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
Let Me Take You Home Tonight
Boston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I get this feeling whenever you walk by
I don't want to down you, I want to make you high
If you you could see your way to me, come on and let me try
Let me take you home tonight
Mamma now it's alright
Let me take you home tonight
You must understand this, I've watched you for so long
That I feel I've known you, I know it can't be wrong
If we just get together, I want to make you see
I'm dreaming of your sweet love tonight, so mamma let it be
Let me take you home tonight
Mamma now it's alright
Let me take you home tonight
I'll show you sweet delight
I don't want to make excuses, I don't want to lie
I just got to get loose
With you tonight
Let me take you home tonight
Mamma now it's alright
Let me take you home tonight
I'll show you sweet delight
I don't want to make excuses, I don't want lie
I just got to get loose
With you tonight
I don't want to down you, I want to make you high
And I get this feeling whenever you walk by
If we just get together, I want to make you see
I'm dreamin' of your sweet love tonight, so mamma let it be
Let me take you home tonight
Mamma now it's alright
Let me take you home tonight
I'll show you sweet delight
I want to show you sweet delight, show ya sweet delight
Pretty mamma want to show ya sweet delight
Let me take you home tonight
You know I want to take you home
Let me take you home tonight
I don't want to be alone
Let me take you home tonight
Let me take you home tonight
Let me take you home tonight
I don't want take you home
Let me take you home tonight
Let me take you home tonight
Let me take you home tonight
Let me take you home tonight
Let me take you home tonight
The lyrics of Boston’s song “Let Me Take You Home Tonight” depict a shy and reserved narrator who is fascinated by someone they've been watching from afar. Although the singer is nervous, they still want to make a move, approach the person, and take them home. The opening line, 'Now I'm not like this, I'm really kind of shy,' is an indication of the singer’s fear and insecurity, which are emotions that permeate the entire song.
The singer wants to elevate the person they're admiring, and they want to spend time with them, ideally alone, to show them sweet delight. The repetition of the chorus, "Let me take you home tonight, Mamma now it's alright," underscores the singer's urgent desire to be with the person they've been observing. In the second verse, the singer asserts that they feel like they've known the object of their affection for a long time, even though they've never been formally introduced.
The primary message is that the singer wants the person they've been watching to let down their guard and enjoy a night filled with sweet pleasure with them. The chorus repeats again and again, highlighting the singer's insistence to be with the admired one. The song's urgency comes across as a bit creepy and desperate, even by 1970s standards, making it an interesting artifact of its era.
Line by Line Meaning
Now I'm not like this, I'm really kind of shy
I'm usually reserved but I feel different when you're around
But I get this feeling whenever you walk by
You really catch my attention
I don't want to down you, I want to make you high
I don't want to make you feel bad, I want to make you feel great
If you could see your way to me, come on and let me try
If you're open to it, let me show you what I can do
You must understand this, I've watched you for so long
I've been observing you from a distance for a while now
That I feel I've known you, I know it can't be wrong
I have a strong sense of familiarity with you and I trust it
If we just get together, I want to make you see
I believe we could have something great if we give it a chance
I'm dreaming of your sweet love tonight, so mamma let it be
I can't stop thinking about being with you and I hope you feel the same way
I don't want to make excuses, I don't want to lie
I don't want to give you false reasons or pretend to be someone I'm not
I just got to get loose with you tonight
I want to let loose and have fun with you tonight
I want to show you sweet delight, show ya sweet delight
I want to make you feel amazing
Let me take you home tonight, mamma now it's alright
Let's go somewhere more comfortable and enjoy each other's company
I don't want to be alone, let me take you home tonight
I don't want to end the night by myself, come home with me
Let me take you home tonight
I want to spend the night with you
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BRADLEY DELP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jerry C
The whole freakin album is one of the best things ever
Kim Moss
i never heard a sweeter tune
Raven hair Rock Godess who loves Foreigner 53
Right on .It really is !!
David Ware
I was 14 years old only brother on the listening to rock n roll Boston one of my favorite groups.
EZeee
The only rock album where every song from the album was played on the radio….
daweller
This album is jam-packed with excellent songs.
7beers
Amen.
Dwayne Thompson
In my opinion, Brad Delp was definitely the very Best singer in Rock 'n' Roll history! Although this song, also written by Brad Delp, was over-shadowed by the rest of Boston's great songs on their debut album, I still think it was one of their finest and severely under-rated. R.I.P. Brad...Boston will never be the same (in my opinion).
Devil Eye
It isn't Boston without Brad, that's just an undesputable fact.
Nny
Every track on this album was magnificent and you can never get tired of listening to all of them!