Boston “Boston”
Boston is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts that achieved its most notable successes during the 1970s and 1980s. Centered on guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and producer Tom Scholz, the band is a staple of classic rock radio playlists.
Boston’s best-known works include the songs “More Than a Feeling”, “Peace of Mind”, “Foreplay/Long Time”, “Rock and Roll Band”, “Smokin'”, “Don’t Look Back” and “Amanda.” They have sold over 31 million albums in the United States, of which 17 million are their self-titled debut album and 7 million are their second album, Don’t Look Back.
“Boston” (1976)
Brad Delp, the original lead singer. Along with Scholz, Delp was the only other person signed to Epic Records as Boston.
The debut album, Boston, released on August 8, 1976, was an enormous success. The record ranks as the best-selling debut album in U.S. history with over 17 million copies sold.
During the late summer and early fall of 1976, Boston attracted much publicity due to the unprecedented record sales by an unknown act, its unique sound, and singer Brad Delp’s vocal abilities. However, there was “a conscious effort to de-emphasize Scholz as the total mastermind behind Boston.” After opening for Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Foghat and others, in the fall, the band embarked on a headlining tour in the winter and spring of 1976-1977 to support the album. This helped establish Boston as one of rock’s top acts within a short time, being nominated for a Grammy award as a “Best New Artist”. Boston was the first band in history to make their New York City debut at Madison Square Garden.
The album spawned three singles, “More Than a Feeling”, “Long Time” and “Peace of Mind”, all of which made the national charts. Additionally, the album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the charts for 132 weeks.
Before debut album
Tom Scholz first started writing music in 1969 while he was attending MIT, where he wrote an instrumental, titled “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, Scholz worked for Polaroid, where he used his salary to build a recording studio in his basement, and to finance demo tapes recorded in professional recording studios.
These early demo tapes were recorded with (at various times) Brad Delp on vocals, Barry Goudreau on guitar, Jim 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, as 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 sound.
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: “[Jim] 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 & McKenzie. Before the deal could be finalized, the band had to do a live audition for the record company executives. The duo quickly recruited Goudreau on guitar, bassist Fran Sheehan and drummer Sib Hashian to create a performing unit which could replicate Scholz’s richly layered recordings on stage. 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 also insisted that Scholz re-record the demo tapes in a professional studio. However, Scholz wanted the record to be recorded in his basement studio so that he could work at his own pace.[4] Upon request of Tom Scholz, Masdea played drums on the track “Rock and Roll Band,” and the instrumentation was recorded in Scholz’s studio. The multitrack tapes were then brought to Los Angeles, where Brad Delp added vocals and the album was mixed by John Boylan. It was then that the band was officially named “Boston,” by suggestion of Boylan and engineer Warren Dewey.
