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Buzz Knight
Taking a Walk I'm Buzz Knight and welcome to the Taking a Walk podcast. Now today we're gonna revisit one of my favorite conversations, my music history on foot walk with the legendary Peter Wolf. As the iconic frontman of the J. Giles Band and a solo artist with the Midnight Travelers, he continues to captivate audiences. His impact on rock and roll is completely undeniable. I'm just absolutely such a fan of Peter's. The conversation takes us into a dive about his journey, about his certainly incredibly amazing latest book. And of course I want to put on your radar some tour dates with Peter and the band. He's going to be playing in Portsmouth, New Hampshire February 19th, the Cabot in Beverly, Mass. On March 7th and also the legendary Fillmore April 17th in Detroit, Michigan. Coming up, our episode our Replay with Peter Wolff on Taking a Walk.
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Buzz Knight
Taking a Walk well, I'm pleased to welcome to the Taking a Walk podcast. One of the great human beings in the universe stands tall as one of music's greatest frontmen ever. Peter Wolf, former lead singer of the Jay Giles Band, amazing solo artist, painter, former dj. He can add author now to his resume. His tremendous memoir is called Waiting on the Moon and now he can also add to that list New York Times Bestseller. Pete, welcome to Take It a Walk.
Peter Wolf
Well, thank you for having me, Buzz and the introduction. Thank you for the plaudits and kudos. At first I didn't know whom you might have been speaking about until I heard my name.
Buzz Knight
We're going to talk about drifters and grifters and goddesses, but I do have to ask you our signature Taking a Walk question, since that is the name of the podcast. If you could take a walk with someone, Pete, living or dead, who would it be and where would you take that walk with them?
Peter Wolf
Well, living or dead makes a big ocean. There's so many historical figures, so many important artists, writers. You know, you go from Homer to Shakespeare, interesting figures, mysterious figures. You know, as far as musicians, there's Beethoven and artists. There's just so many that I can think of one that comes to mind. If I was able to meet with Van Gogh and let him know that he what a success he became and how important he became to so many people. But in thinking about people, I would probably say my wish would be to be able to take a walk with my father. The reason for that is he was such an influence on my life, as I state in the book, and he was so artistically aware that There are things that he turned me onto musically and artistically as far as painting and things that took me years, years after he passed to really appreciate what it was about it. Certain classical music, of course, I was not sophisticated enough to appreciate certain movements and pieces that he just thought was the bee's knees and certain painters and artists that he loved, even contemporary, you know, like Miro, the Abst. Spanish abstract expressionist, and so many different things he knew about. He was such a brilliant man. So I think walking with him and discussing anew some of the things that I appreciate that I learned through him, and I know that there is a wealth of other things he could turn me on to. So I would. I would say my father would be, out of all the people I could meet, would be the first on my list.
Buzz Knight
Ah, that's so great.
Peter Wolf
And that's.
Buzz Knight
That's. I appreciate you. You sharing that for sure. You know, one of the songs, one of the many songs that rings through my head when I, you know, was reading the book was your great song from your. Your solo work. There's a lot of good ones gone, you know, and your father's certainly one of them, but there's. There's a lot of them in the book who aren't with us anymore. Right?
Peter Wolf
Yeah. You know, two things. It's funny because Peter Gurlnick, who is a great writer, who's did all those great books on Elvis Presley, you know, if anyone's interested in Elvis Presley, Peter Gurlnick's book, Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love are the definitive biographies of Elvis. And he did one on Sam Cooke and the great producer Sam Phillips. And he said to me, you know, Pete, you've been talking about this book for over 15 years since I, you know, and you better finish it soon because everybody you want. Who you'll want to read it, they'll be dead if you don't hurry up. And there was some truth to that because a lot of people had passed since the time I started it, which took about two years from now. And. Yeah, so that's one thing and an important thing, and also lots of good ones. Gone was a song that I wrote with Will Jennings, who I write about in the book. He was a song collaborator, and Will was a great songwriter, and he wrote songs like Tears from Heaven by, you know, with Eric Clapton, all the Stevie Winwood songs, Higher Love and songs that won Academy Awards, you know, win Beneath the Wings. And I found out that John Lee Hooker passed, who was an old friend. And there's a chapter in the book about my relationship with John Lee, I remember mentioning with Will, we worked together out of this home in Santa Barbara. And I remember mention him mentioning, you know, John Lee passed. And I said, man, there's sure a lot of good ones gone. And he smiled and said, that's it. He gave me a pad, he took a pad, and thanks to him, we got that song.
Buzz Knight
It's one of my many favorites. And it does nail it in terms of the beauty of the storytelling here in your great book, did your proximity living so close to the Apollo Theater, did it kind of begin the backbone of your sort of musical thirst and your passion for great performance?
Peter Wolf
Well, it did, but first I have to say that I followed my sister who was going out on a date. And the date was to several of the Alan Freed Cavalcade of Stars. So at the age of 10, this was one show. And I had to research it because I couldn't quite believe it. And maybe it was a combination of two shows of Alan Freed's Cavalcade of Stars. And at 10 years old, I got to see Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard. I saw Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers, Bo Diddley, the Everly Brothers, Dion and the Belmonts, Buddy Holly, Joanne Campbell, the Blonde Bombshell. And coming out in the coffin in the middle of the stage with the stage lights all dark, and all of a sudden the coffin lid slowly opened and out came screaming Jay Hawkins prancing around the stage singing I put a spell on you. And I think seeing all those great first generation rock artists just blew my head off. And that was a memory I'll never forget, because each artist had a dynamic and an individual stage presence. You know, Chuck Berry did the Chuck walk. Jerry Lee Lewis kicked the piano. Richard, you know, you know, just was the Richard boy, you know, he was just a powerhouse. And Buddy Holly, you know, needs no description. So it was just amazing. There was doo wop bands, there's Chantelles singing maybe, you know, and they were all young, Everyone was young. And I was 10. And that had an amazing impact. And I didn't live in Harlem, but my high school was in Harlem. And so my high school, it was the High School of Music and Art, and it was on 135th street, and the Apollo was on 125th Street. So I'd walk across, you know, and downtown. And every Wednesday night or Wednesday late, you know, in the evening, late in the afternoon, I'd go see Wednesday, they had a movie, the Amateur Night, and then the entire Apollo review. So I got to See so many legendary artists such as Jackie Wilson, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Diane Washington. I got to see John Coltrane, Ray Charles and Betty Carter. I mean, the list is just, you know, enormous and the Drifters and just so many artists. And as Don Kove explains to me in the book that in his chapter, he said, you know, Pete, all of us artists, meaning Sam Cooke and Salomon Burke and Wilson Pickett and Joe Tex and Benny King, Reetha, we all came out of the church and we felt ourselves as the minister, and the audience was the congregation. And the job of the artist was to get the congregation moving and get them the spirit of the music. And he said, if you didn't do that, you failed. And that the audience expected it, expected to be, you know, spiritually moved. And it was that lesson that, you know, as a performer that I took with me, because when I was 10, I didn't realize, you know, I just. I was just so excited. But it was at the Apollo, I could see the way Jackie Wilson would manipulate an audience or, you know, different artists, you know, James would, you know, non stop pageantry and, you know, down on the knees with the cape and the whole. The whole nine yards. So it. And also the great comedians at the Apollo, Moms Mabley and Pyg Meat Martin, here come the judge, and so Flip Wilson and so many different great comedians. So it was a. As far as performer and as far as learning the craft, the Apollo was my college, my college of musical knowledge.
Buzz Knight
I'd say. And you got to roam pretty free through. Through the streets of New York. You're. It's fair to say, Pete, your parents gave you a very long leash while you were able to go take in music, explore what was happening, just take the vibe in. And it contributed to your amazingly diverse, you know, passion for all different styles of music. I mean, you were in the Village one time, next year at the Apollo. I mean, it was just. It was an endless stream of great inspiration, right?
Peter Wolf
Oh, yeah. And, you know, I always had a wanderlust. I was always a very active kid. And so my parents were aware of that. Also New York, it was a different time. So as a kid of, you know, 12 or even younger, sometimes I'd get on the subway and just go all the way down to Coney Island. Me and a couple of guys, we just say, let's go to Coney Island. And, you know, you get on the train in the Bronx and last stop was Coney island, and you'd walk all around, and they had all the Ferris wheel and a parachute jump and I would go off by myself. You know places I really loved to hang out was 42nd Street. I'm a 12 year old kid. And there was all the penny arcades and the shooting galleries and all the Hubert's Flea Circus which was sort of like Ripley's Believe it or Not. It was this amazing museum of magic and Hustlers and Broadway was filled with all, you know, these little shops and totally different than it is now. And then, of course, once I got down to Greenwich Village, I was a little bit older. There was all the great folk music and all the little clubs that really didn't. In the coffee houses that you really didn't have to pay to get into. You could drop money and a hat if you chose to. And you could get a, you know, a kind of soft drink or something and sit there for hours. And also they had great jazz clubs like the Village Vanguard and the Five Spot. And I would just stand outside and I'd hear. One week I could hear Thelonious Monk and the next week I could hear Charles Mingus and it was just non stop. So between the folk music, you know, where you would hear people like the Greenbrier Boys or you know, Bob Dylan in a small club or Dave Van Ronck and. Or these jazz greats and sort of later on there'd be some rock clubs where you'd catch, you know, some of the Young Rascals or you know, the beginnings of bands like Mountain and Leslie west and people like that. So there was. I remember seeing the Doors when they first came to a club in New York. So it was a cornucopia of delights. It was all available and economically it was feasible so you could spend, you know, days upon days, adventure upon adventure. And some of it I tried to capture in the book.
Buzz Knight
You did it so brilliantly. And the stories, I mean, there's so many favorites. The interactions from the beginning that you had with, with Bob Dylan, observing his, his performance and then being able to have some choice interactions that are just incredible. When you were writing the book, had you kept notes of things all along in your life journal or whatever or. Because there's a lot of stuff that you go back into and you painted in brilliantly colorful detail.
Peter Wolf
Well, I never kept journal. I mean I would keep like, you know, a calendar, would say, you know, dentist, two o', clock, you know, meeting over at, you know, so and so record station or call this person or you know. But basically about 20 years ago I sat down and I was Thinking about a book and I wrote out an outline which I printed out and put in the loose leaf folder. And it pretty much starts from the early memories chronological to all the way up to what then was the present. I kept referring to it and if I thought of something I would add to it. But I didn't really do anything with it until I started about two years ago and I found the book, the notes and I just marked off the ones I thought would be interesting to start with. And that's how I started about five or six vignettes because I did not want. The book is composed of really short stories. Each chapter is its own short story. So there's about 35 chapters or 34 chapters, I'm not sure. But if you say like interested in Sly Stone? You can read about Sly Stone or you can read about some, there's some early periods of my life in there or if you're into Louis Armstrong or Julia Childs, so. Or Tennessee Williams. So they're all, you know, listed there in the chapters. But you could just pick up the book, read a six page chapter and put it back down and not, not have to worry about any time aspect because each chapter should have its own, if I'm successful, should have its own beginning, middle and end. And that's how I attempted to write it. And the two things that I, I said to myself that I wasn't going to do was I wasn't going to write about my marriage and I wasn't going to write about the J. Giles band. And I just wanted to make a book of short stories of my adventures of the people that I admired, that I were privileged enough to get to know and just try to not kiss and tell, but tried to demonstrate and show what they were like as artists, as, you know, interacting with them, you know, what their personalities were like. Because I read so many books and said, oh yeah, we played with Bo Diddley, or we played, you know, well, what was Bo Diddley like? Was he friendly, was he unfriendly? Or you know, he played with Chuck Berry, what was he like? Or if he met, you know, a certain famous person and had some quality time, well, what were they like? And a lot of books would just say, oh. And so I didn't want it to be just a list of famous people. That wasn't my intention because there's a lot of people that I write about in the book that nobody would really know about unless reading the book. So once I started writing Little Brown, my publishing company and my agent, Andrew Wiley, Both said, you know, Pete, I think people are curious about the Giles band and curious about your marriage. And I said, well, it's not one of those books. And my agent said, well, why don't you try just writing a bit about each and see how that goes. And once I started writing about my marriage, one chapter led to another because I realized my marriage with Faye, who was then a, you know, very world famous actress and at the height of her career when we met, I realized what an amazing time we had together because it was at a period when there was really no rock and rollers and actors that were married. I'm sure there were, but, you know, I mean, after we got married, Faye Dunaway and I got married, I remember Greg Allman and Cher got married for about five minutes. But Faye and I had five, six years of a really incredible period. And it was based, the marriage was based on. We each supported each other in our careers. Her career was, you know, paramount and important to me and my career was paramount and important to her. And she would fly, you know, to meet the band on the road and I'd fly out to see her on a movie set. And so once I realized, you know, how rich my marriage was and how many adventures we both shared, I felt that they were right, that it needed it was part of the narrative. And for the Giles band, I read so many books by musicians that, you know, go into so much detail about, you know, the band and this and that and which is fine if you're really interested in that artist or that band. And I didn't want to do that sort of cookie cutter type musician memoir. So I did a chapter on the band which basically in a very edited way talked about the beginning of it, you know, the middle of it. And I explained my version which I, you know, stand by why it ended. And so those were the two issues that came later on. We'll be right back with more of.
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The Taking a Walk podcast.
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Welcome back to the Taking a Walk podcast.
Buzz Knight
Your time at WBCN in Boston is chronicled in, in the book so well and it's. You just you know, once again paint some great pictures there of what was, what was going on. I know you did a fair amount of interviews while you were working at bcn. I guess the first was Rashawn Roland Kirk actually that you, that you interviewed. Who were some of the other folks you remember that while you were on BCN that were interviews, whether they be memorable or not, what you thought they would be.
Peter Wolf
Well, there was Van Morrison, there was Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck with Ronnie Wood when they first blew into town under the Jeff Beck Group. There was Pete Townsend, I had Carla Thomas, who was the R and B great. There was Muddy Waters, there was John Lee Hooker. There was so many different artists that James Cotton, Muddy Waters, Lou Reed I had, we talked with. And the, the wildest thing about it all my show was on at midnight and it was an all night show, which I love because I'm an insomniac. And it was the woof. A goof of mama too for show making your knees freezing, your blood splatters in you. It's got to come out because that was rock and roll is all about welcome the O.J. s little ladies and the night the kid from Alabama keeping it all his. All the ships out at sea, doing it to it and getting right through it. We're going to have some fun until the midnight sun and you know, give me a call and let me know out there y' all and stuff like that. And I would just go and play and take phone calls and I, I, it was like a, a dream come true for me because I love radio. I grew up with radio. Radio was so important to me growing up that being a DJ was, you know, again, like almost everything in the book. The people that I talk about, Tennessee Williams, Julia Childs, even Fay, my marriage to Faye, were all people I met just by hap, you know, by circumstances, you know, serpentipity. It wasn't, it's like I was standing in a record store and I heard this voice behind the curtain. Turned out to be Bob Dylan. You know, it's not like, you know, he, I pursued because I was so interested in his, you know, music. But so many people I just met by just, you know, luck of the drawer. And as these interviews came up, what happened was my radio show, since it started at midnight in that era, everything in Boston closed down. TV stations went off at midnight. All the Stores and restaurants were closed, and the only thing open was all night diners, you know, the Hayes Bickfords or, you know, Waldorf's coffee shops. And so a lot of musicians that came to town. I was the only thing on the air, really, that was of any interest to most musicians or people. So I got to get the creme de la creme. And, you know, people, you know, Freddie Hubbard from the Art Blakey Jazz Band and all. Just all sorts of people that rolled into town that, you know, I invited up to the station because people were just unwinding and it was great.
Buzz Knight
Well, first of all, I can die and go to if there is a heaven for you. Just doing your BCN opening rap there. That's the first thing I have to say. The smile on my face hopefully comes through. But the second part to that is, do you mind telling the story how you were getting male to play more Van Morrison? I love that.
