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
Livin
Boston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't need to say it, I never waited so long
Thinking about you in everything I do
Love is for giving,
You know I'm just livin' for you
And I, I never needed to lie
Can't you see I believe in my heart when I'm saying
You're just the one for me
I'm praying
Maybe I'm dreaming, don't want to wake up now
Baby, I love you, I always knew it somehow
Happened so easy, don't need to think it through
It's not so amazing
Been going so crazy for you
Dreaming and hoping, hoping that dreams come true
You're my religion, girl, I've been livin' for you
Don't want to fight it, tried everything I know
I won't deny it,
You're everywhere I try to go
And I, I never needed to lie
Can't you see I believe in my heart when I'm saying
It's love that you see
You mean the world to me
I'm praying for you
Oh
Knew it so easy, don't have to think it through
Love is for giving
I know I'm just livin' for you
Love is for giving
I know I'm just livin' for you
Oh
The song "Livin' for You" by Boston is a love song that expresses the intensity of the singer's affection towards his significant other. The lyrics suggest that the singer cannot imagine living without his lover and how he has been thinking about her in everything he does. The song talks about how love is for giving, and the singer is living solely for her. He has not needed to lie to her because he believes in his heart that he truly loves her. The lyrics suggest that the singer is praying for her and her well-being.
The tone of the song is intense, and the lyrics are touching. The singer's emotional attachment to his lover is clear and sincere. The lyrics are very direct, and they speak directly to the listener's heart. The melody is also very soothing, and the sound is memorable. The song is simple yet has a depth that can only come from true feelings of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Livin' without you never could be so wrong
My life is incomplete without you and it feels so wrong.
Don't need to say it, I never waited so long
I don't have to express it because I have been waiting for you for so long.
Thinking about you in everything I do
You are constantly on my mind and influence everything I do.
Love is for giving,
Love is not meant to be kept and stored, it is meant to be given to another person.
You know I'm just livin' for you
My existence revolves around you and I am living just for you.
And I, I never needed to lie
I have never had the need to hide my true feelings about you.
Can't you see I believe in my heart when I'm saying
My heart truly believes the words that I am saying about loving you.
It's love that you see
The emotion that you see in my eyes and actions is the love that I have for you.
You're just the one for me
Out of everyone in the world, you are the only one that I want to be with.
I'm praying
I am hoping that my love for you is returned.
Maybe I'm dreaming, don't want to wake up now
This feels too good to be true and I am scared that I will lose it if I wake up.
Baby, I love you, I always knew it somehow
My love for you has always existed, even before I realized it myself.
Happened so easy, don't need to think it through
Falling in love with you has been effortless and I don't have to rationalize it.
It's not so amazing
These feelings are not something out of the ordinary, they are natural given how wonderful you are.
Been going so crazy for you
You are the only thing on my mind and I am going to great lengths to be with you.
Dreaming and hoping, hoping that dreams come true
I am holding onto the hope that our love will come to fruition and be fulfilled.
You're my religion, girl, I've been livin' for you
You are the source of my devotion and passion, and I am living solely for you and our love.
Don't want to fight it, tried everything I know
I don't want to resist the love that I have for you anymore, even if it goes against what I have known before.
You're everywhere I try to go
You permeate every aspect of my life, and I cannot escape or ignore the strength of my feelings for you.
You mean the world to me
You are the most important thing in my life and you are invaluable to me.
Knew it so easy, don't have to think it through
I knew that I loved you from the beginning, and I didn't have to reason it out in my mind.
Oh
An expression of strong emotion and passion for the person being addressed.
Love is for giving
Repetition of the importance of giving love freely, without reserve.
I know I'm just livin' for you
I am living only for you, and my love for you is the reason for my existence.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: TOM SCHOLZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind