The group first formed in the mind of Tom Scholz, who had long expressed interest in melodic rock and the fine particulars of recording technology. Even as a child, he tinkered with just about anything mechanical or electronic that he could get his hands on. Prior to his musical career, Scholz received both a bachelor's degree, in 1969, and a master's degree, in 1970, in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He then began working for the Polaroid Corporation as a senior product design engineer. Scholz would then reside in Boston.
Creating demos in his own home, inspired by contemporary 70s progressive rock and what came to be known as "album oriented rock" ("aor"), Scholz attracted the interest of Epic Records, who signed Scholz to a recording contract. Vocalist Brad Delp, who was born in Peabody, Massachusetts in 1951 (Scholz is about four years older) to French-Canadian immigrants and was inspired to sing after seeing The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, served as a sort of not-so secret weapon for Scholz's project. Delp's "golden voice" has inspired numerous later rock artists to take up the microphone.
Scholz believed that his demos were good enough to be the released album but Epic told him to rerecord them. Most of the guitar, bass, and keyboards were performed by Scholz, although other players were involved sporadically throughout the recording of the album. Epic did not want the album recorded entirely in Scholz's home as Scholz intended (they suggested using a recording studio), but most of what ended up on the album was ultimately recorded by Scholz in his basement.
'Boston' was first released by Epic Records on August 25, 1976. Few industry insiders thought a guitar-heavy rock record could make much of a dent in the charts as disco ruled the airwaves at the time. The album broke out of Cleveland first, and the following week it had been added at 392 stations. Scholz, then 29, still worked at Polaroid during the first few weeks of the record's success and felt wary, changing his mind when the album quickly sold 200,000 copies. Critical praise also came to the band; for example, Rolling Stone wrote that Boston's "affinity for heavy rock & roll provides a sense of dynamics that coheres magnetically with sophisticated progressive structures."
The album was certified gold just two months after its release, and it sold another 500,000 copies within 30 days, going platinum for the first time in November 1976. With songs that became rock anthems such as the evergreen "More Than a Feeling", 'Boston' is the second best-selling debut album of all time in the United States, falling just short of Guns N' Roses' 'Appetite for Destruction'. Many critics have named it as one of the best American albums of all time. Its popularity was not only huge, but also durable: into the 2000s it was believed to be the only 1970s album that still had every single track in regular rotation on classic rock radio.
With a touring unit coming together around the line-up of Barry Goudreau, Tom Scholz, Sib Hashian, Brad Delp, and Fran Sheehan, the band played to a wide variety of crowds big and small, receiving strong fan support. Feeling an essentially unbearable amount of pressure to come up with another commercial mega-hit, Scholz still desired to experiment with his sound and had a growing sense of perfectionism. 'Don't Look Back' came out on August 2, 1978, viewed by Scholz as a hurried effort but picking up widespread success. It's been certified as multi-platinum, and its title track has become a classic rock staple.
Acrimonious fighting with label Epic Records, which soon became a long, drawn-out legal fight, left the future of the band stalled. Their next work, 'Third Stage' , came out in September 23, 1986, quite a while after their sophomore work. Bad luck and ill-will seemed to trail the group, with floods and power failures halting many studio sessions. Still, the album went to #1 on the Billboard 200, where it stayed for four weeks.
In addition, 'Third Stage' was only the second album to ever be certified triple-platinum in its first month of release, in November of 1986. As stated before, the first was Lionel Richie's 'Dancing On The Ceiling', which did it one month earlier. Nonetheless, Boston seemed to have gotten stuck.
On March 9th, 2007, Brad Delp (vocals) committed suicide at his home in Atkinson, New Hampshire. He was 55. Delp sang all the lead and harmony vocals on Boston's first three albums. Though well known for his "golden" voice with soaring vocals and range, Delp was also a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, harmonica and keyboards. Additionally he wrote or co-wrote several songs for Boston and many other artists.
More than 10 years in the making, Boston came out with a new studio album, "Life, Love & Hope" in 2013. Founding member, Tom Scholz stated, "These are songs from the heart, each of them taking many months of effort to write, arrange, perform and record, always up to the demands of Boston's harshest critic, me. They have all been meticulously recorded to analog tape on the same machines and equipment used for Boston's hits for the past 35 years."