Peter Wolf
Oh, well, when I was on the show, there was this artist, Ordsley Beardsley, and he, you know, did these very distinctive drawings that somebody made postcards of. And I would start receiving these postcards, and it's very feminine handwriting, you know. Love your show. Listen to it all the time. Can you please play John Lee Hooker, Sonny Boyle Williamson and Van Morrison. And they would come once, sometimes twice a week. And I always try to play a Van Morrison song. And because I was such a fan, the group Them. And at that time, he had Brown Eyed Girl come out, but he hadn't started, really started his major solo career as we know it. Then one day I got this postcard on a beard, you know, same artist on the other side. And it had this wild kind of handwriting. Hey, mongo bongo man, you know, play more John Lee Hooker. More Hooker. And so I was at this club which became. Eventually became the Boston Tea Party. And that was a venue where we used to practice. My first band of all art students, we got together and I think 1964, and we were called the Hallucinations. And we would rehearse. And then one day, this young guy came into the club and he came up to me and, hey, you know, with a strange kind of accent. Yeah. Looking for the manager. Looking for a manager. I said, well, I don't know if the manager's here. I'll search around for him. And I couldn't find the manager. So we got to talking and I asked him, you know, what kind of music he played. And he told me he just moved to town, and we were waiting for the manager. I knew would be coming back in about an hour or so. So we were just having a wrap, and he was asking me about other clubs. And I mentioned some other clubs that, you know, he might want to check out. Then he was telling me about, you know, what things he liked in Boston. He said, one of the things he really liked was listening to this woofer goofa, you know, late at night. I said, really? He said, oh, yeah. He said, you know, I love his show. I said, well, I'm the wolfa Goofa. He goes, what? I go, yeah. And he goes, no. And I said, what do you mean, no? He said, no, he's black guy. He's an old black guy. I said, no. I said, it's me. And I went through the rap the Wolf Mama, too. And he couldn't believe it. He said, well, hey, man, you know, thank you so much for playing my records. I said, your records? He said, yeah, I'm Van Morrison. And I said, you got to be kidding me. Because, you know, I really didn't know what, you know, Van looked like. I've seen pictures, but, you know. And so that started the beginning of a friendship that still goes on to this day.
Buzz Knight
I love it. That's so great. And I have to ask you, though, the interaction with Sly Stone.
Peter Wolf
Oh, boy.
Buzz Knight
And in particular, the brilliant quote, the cherries swimming in buttermilk, I believe was the quote. When you looked at him, looked at his eyes, that was. That was a pivotal meeting in some regards for you, wasn't it?
Peter Wolf
Well, I was such a huge fan, and Sly was at the height of his career, and he was so influential. I mean, along with James Brown, those two gentlemen created what we know as funk. And so many bands that came after, you know, even the Philly sound, when you hear the Temptations, you know, Papa Was A Rolling Stone. So much of the arrangements and things were really due to Sly's influence on the music scene. And then, of course, James Brown. And between the two of them, you know, one could say they were the roots of funk music. And their impact was enormous. James obviously came first and affected Sly. But Sly developed another kind of funk that the Jackson 5. And, you know, everybody tried to emulate so many R B artists especially, and even rock bands, you know, like Rare Earth and things like that. And so meeting him, which was quite an amazing encounter, we were in a recording studio and I had to go to use the men's room, take a break. And with the Giles band, we were recording our second record. And I go running down the hallway, open up the men's room door, and there, sitting on the floor, were three men all dressed in suits and ties in one corner, and on the other corner was Sly Stone. And I didn't realize it, and I said, oh. And, you know, I was about to leave because I didn't want to interrupt whatever was going on. Sly said, no, man, come on in. Do your thing. And apparently they were having a marketing meeting in the bathroom on the floor. And that's the beginning of a wild story that's, you know, I go into greater length in the book, but I think what you're talking about is witnessing the decline of Sly and seeing him where he was playing arenas and, you know, one of the leading stars of the Woodstock Festival and, you know, so influential and so revered, ending up at this small, little funky club of maybe 100 people at most, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And I just happened to be walking by and seeing that he was going to appear that night. And it was a surreal moment and a very heartbreaking moment for me to see someone who had achieved so much that could, you know, the depths of. Of the fall could be so great that it really, really shook me up and scared me. And I remember sitting in the club, as I describe in the book, that I just sat there kind of stunned. You know, the bartender was lifting up all the chairs, and I knew I had to leave. But that was a very sobering moment for me, an unforgettable one. And I remember as I wrote it, it brought back that whole feeling of what one can gain out of notoriety or fame and what one can lose and how easily one can lose notoriety and fame. And it's not just the money aspect of it, but it's the freedom that fame gives you to be able to continue on your own terms. At least for me, that's what it means, and that's why I worked so hard on this book, was hopefully, you know, to widen the audience because, you know, so many people, you know, they know the J. Giles Band through MTV and through all the years of records. But Peter Wolf, a lot of people think I'm Jay Giles, or they assume I'm the front guy, so I must be Jay Giles, which was very confusing. And so the purpose for writing this book was to widen the audience and maybe get to interest people that I normally wouldn't, because I have a CD recording that's ready to almost about 80% finished. And I knew if I released it, like almost all other recordings, it would just, you know, get lost in the ether in, you know, 10 days or so it would be out there, but it would just be in that ocean. Because there's no real record stores, there's no record day releases, there's no one particular radio station that has the power to influence. There's such a large, large radio ocean out there that it's hard to focus even what's going on in with films or, you know, with television with all the different Netflix series and all the different episodes and hey, are you watching this episode and you're watching that or, you know, in the time of say like the Sopranos came, it was like the only game in town. And now there's so many different series and episodes of things. It's so easy for things to get lost. I decided to hold off on finishing the record and just put all my energies into the book.
Buzz Knight
Well, the book is fabulous and I'm glad you brought up the Midnight Travelers. So this will be the ninth album, right?
Peter Wolf
I believe so, yeah.
Buzz Knight
So can't wait for that. And I'm sure you'll be out playing live when that comes out as well. But it's such a treasure to be able to speak with you, Pete, talking about this, this great book. I recommend it to everybody. It is, it is a great read. It's so fun, appealing, and just such a walk through music history. And I'm grateful that you took the time to come on taking a walk in and talk about waiting on the moon and your amazing career. Peter Wolff, I'm so thrilled to have you on.
Peter Wolf
Well, thank you, Buzz. And we're both old radio. When I say old, I don't mean necessary age. But we spent many, many years in the world of radio. I know you have, but let me ask you, if not anyone that you're related to, but if you had a choice of taking a walk with anyone living or dead, who would it be and where would you walk to?
Buzz Knight
I'd say Bob Dylan comes to mind, fresh off of reading so much of the great stories you told. And it would have to be a walk through. Through the village.
Peter Wolf
Okay.
Buzz Knight
And. And I know it would probably be ironic because he'd probably look and go, this is not the same village I remember from. From that period. Because, as you know, it so has changed. Right? But.
Peter Wolf
Oh yeah, but it would be.
Buzz Knight
I'd love, even if it was a walk around the corner with him to have a walk with Bob.
Peter Wolf
Well, there you go. Well, you answered it a lot easier than I did.
Buzz Knight
Well, it's a hard one, I got.
Peter Wolf
To say, because it's a hard one. It's it's the living or dead aspect. You know, living, it's still, still a wide ocean. Dead really gives you anything, you know. You know, because they asked that question to writers. No, I know in the New York Times Book Review section there's a part where they ask writers if you can meet a writer living dead or have a dinner party with three people, who might it be? And it's real interesting to see who people pick. I'd always go for the mysterious ones, the ones where history doesn't quite fill in all the blanks.
Buzz Knight
Yes, got it. Well, I know I'll put you high up there on the list because I love being with you and I look forward to the next time.
Peter Wolf
Well, we have we our next get together. Our next walk is going to go to a restaurant that has a nice fine wine list and we have a bottle to open and two glasses to fill.
Buzz Knight
Amen.
Peter Wolf
So that's where we're going to go. Walking Buzz. So I'll take a walk with Buzz, have some fine wine, have a good time and do it up and do it, do it nice. Oh man, and all like sugar and spice. So this is Woofa Goof of Mama Toofer. Thank you Buzz for having me as your guest. I was honored to walk with you and go through so much of sharing bits and pieces of my life.
Buzz Knight
Thank you, my friend.
Peter Wolf
Later, later. And if it's in you, it's got to come out. Take, but take it. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking a Walk is available on the.
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Guaranteed Human.
Date: January 16, 2026
Host: Buzz Knight
Guest: Peter Wolf (J. Geils Band frontman, solo artist, painter, author)
In this special replay episode, Buzz Knight takes a “walk” through music history and personal stories with Peter Wolf, legendary frontman of the J. Geils Band, acclaimed solo artist, painter, former DJ, and now, New York Times-bestselling author of the memoir Waiting on the Moon. Together, they discuss Peter’s influences, vivid memories from the early rock and soul scene, encounters with legendary artists, formative years in New York City, his time as a DJ at Boston’s WBCN, memorable interviews, and key lessons about artistry and risk in music and life.
If Peter could take a walk with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and where?
“I would probably say my wish would be to be able to take a walk with my father... I think walking with him and discussing anew some of the things that I appreciate that I learned through him, and I know that there is a wealth of other things he could turn me on to." (Peter Wolf, 06:02)
Peter discusses writing “Lots of Good Ones Gone” with Will Jennings, inspired by the death of blues legend John Lee Hooker.
He notes the bittersweet urgency to complete his memoir as many of the people he wanted to read it passed away during its writing.
He celebrates the storytelling power of songwriting and the influence of collaborators.
Quote:
“I said, man, there’s sure a lot of good ones gone. And [Will] smiled and said, that’s it... Thanks to him, we got that song.” (Peter Wolf, 09:28)
Peter’s formative years included witnessing first-generation rock ‘n’ roll greats at Alan Freed’s Cavalcade of Stars at age 10: Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and more (10:24–12:33).
He describes his “college of musical knowledge” as the Apollo Theater, where he regularly saw icons like Jackie Wilson, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, John Coltrane, and Ray Charles (13:42).
The influence of gospel and performance: Peter shares Don Covay’s lesson that soul artists “felt ourselves as the minister, and the audience was the congregation... the job of the artist was to get the congregation moving and get them the spirit of the music.” (14:16)
Quote:
“Each artist had a dynamic and an individual stage presence… the Apollo was my college, my college of musical knowledge.” (Peter Wolf, 14:57)
“It was a cornucopia of delights. It was all available and economically it was feasible so you could spend, you know, days upon days, adventure upon adventure.” (Peter Wolf, 17:55)
Peter reveals he didn’t keep a typical journal but compiled extensive outlines, building interconnected vignettes rather than a linear autobiography (19:11–21:22).
He initially avoided writing about his marriage to Faye Dunaway and the J. Geils Band, wanting to center the narrative on meaningful encounters and “short stories.”
Publisher and agent convinced him to add those chapters; Peter reflects on the richness of his marriage and offers an honest account of the band’s arc.
Quote:
“I did a chapter on the band... in a very edited way talked about the beginning of it... and explained my version, which I stand by, why it ended.” (Peter Wolf, 23:09)
“It was the woof. A goof of mama too for show making your knees freezing, your blood splatters in you. It's got to come out because that was rock and roll is all about…” (Peter Wolf, 29:47)
“He said, yeah, I'm Van Morrison. And I said, you got to be kidding me… that started the beginning of a friendship that still goes on to this day.” (Peter Wolf, 35:31)
Peter describes meeting Sly Stone, his influence on funk, and the pain of witnessing Sly’s decline from arena stardom to playing tiny clubs—offering meditations on the fleeting nature of fame and artistry (36:11–41:50).
Quote:
“It was a surreal moment and a very heartbreaking moment for me to see someone who had achieved so much... the depths of the fall could be so great that it really, really shook me up and scared me.” (Peter Wolf, 40:25)
“So this is Woofa Goof of Mama Toofer. Thank you Buzz for having me as your guest. I was honored to walk with you and go through so much of sharing bits and pieces of my life.” (Peter Wolf, 45:33)
| Time | Topic | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:48 | Introduction to Peter Wolf and Waiting on the Moon | | 04:56 | “Take a Walk” signature question; Peter’s father | | 07:53 | Legacy, loss, and songwriting (“Lots of Good Ones Gone”) | | 10:24 | Early musical memories: Cavalcade of Stars, Apollo Theater | | 15:44 | Roaming New York City as a young music lover | | 19:11 | Approach to writing the memoir, short story structure | | 23:09 | Decision to include marriage and J. Geils Band chapters | | 29:24 | WBCN Boston radio days, legendary interviews | | 32:44 | Discovering Van Morrison was a fan, becoming friends | | 36:11 | Sly Stone: influence and decline | | 42:15 | Future plans: new album, book recommendations | | 43:41 | Buzz’s answer to signature question (Dylan/Village) | | 45:33 | Closing thanks and future walks |
The episode embodies warmth, camaraderie, and deep respect for the art of storytelling—music history as lived and felt through experiences rather than just facts and timelines. There are moments of humor, nostalgia, candor, and bittersweet reflection.
Summary Use:
This summary preserves the natural flow and rich anecdotes from the episode, highlighting Peter Wolf’s unique perspective on music, people, and artistic legacy. It’s ideal for anyone interested in American music history, creative process, and the stories behind the legends.