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
If You Were In Love
Boston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like words you'll never say, it's so wrong, but feels so right
And now, lost in a dream I sail on your sea
Somehow in my fantasy I believe in dreams
We could settle down, wouldn't fool around
Wouldn't have a doubt if you were in love
We could find a way, if you were in love with me
oh, oh, if you were in love with me
Hope, time after time, with my heart on my sleeve
And love will find me tonight, in my dreams when you leave
Oh I, I just dream about you, it brings me to my knees
I can't hide what I feel about you, I want to beg you, please
We could settle down, wouldn't fool around
Wouldn't have a doubt, if you were in love
If you'd feel the same, I'd do anything
We could find a way, if you were in love with me
Oh I, I dream about you
And now, I'm lost in a dream I sail on your sea
Somehow in my fantasy, I believe in dreams
Oh, oh if you were in love with me
Oh, oh, if you were in love with me
We could settle down, wouldn't fool around
Wouldn't have a doubt if you were in love with me
If you'd feel the same, I'd do anything,
We could find a way
If you were in love with me
[Repeat]
The lyrics of the song If You Were In Love by Boston speaks about a person who dreams of being loved by someone they cherish. The opening line itself is very profound which says “Dreams slipping away, just like sand in the tide” - which could mean that the dreams of being loved is slowly slipping away from them. They feel that some things are wrong but they feel right at the same time. The following line “And now, lost in a dream I sail on your sea” conveys that the person is lost in their own dreams and imaginations, where they believe that their fantasy of being loved by someone will come true. They believe in the power of dreams that will lead them to what they desire.
The lyrics further convey that the person is hopeful and has time after time put their heart on their sleeve in the hopes that they will find love. The line “Oh I, I just dream about you, it brings me to my knees” expresses the intensity of their emotions towards the person they long to be with. The song culminates with a hopeful note that if the person they long to be with reciprocates their feelings, they could settle down and find a way to be together.
Overall, the lyrics of If You Were In Love by Boston is about the longing for love, and the power of dreams to fuel this longing until it becomes a reality. The lyrics are deep, emotional and meaningful, touching the hearts of many fans.
Line by Line Meaning
Dreams slipping away, just like sand in the tide
The dream of being with you is slipping away like sand slipping away through my fingers.
Like words you'll never say, it's so wrong, but feels so right
There are things I would like to say to you, but I can't bring myself to say them. It's wrong because I have to keep it to myself, but it feels right to keep dreaming.
And now, lost in a dream I sail on your sea
I'm so lost in my dreams that I feel like I'm floating on the sea of my thoughts of you.
Somehow in my fantasy I believe in dreams
Even though it's just a fantasy, I believe in it so much that it feels like it's real.
We could settle down, wouldn't fool around
If we were together, we could make a commitment to each other and not play around with other people.
Wouldn't have a doubt if you were in love
If you were truly in love with me, I would never have to doubt your feelings for me.
If you'd feel the same, I'd do anything
If you felt the same way I do, I would do anything for you and be devoted to you.
We could find a way, if you were in love with me
If you truly loved me, we could find a way to make our relationship work.
Hope, time after time, with my heart on my sleeve
I keep hoping for something more with my heart out in the open.
And love will find me tonight, in my dreams when you leave
I hope that love will find me tonight when I dream of you even though you are not here with me.
Oh I, I just dream about you, it brings me to my knees
I can't stop thinking about you even in my dreams, it has such an emotional impact on me and makes me feel weak.
I can't hide what I feel about you, I want to beg you, please
I can't keep these feelings for you hidden anymore, I just want to beg for your love.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: TOM SCHOLZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
am2boni
My favorite song from this new CD! I love Kimberly's voice and the sounds of Boston's guitars!!!
tinozepeda
Love Kimberley Dahme's vocals on this track. Truly enjoying this album.
John Gagnon
The first time I heard the first album of Boston I listened to it 27 consecutive times. Instantly a Boston fan for life n go by brads house frequently. From corporate America Kim's debut W Boston her wanna do it again had me hooked. Boston always changing its why I love them. If you were in love W me. That song is so powerful. Kim's magical voice pulls you into the song. And in fact I on the life love n hope album it's my favorite song. Kim you rock.
Bryan Yakubik
Boston has defined every stage of my life.. For some strange reason the sound and content has touched me deeper than I can explain . This has defiantly defined my next stage and inspired me to my greatest level.
Luca Mvp
Bryan Yakubik SAME EXACT THING FOR ME
krizan1
Same here. Many of their songs break me. 'Man I'll Never Be', 'Livin' For You', 'Hollyann', 'To Be A Man', 'The Way You Look Tonight' & this beauty. When you've been in love for six years with the most beautiful woman (and have never told her), some songs hit different. 😭 Merry Xmas 💗
Crimson Tide
Great song ! Boston needed something new and this makes the grade. The death of Brad was a huge loss for the band and us as Boston fans. I think this whole album was fantastic and a great tribute to Brad Delp.
Kimberly 's is super
Thanks
gatorfrenzy
What a GREAT album!!!
Mark Villeneuve
Kimberley Dahme has been a really great influence on Boston's artistic direction and development!
Luke Brody
I hope you're kidding. Since she joined Boston the band records sales, concert attendence, and online reviews have been their lowest. I would say they have undeveloped.