The band, with Scholz and a new lineup, toured extensively in 2016-2017.
Boston's web site is at www.bandboston.com
04 Rock & Roll Band
Boston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the road and tryin' to make ends meet
Playin' all the bars, sleepin' in our cars
And we practiced right on out in the street
No, we didn't have much money
We barely made enough to survive
But when we got up on stage and got ready to play, people came alive
Getting' crazy, anticipatin'
Love and music, play, play, play, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Dancin' in the streets of Hyannis
We were getting pretty good at the game
People stood in line and didn't seem to mind
You know everybody knew our name
Livin' on rock and roll music
Never worried 'bout things we were missin'
When we got up on stage and got ready to play everybody'd listen
Rock and roll band, everybody's waitin'
Getting' crazy, anticipatin'
Love and music, play, play, play, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Playin' for week in Rhode Island
A man came to the stage one night
He smoked a big cigar, drove a Cadillac car
And said boys, I think this band's outta sight
Oh, sign a record company contract
You know I've got great expectations
When I hear you on the car radio you're gonna be a sensation
Rock and roll band, everybody's waitin'
Getting' crazy, anticipatin'
Love and music, play, play, play, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
The lyrics of Boston's "Rock and Roll Band" chronicle the early struggles and eventual triumphs of a band trying to "make it" in the music industry. The song's narrative follows the band's journey from playing in bars and sleeping in their cars to becoming a sensation with a record deal and fans dancing in the streets. The lyrics describe the band's determination and passion, as well as their love for music and performing.
The song is filled with energy and excitement, with its catchy chorus of "Rock and roll band, everybody's waiting / Getting' crazy, anticipating / Love and music, play, play, play, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" inspiring listeners to get up and dance. The verse about the man who signs the band to a record contract is particularly poignant, as it illustrates the vindication and validation that come with success after years of hard work and persistence.
Overall, "Rock and Roll Band" is a powerful tribute to the spirit of rock and roll and the journey of musicians who strive to create and share their art with the world. The song's catchy melody, dynamic instrumentation, and relatable lyrics have made it a classic anthem for rock fans everywhere.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, we were just another band out of Boston
We were a not-so-special band from Boston
On the road and tryin' to make ends meet
We travelled a lot and struggled financially
Playin' all the bars, sleepin' in our cars
We performed in bars and had to sleep in our cars
And we practiced right on out in the street
We rehearsed in public places, like streets
No, we didn't have much money
We were quite poor
We barely made enough to survive
We only managed to earn just enough to get by
But when we got up on stage and got ready to play, people came alive
However, when we performed, people loved it and got really excited
Dancin' in the streets of Hyannis
We played music in Hyannis, and people danced on the streets
We were getting pretty good at the game
We were improving a lot
People stood in line and didn't seem to mind
People waited in line to see us perform, and it didn't seem to bother them
You know everybody knew our name
Everyone was familiar with our band's name
Livin' on rock and roll music
We made a living through playing rock and roll music
Never worried 'bout things we were missin'
We never thought about the things we were missing out on
When we got up on stage and got ready to play everybody'd listen
People paid attention when we were about to perform
A man came to the stage one night
One night, a man came up to us while we were performing
He smoked a big cigar, drove a Cadillac car
He was a wealthy man, smoking a cigar and driving a fancy car
And said boys, I think this band's outta sight
He told us that our band was amazing
Oh, sign a record company contract
He suggested that we sign a contract with a record company
You know I've got great expectations
He had high hopes for our success
When I hear you on the car radio you're gonna be a sensation
He believed that our music would become very popular once it was played on the radio
Rock and roll band, everybody's waitin'
As a rock and roll band, people were eagerly waiting for us to perform
Getting' crazy, anticipatin'
Fans would get crazy and excited waiting for us
Love and music, play, play, play, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
We loved music and always wanted to play more of it, and our fans loved it too
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DONALD T. SCHOLZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind