Boston History (1976- )

Boston’s blend of musical styles led to much success in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and the legendary band is still raring to go.

Boston: Early Years & Mother’s Milk

Boston began when Tom Scholz, an MIT graduate answered a newspaper ad, placed by Barry Goudreau, seeking a keyboardist for a band called “Mother’s Milk”. Scholz produced the band’s recordings in his home studio, establishing the roots from which Boston’s future demo would sprout. Frustrated with the limitations of available technology, Scholz put his engineering education to use by designing his own equipment. Mother’s Milk caught the attention of Epic Records and in 1976, Mother’s Milk, with members Tom Scholz, Barry Goudreau, Fran Sheehan and Sib Hashian, became known as Boston.

Boston: Breakout Success

In 1976, Boston released its self-titled debut album Boston. The record was a huge success, selling over 17 million copies to become the best-selling debut album in US history. Boston toured in the summer of 1976, opening for platinum-selling heavy metal band Black Sabbath and hard rock band Moxy. It was Boston’s 1976 world tour to promote their album Boston that established Boston among the rock elite. Boston produced one Top 10 single, “More Than a Feeling” and two singles rose to the Top 40, including “Peace of Mind” and “Foreplay/Long Time”. The album rose to No. 3 on the Billboard charts and would re-emerge in the Billboard Top 200 charts 11 years later at No. 101.

Boston: Don’t Look Back

In August 1978, Boston released its second album Don’t Look Back amid bickering between Tom Scholz and their record label, Epic. Scholz felt that Epic rushed Don’t Look Back in an attempt to capitalize on the success of Boston. Indeed, the album sales were half that of the successful debut album, selling four million copies within the first month of release. Following another tour, the title track rose to No. 4 on the charts. “A Man I’ll Never Be” and “Feelin’ Satisfied” went Top 40 and Top 50 respectively. The success of Don’t Look Back did nothing to repair the relationship between Tom Scholz and Epic Records.

Boston: Break Up and Reformation

In the middle of 1979, Tom Scholz began work on Boston’s third album. Production on the album was slowed by a lawsuit filed by Paul Ahem, Boston’s former co-manager. Tom Scholz encouraged Barry Goudreau to record a solo album. Barry Goudreau’s self-titled album was released in 1980. After much adversity, Tom Scholz continued to make progress on the third Boston album. One of the songs “Amanda” was leaked in 1983 and bootlegged by eager fans. Tom Scholz signed a new contract with MCA records and the third album, Third Stage, was released in September 1986. The album turned out to be Boston’s best charting record to date. “Amanda”, the lead single, and the album Third Stage both skyrocketed to No. 1 on the Billboard Charts while “We’re Ready” and “Can’tcha Say” rose to Top 10 and Top 20 respectively.

Boston: Boston in the ‘90s

In the wake of the wildly successful album Third Stage, Scholz went to work on the fourth Boston album. Brad Delp departed in 1989 due to a prior commitment with Barry Goudreau’s band RTZ, leaving Tom Scholz as the band’s last original member. The fourth album Walk On was released in June 1994. Walk On went platinum, rising to No. 7 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart, falling short of the Top 5, multi-platinum success of the band’s previous albums. “I Need Your Love” was widely played by radio stations and became the only one of the record’s singles to enter the Billboard Top 100 Singles chart. After RTZ disintegrated, Brad Delp rejoined Boston in time for the Walk On Tour in 1995. In 1997, Boston released a greatest hits compilation simply titled Boston: Greatest Hits. The album has sold over two million copies since being released.

Boston: New Millennium Resurgence

August 2002 saw the release of Corporate America. The album, released on Artemis Records, featured Brad Delp and Fran Cosmo sharing guitar and lead vocals, Tom Scholz on lead guitar and organ, Gary Phil on guitar, Curly Smith on drums, Anthony Cosmo on rhythm guitar and Kimberley Dahme on bass and vocals. The group toured in 2003 and 2004 to support the album. 2006 saw the departure of Fran and Anthony Cosmo. Tom Scholz and Barry Goudreau also repaired their friendship. And in 2006, Tom Scholz remastered and released the first two Boston albums.

Boston: Tribute to Delp

In 2007, Brad Delp committed suicide. A concert, named Come Together: A Tribute to Brad Delp, was put together to honor his rock legacy. Bands included in the concert were Ernie and the Automatics, Beatlejuice, Farrenheit, Extreme, Godsmack, RTZ and of course Boston. All of the original surviving members of Boston performed in the concert in some capacity. Lead singers for Boston included Michael Sweet of Stryper, former members Curly Smith and Kimberley Dahme and Tommy DeCarlo, a fan selected from his performance of Boston cover songs on his MySpace page.

Boston: 2008 Summer Tour

Tom Scholz announced that he is working on a remastered version of the Greatest Hits album. Beginning June 2008, Boston will be on tour once again. With approximately 30 dates, Boston will be performing live concerts all over the United States and in Canada. The touring band will include Michael Sweet on guitar and vocals, Tommy DeCarlo on vocals, longtime member Gary Phil on guitar and of course, Tom Scholz will return on guitar. With over 300 million records sold worldwide, Boston’s Summer Tour is sure to be a hit with fans. Boston will be performing their classic hits, so don’t miss the Boston Summer Concert Tour!