Boston

Boston is an American rock band formed in 1975 in Boston, Massachusetts, by chief songwriter and composer Tom Scholz. The band's core members included multi-instrumentalist Scholz and lead vocalist Brad Delp, who remained the only constant members from 1975 to 1990, and from 1994 until Delp's suicide in 2007. Other musicians and members of the band varied largely across the group's lineup history.Boston experienced significant commercial success during the 1970s and 1980s. The band's 1976 self-titled debut is one of the best-selling albums by an American rock band, being certified 17× Platinum by the RIAA as of 2025. Their best-known songs include "More Than a Feeling", "Peace of Mind", "Foreplay/Long Time", "Rock and Roll Band", "Smokin'", "Don't Look Back", "A Man I'll Never Be", "Hitch a Ride", "Party", "Amanda", and "Feelin' Satisfied". The band has sold more than 75 million records worldwide, including 31 million units sold in the United States, of which 17 million were the band's debut album, and seven million copies of the band's second studio album, Don't Look Back (1978), placing the group at number 63 among the world's best-selling music artists. Altogether, the band has released six studio albums in a career spanning over 51 years. Boston's recorded output has been minimal since the 1980s, with Third Stage (1986), Walk On (1994), Corporate America (2002), and Life, Love & Hope (2013) all being released several years apart. While Boston remains officially active, they have not performed live since 2017, though members have occasionally hinted at the possibility of a seventh studio album. Boston was ranked the 63rd-best hard rock artist by VH1.Since Delp's death in 2007, a number of vocalists have filled in as replacements, including Stryper frontman and vocalist Michael Sweet. From 2007 until his death in 2026, Tommy DeCarlo was the group's lead singer. Other current members of the band include guitarist Gary Pihl, bassist Tracy Ferrie, drummer Jeff Neal, and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Beth Cohen.Tom Scholz first started writing music in 1969 while he was attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he wrote an instrumental song, "Foreplay". While attending MIT, Scholz joined the band Freehold, where he met guitarist Barry Goudreau and drummer Jim Masdea, who would later become members of Boston. Vocalist Brad Delp was added to the collective in 1970. After graduating with a master's degree in mechanical engineering from MIT, Scholz worked for Polaroid, using his salary to build a recording studio in his basement, and to finance demonstration tapes recorded in professional recording studios. These early demo tapes were recorded with (at various times) Delp on vocals, Goudreau on guitar, Masdea on drums, and Scholz on guitar, bass, and keyboards. The demo tapes were sent to record companies, but received consistent rejections. In 1973, Scholz formed the band Mother's Milk with Delp, Goudreau, and Masdea. That group disbanded by 1974, but Scholz subsequently worked with Masdea and Delp to produce six new demos, including "More Than a Feeling", "Peace of Mind", "Rock and Roll Band", "Something About You" (then entitled "Life Isn't Easy"), "Hitch a Ride" (then entitled "San Francisco Day"), and "Don't Be Afraid". Scholz stated they finished four of the six by the end of 1974, and they finished "More Than a Feeling" and "Something About You" in 1975. Scholz played all the instruments on the demos, except for the drums, which were played by Masdea, and used self-designed pedals to create the desired guitar sounds.This final demo tape attracted the attention of promoters Paul Ahern and Charlie McKenzie. Masdea left the band around this time. According to Scholz, the managers insisted that Masdea had to be replaced before the band could get a recording deal. Years later, Delp told journalist Chuck Miller: " actually told me he was losing interest in playing drums. I know Tom felt very bad when the whole thing happened. And then, of course, we started getting some interest." Scholz and Delp signed a deal with Epic Records after Masdea's departure, thanks to Ahern and McKenzie. Before the deal could be finalized, the band had to do a live audition for the record-company executives. The duo recruited Goudreau on guitar, bassist Fran Sheehan, and drummer Sib Hashian to create a performing unit that could replicate Scholz's richly layered recordings on stage. According to Scholz, Masdea had insisted on performing a drum solo during the audition. Scholz stated, "The night before we auditioned I was going over a few things, trying to get everybody psyched up, and this guy says, 'You know, I don't think we're going to get this contract unless we have something flashy like a good drum solo right in the middle.' We'd only been working on arrangements and on this set for a month ... so we got Sib, whom I'd known for quite awhile." The showcase was a success and the band agreed to put out 10 albums over the next six years. In addition to the firing of Masdea, the record label insisted that Scholz re-record the demo tapes in a professional studio. However, Scholz wanted to record them in his basement studio so that he could work at his own pace. Scholz and producer John Boylan hatched a plan to send the rest of the band to Los Angeles to make the record label happy, while Scholz recorded most of Boston's debut album at home, with Masdea playing drums on the track "Rock and Roll Band" and Scholz playing the other instruments. The multitrack tapes were then brought to Los Angeles, where Delp added vocals and the album was mixed by Boylan. Then, the band was named "Boston", by suggestion of Boylan and engineer Warren Dewey.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.