BOSTON

Boston began as an engineer's project. Tom Scholz, an MIT graduate working at Polaroid, spent his salary building a recording studio in the basement of his home in Watertown, Massachusetts. There, for years, he recorded demos of his songs with singer Brad Delp and drummer Jim Masdea, and for years the record labels turned them down.

In 1975, by his own account, Scholz finished the last of those demos (six songs recorded, arranged, played and produced exactly as he wanted to hear them), convinced it would be his final attempt before giving up at 29. That recording opened the door.

Scholz and Delp signed with Epic Records alongside Barry Goudreau on guitar, Fran Sheehan on bass and Sib Hashian on drums. Producer John Boylan came up with the plan that shaped the record: while the band went to Los Angeles, Scholz recorded most of the album in his basement. Boylan mixed it, and it was he and engineer Warren Dewey who suggested the name: Boston.

The album, titled simply Boston, came out on August 25, 1976. It reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200, spent 132 weeks on the chart and became one of the best-selling debut albums in U.S. history, certified Diamond (17× Platinum) by the RIAA. “More Than a Feeling,” “Long Time” and “Peace of Mind” set a sound of layered guitars and soaring vocals that classic-rock radio still plays.

Don't Look Back arrived in August 1978 and went to No. 1 in the United States and Canada. Then came eight years of silence. Scholz would not deliver an album until he considered it finished, and CBS sued him for $60 million for breach of contract; the case ran seven years, and in April 1990 Scholz won. Along the way, Barry Goudreau left the band in 1981.

With Boston now on MCA Records, Third Stage appeared in September 1986 and topped the Billboard 200 again; “Amanda” went to No. 1 on the Hot 100.

Walk On (June 1994) is the only Boston album without Brad Delp's voice: committed to touring with Goudreau's band RTZ, Delp contributed only as a songwriter, and Scholz brought in Fran Cosmo to sing. The album reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and went Platinum. Delp returned at the end of 1994 and shared lead vocals on the tour.

Corporate America followed in November 2002 on Artemis Records, peaking at No. 42.

Brad Delp died on March 9, 2007, in Atkinson, New Hampshire; the medical examiner ruled his death a suicide. His had been Boston's voice since the basement demos. On August 19, 2007, “Come Together: A Tribute to Brad Delp,” at Boston's Bank of America Pavilion, brought together musicians from every era of the band.

To carry on, Scholz invited Tommy DeCarlo to audition after hearing the Boston covers he had posted on MySpace. DeCarlo would be the band's lead singer for nearly two decades.

Life, Love & Hope, the sixth studio album, came out on December 3, 2013, on Frontiers Records, and includes vocals Brad Delp recorded before his death. Sib Hashian died on March 22, 2017, after collapsing aboard a Legends of Rock cruise. That summer Boston toured for the last time; the band has not played live since 2017.

Tommy DeCarlo died of brain cancer on March 9, 2026, at 60, nineteen years to the day after Brad Delp. On August 25, 2026, the debut's 50th anniversary, the band announced an expanded edition of Boston featuring the original demos Scholz pitched to the labels, restored with Gary Pihl; the Impex Records release is expected in 2027.