with Don Covay and Merle Haggard; is at the studio with John Lennon and Harry Nilsson, and even holds Aretha's train at a salute to Sam Cooke. There's lots of wonderful photos, but in them, Wolf looks like the headlight deer, like he's still thinking, "Why do I get to be here?" PS -check out the Dylan blurb on the back cover. show less

Love Peter Wolf's contributions to many musical moments of my life, but in this anecdote saturated memoir, he doesn't dwell on his journey as a musician so much as tell fascinating tales of some of the people he met and the experiences he had along the way.

The name dropping doesn't reach gratuitous status, but there are a lot of famous names with whom he has crossed paths/had brushes with, including Marylinn Monroe, David Lynch, Andy Warhol, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, and so many more. The show more fact that he was married to one of the most celebrated actresses of an era (Faye Dunaway), and fronted the J. Geils Band as they rose to the top of the charts, there is bound to be some overlap with many iconic names that occuppied the pop culture stratosphere.

The memoir doesn't conern itself with chronological flow as much as each sections come across like a story that feeds the narrator's enthusiasm in the moments that he is telling them. I feel as if Wolf probably has another book's worth of stories he could spin, and look forward to reading them if he does. show less

Peter Wolf, the former frontman of the J. Geils Band, cares only about the clothing his celebrity friends wore and the beverages they consumed. That’s my conclusion after reading this surprisingly vapid, anecdotal memoir. I expected better from him.

This is an engaging memoir written by a man who seems to have known a lot of interesting celebrities from the late 20th century. Wolf's self-deprecating voice, knowledge of the music industry and access to inside information gives his memoir a highly personal feel.