Peter Wolf’s memoir, “Waiting on the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters and Goddesses,” is a powerful meditation on the music business. Authored from his unique perspective at the heart of the industry, Wolf’s autobiography makes for an unusual celebrity narrative — rather than concentrating on self-aggrandizing storylines, the musician devotes his writerly energy to bringing the look, sound and feel of as-it-happened rock history to life.
A native of the Bronx, Wolf spent his youth soaking up New York City’s music scene, especially the Apollo Theater’s array of soul, rhythm & blues and gospel performers. After moving to Boston, he attended Tufts University’s School of the Museum of Fine Arts. In 1967, Wolf and drummer Stephen Jo Bladd joined the J. Geils Band.
During the 1970s, the group notched several Top 40 singles, including a cover of the Valentinos’ “Lookin’ for a Love” and the singles “Give It to Me,” “Must of Got Lost” and “Come Back.” With “Love Stinks,” the J. Geils Band enjoyed breakthrough success, followed by the megahits “Centerfold” and “Freeze Frame.” In 1983, Wolf and the J. Geils Band parted ways. As a solo artist, he notched several hits, including “Lights Out” and “Come as You Are.”
Along the way, Wolf accumulated the unforgettable, often moving stories at the heart of “Waiting on the Moon.” When it came to authoring his memoirs, Wolf turned to none other than Bruce Springsteen, the author of the bestselling “Born to Run” autobiography, for advice. Springsteen reportedly spent more than a decade penning the book. As Wolf relayed to me during a recent interview, Bruce explained, “Pete, let me tell you the best advice I can give you. You got to really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really want to do it. And until you really, really, really, really, really, really want to do it, don’t start it. Because if you don’t really, really, really, really wanna do it, it will take over your life.”
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For music lovers, Wolf’s painstaking efforts were well worth the time. Take his youthful days at the Apollo, an era when one legendary artist after another made their way to the vaunted Harlem venue. One of them was blues master Muddy Waters. Wolf recalled the moment when Muddy stepped onto the stage, writing, “After so many hours spent staring at the record cover, I was mesmerized at the sight of that familiar face come to life. His playing and singing were even more powerful onstage than they were in his recordings. He brought the audience to their feet several times.”
In an especially poignant vignette, Wolf recalled the last time he saw George Harrison. They were backstage at a Bob Dylan concert when Van Morrison took the stage for a duet with the folk legend. “During Bob’s set, I was stageside, standing next to George Harrison, who was quietly unassuming. Bob and the audience were connecting so deeply that it was like a form of communion,” Wolf writes. “When Van appeared onstage, you almost couldn’t hear the music — the crowd was cheering so loudly. I wondered why George wasn’t out there singing, too. He and Bob were so close. I said to him, ‘You should be out there.’ But George lingered in the shadows of the stage lights, just enjoying the music. Unbeknownst to me, he had been diagnosed with cancer, and the full meaning of seeing his friend Bob perform that song did not hit me until his passing.”
With “Waiting on the Moon,” Wolf writes from the perspective of a tried-and-true music fan. And with such instances as his memories about the Apollo or a quiet moment with a Beatle great, he reminds us why we love music in the first place.
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