Released in 1976, Boston’s self-titled debut record was a massive success, selling over 17 million copies. It set the path for what should have been a massive career, but it didn’t. Four years later, the band only released one more album and they quickly crashed and burned. So what happened?
From MIT to Polaroid
Following his graduation from MIT, Tom Scholz got a job with Polaroid working as a product design engineer. Apart from tinkering with electronics, he also was into music, having played in a series of bands in the city of Boston with names like Middle Earth, Freehold and Mother’s Milk.
While he spent a lot of time on the live music circuit, he realized he wasn’t going to get a record deal that way. He turned his attention to recording demos in some local studios but they never caught the interest of any record labels.
Scholz Enlists the Help of Local Musicians
Scholz would soon enough build himself a twelve-track recording studio in his basement but again, record labels showed no interest in what he was creating. It wasn’t until he enlisted the help of several musicians he had played with on the local Boston circuit that he finally got the attention of the labels.
Guitarist Barry Goudreau introduced him to singer Brad Delp. They created the songs that formed the first Boston album, albeit some of them with different names.
“San Francisco Day” was named “Hitch A Ride”, “It Isn’t Easy” was re-titled “Something About You”, “Foreplay”, originally composed in 1969, “Peace Of Mind”, “Rock ’N’ Roll Band”, and the final track they recorded was called, “Ninety Days” which was later renamed “More Than A Feeling”. You would think these songs would’ve created a bidding war with the record labels, but they didn’t. In fact, most record labels passed on the demos.
Scholz’s Demo is Discovered by Record Label Representatives
In 1975, Tom Scholz was contacted by a representative from ABC Records named Charlie McKenzie. It had turned out by some strange twist of fate, McKenzie had heard the demo while he was visiting a friend, Paul Ahern who worked at RCA Records.
McKenzie and Ahern took the demo to CBS-owned Epic Records who showed interest, but prior to signing a deal, they wanted to see the band perform live for executives.
“I couldn’t believe that this music was actually available to us.” – Tom Werman
Epic staff producer Tom Werman recalled to Classic Rock Magazine, hearing the demos for the first time revealing, “… I couldn’t believe that this music was actually available to us, and told Ahern that if Lennie and I could see the band reproduce this live, we’d guarantee to sign them. ”
As Scholz didn’t really have a band, he worked with Delp as well as a bunch of local musicians they already knew from the Boston music scene for the live showcase.
Scholz Signs 10 Album Record Deal
The band passed with flying colours and signed an astounding 10 album deal that would last 6 years. However, things started to turn sour for Scholz when Epic Records told him that they wanted him to re-record the demos in a studio setting with an experienced producer.
The label suggested John Boylan who met Scholz where the pair hatched a pretty impressive scheme. Instead of going to LA to re-record the demos, which Scholz thought was pointless, he would stay home in Boston and work in his basement sprucing up the demos to give the record label something that seemed more polished. Meanwhile, the rest of the band would go to Los Angeles to work on new material that would turn into the song “Let Me Take You Home Tonight”.
Scholz stayed home, fastidiously gussying up the demos to give Epic something that sounded like a more polished version and he would end up striking a deal with Boylan where he got a producer credit as well.
The plan worked and the label was none the wiser. With an album in the can, the band still didn’t have a name. It was the album’s producer and his engineer who suggested the name Boston and the name stuck.
Debut Album is a Massive Hit
Released in the summer of 1976, the album was a massive hit, becoming the fastest-selling record of the ’70s, helped in large part by the opening track and single “More Than a Feeling”.
Now the band had to turn its attention to touring, which saw them open for some pretty big names including Foghat, Black Sabbath, and Blue Öyster Cult. While the tour was enjoyable for the group, the record label was hungry for another album. Scholz felt the pressure, but being the perfectionist he was, he felt like it was too soon to record a follow-up.
Soon enough Scholz started to work on Boston’s sophomore record 1978’s Don’t Look Back. And while the record hit number 1 on the album charts and sold over 7 million copies, Scholz felt like it was rushed despite the fact it was delivered a year later than the label wanted.
Scholz wanted the freedom to work on the album for as long as he needed without the pressure of a label, but the business doesn’t work that way. The tour to support the album was gruelling, lasting over 2 years.
“We played Boston songs and I loved playing on stage but it was horrible.” – Tom Scholz
During an interview with Third Stage, Scholz revealed: “We had gone on a horrible tour in 1978-79. We played Boston songs and I loved playing on stage but it was horrible. It was long and when I got off the road I wasn’t sure that I wanted to ever go on tour again. Brad told me that he didn’t ever want to go on tour and I was going to hang it up and just record. I took a little time off after Don’t Look Back… I considered leaving music altogether and going back to being an engineer.”
Scholz ended up staying in the music industry and began work on Boston’s third album, but he was going to take his time until he was ready to release something new. It was around this time the guitarist realized that his manager Paul Ahern had owned a percentage of all the songs that he had written when they first signed their contract during the mid ’70s.
Manager Paul Ahern is Fired
The manager was sacked by Scholz and he turned around and sued the musician. Burned out by what was going on around him, Scholz convened his band and told them he was no longer interested in working on the music and they were free to pursue other career ventures.
Guitarist Barry Goudreau signed a deal with Epic Records and released a solo album that featured future Boston vocalist Fran Cosmo. The guitarist’s solo record was enjoyed by critics but commercially didn’t do much.
Things took a turn for the worst when Scholz noticed a billboard that Epic ran advertising Goudreau’s album with the claim, “12 million people know the sound of this guitar. We’d like to introduce you to the owner.”
Tom allegedly complained to the label and it was claimed he wanted Epic Records to pull the support for the album, a charge that he now denies. Goudreau left Boston in 1981 with Scholz claiming they ended their relationship on good terms.
Scholz’s Lawsuit with CBS
The next fight Scholz had to face was with Epic Records and their parent company CBS, who were eager for a third record. With years having passed since Don’t Look Back was released, the label devised a plan to withhold royalty payments to Scholz to force his hand in releasing an album sooner rather than later.
The plan failed and CBS filed a lawsuit against Scholz citing a breach of contract in 1984, claiming that the guitarist was, “uncooperative.” In turn, Scholz retaliated with his own lawsuit over unpaid royalty payments. Scholz won both cases, despite the fact the litigation lasted for over half a decade and slowed the progress of a third record.
Scholz signed a new record label eventually signing with MCA, but CBS was pretty vengeful and sued MCA, issuing a cease and desist order. They wanted a huge advance claiming that for every album Scholz sold on any future Boston releases, CBS should get 25 cents.
CBS lost their case in 1985 and Scholz was a free man. With record label lawsuits behind him, Scholz was able to finish up work on Boston’s third album.
Scholz brought back vocalist Brad Delp and drummer Jim Masdea who helped him on the original Boston demo. Also joining him was guitarist, Gary Pihl. The resulting album would be 1986’s Third Stage.
Third Stage Goes Platinum
Despite the long gaps between the records, the album still went platinum, selling over 4 million units. Following the release of Third Stage, the band hit the road for 2 years supporting the album and they would play Third Stage from start to finish during live shows.
As the ’90s rolled in, Boston turned their attention to their new album, but much like the rest of their career, things never went easy.
Tom Scholz was surprised when singer Brad Delp left the band and joined former guitarist Brad Goudreau’s new band, RTZ. The recognizable voice of Boston was gone, leaving Scholz as the only original member. Prior to his departure, Brad Delp helped co-write a song titled, “Walk On”, which became the title track of Boston’s next album.
Fran Cosmo Joins Boston
Needing a new singer, Scholz looked closer to home when he enlisted singer Fran Cosmo. The next Boston album titled Walk On was released in 1994 and there were elements of the band’s three previous records sprinkled throughout the album.
The record failed to be a top 5 hit, peaking at number 7, but it still went platinum and produced the single “I Need Your Love”.
As the band got ready to hit the road to support the record, vocalist Brad Delp rejoined the group. With two singers in the band, Delp shared vocal duties with new singer Fran Cosmo.
Corporate America is Released By Downer’s Revenge
The band took eight years to release their follow-up album in 2002, Corporate America. The marketing strategy behind Corporate America was a bit different than their previous records as Boston was no longer on a big label and Scholz uploaded the album to mp3.com under the moniker Downer’s Revenge instead of Boston.
Waiting eight years between the releases meant there was a seismic shift in rock n’ roll as trends came and went. Scholz was worried that if the album had the Boston name on it, some people wouldn’t have bothered to have given the record a chance.
Corporate America would be released on a now-defunct indie label, Artemis, which was headed by Danny Goldberg who used to be Nirvana’s longtime manager. The record featured the largest lineup of Boston to date with Cosmo and Delp both singing on the album.
Corporate America ended up falling on deaf ears and didn’t even chart in the top 40, but that didn’t stop the band from touring for several years on the album.
Scholz’s business relationship with Artemis records was short-lived as he turned around and sued the label for $4 million for, “inadequately promoting the album”, despite repeated promises from the label that the record would be the company’s highest priority.
Brad Delp Takes His Life
In March of 2007, fans were shocked to learn Brad Delp had taken his life at his home in New Hampshire. Rather than coming together in the aftermath of his death, a lot of people started pointing fingers, more specifically at Tom Scholz.
Scholz was accused of running his band with an iron fist, with little regard for how his bandmates felt. Some claimed it made Delp feel marginalized. Scholz defended himself, claiming Delp was free to come and go in the band and that he did.
Delp’s widow gave an interview to the Boston Herald where she insinuated that Scholz was responsible for her husband’s death. This resulted in Scholz suing the widow and the newspaper for running a defamatory story and causing emotional distress.
Following his death, the members of Boston would hold a tribute concert to Delp titled ‘Come Together: A Tribute To Brad Delp’.
Life, Love & Hope
In 2013, Boston released their sixth album, Life, Love & Hope, which featured lead vocals from Brad Delp among many other singers. The album’s sessions date back to 2002.
In the subsequent years, Scholz has continued to tour under the Boston name and it was reported in 2018 that some of the band’s master recordings were destroyed in the universal music fire.
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