Story highlights The 71-year-old was found unresponsive and was declared dead at the scene

The J. Geils Band was one of the most popular American touring bands of the 1970s, and gained commercial success in the 1980s

(CNN) John Warren Geils Jr., the guitarist and founder of the eponymous J. Geils Band, has died, police in Groton, Massachusetts, said.

Police came to Geils' home for a well-being check, police Chief Donald Palma said. The 71-year-old was found unresponsive and was declared dead at the scene.

Police are investigating the death as a standard procedure. Foul play was not suspected and a preliminary investigation suggests Geils died of natural causes, Palma said.

The J. Geils Band was one of the most popular American touring bands of the 1970s. It did not achieve commercial fame until the 1980s, when they released radio mainstays such as "Centerfold," "Love Stinks" and "Freeze-Frame."

Born in New York in 1946 and raised in New Jersey, Geils' first love was cars -- a passion he inherited from his father along with his ear for jazz, he told Autoweek in 2012.