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
Heaven On Earth
Boston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I thought love would be enough
Now I can't believe I'm on my own
I'm leaving on a jet plane
I'll wait in case you change you mind
You're all I can see when I'm all alone, ooh
I didn't know what to say
For what it's worth (I can't go on without it)
I never wanted to see you walk away
The sky is dark and angry
But I don't feel the rain
It's all the same, I miss your touch ... ooh
I feel like running somewhere
But I can't lose the pain I feel
I'm so far away, but I'm still in love, oh
Heaven on Earth (I can not live without it)
I didn't know what to say
For what it's worth (Now I just dream about it)
I never wanted to see you walk away
Are you looking for love? (Are you looking for love?)
Are you looking for love? (Are you looking for love?)
Are you even there?
I would come running from anywhere
Please say you won't give up
They tell me I'm no angel
But I've been waitin' long enough
We made it so far, I can't give up, ooh
Heaven on Earth
I didn't know what to say
For what it's worth
I never wanted to see you walk away
Hey, love should be enough
Oh, heaven on earth
Seems so easy
Heaven on earth, ooh
The lyrics of Boston's song Heaven on Earth express the feeling of being lost and alone after a failed relationship. The singer once thought that life was easy and that love was enough, but now they find themselves on their own, feeling the pain of missing their lover's touch. The chorus repeats the phrase "Heaven on Earth" as the singer yearns for a reconciliation with their former partner.
The line "I'll wait in case you change your mind" shows that the singer is still holding onto hope that their love can be salvaged. They feel like running away from the pain, but they cannot escape the love that they still feel. The lyrics also express a message of perseverance, as the singer believes that they have come too far to give up on their love.
Overall, Boston's Heaven on Earth is a melancholic yet hopeful examination of lost love and the desire for reconciliation. The lyrics convey a sense of longing and regret, but the chorus offers a glimmer of hope for a brighter future.
Line by Line Meaning
Once I thought that life was easy
I used to believe that life was simple.
I thought love would be enough
I believed that love would solve all problems.
Now I can't believe I'm on my own
I can't believe I'm alone now.
I'm leaving on a jet plane
I'm flying away.
I'll wait in case you change your mind
I'll wait for you in case you want to come with me.
You're all I can see when I'm all alone, ooh
I can only think of you when I'm by myself.
Heaven on Earth (Couldn't we talk about it?)
I want to talk about how amazing it feels when we are together.
I didn't know what to say
I don't know how to express what I feel.
For what it's worth (I can't go on without it)
It's important for me to have this love in my life.
I never wanted to see you walk away
I never wanted to lose you.
The sky is dark and angry
The weather is bad.
But I don't feel the rain
The rain doesn't affect me.
It's all the same, I miss your touch ... ooh
Despite the weather, I still miss your touch.
I feel like running somewhere
I want to escape from my problems.
But I can't lose the pain I feel
I can't forget the pain of losing you.
I'm so far away, but I'm still in love, oh
I'm far away, but my love for you is still strong.
Heaven on Earth (I cannot live without it)
Being with you feels like being in paradise.
Now I just dream about it
I only think about being with you in my dreams.
Are you looking for love? (Are you looking for love?)
Do you want to be loved?
Are you even there?
Are you listening to me?
I would come running from anywhere
I would go anywhere for you.
Please say you won't give up
Please don't abandon our love.
They tell me I'm no angel
People say I'm not perfect.
But I've been waiting long enough
I've been waiting patiently for you.
We made it so far, I can't give up, ooh
We've come too far to give up on our love.
Hey, love should be enough
Love should be enough to keep us together.
Oh, heaven on earth
Paradise is being in love.
Seems so easy
Love seems so simple.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: TOM SCHOLZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@antblake1030
Need more Boston. I hope they release a new album before 2025.
@allenrm120
Great job, David Victor!!! Good Boston song!!!
@lekirh7416
FRAN COSMO ... should be with Boston..✌
@jeremycoffman4157
Make something similar to "Walk On" wouldn't mind that at all 👍
@fuheroes
probably the best song on the new album but had tom used a real drummer this could have been even better
@bolskyrocks
Wish they had Louis St August from MASS sing more on this album!
@jayrichard5358
The best music ever made period.
R.i.p. Brad delp.
@edwardmclaughlin719
lol good one. Do you have a comedy act? Who is sappier Justin Bieber or Boston? Tough call.
@christopherklingel2153
I don't usually go for replacement singers but this guy is amazing
@lennymo36
oh yeah i love fran cosmo