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' For You
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
It's love that you see
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 about how the singer can no longer imagine living without the person they love. The song expresses how all their actions and thoughts revolve around this individual and how they feel that this person is their purpose for living. The singer mentions how they don't need to say that they love this person since they have waited so long to express it. The lyrics convey a sense of hopefulness and optimism that their love will be reciprocated, and that their relationship will continue to grow and flourish.
The lyrics suggest that the singer believes in unconditional love and that they are willing to do anything to make their significant other happy. They mention how love is about giving, and they are willing to give everything they have to this person they love. The song speaks to the power of love, and how it can make someone feel complete and whole. It also hints at the idea that love can be a religious experience and that the love they feel for this person is all-consuming.
Line by Line Meaning
Livin' without you never could be so wrong
My life without you feels incomplete and wrong
Don't need to say it, I never waited so long
I don't need to express my feelings to you, but I've been waiting for this moment for a long time
Thinking about you in everything I do
You are always on my mind in whatever I do
Love is for giving, You know I'm just livin' for you
My love for you is selfless and I live my life only for you
And I, I never needed to lie
I have never felt the need to lie to you
Can't you see I believe in my heart when I'm saying
My words are honest and come directly from my heart
It's love that you see
My feelings for you are pure love
You're just the one for me
You are the only one for me
I'm praying
I hope that my prayers are answered and you will stay with me
Maybe I'm dreaming, don't want to wake up now
I feel like all of this is too good to be true, and I never want it to end
Baby, I love you, I always knew it somehow
I have loved you for a long time, even before I realized it myself
Happened so easy, don't need to think it through
Our love came naturally and I never had to force it
It's not so amazing
Our love is not something out of the ordinary, it's just the way it is supposed to be
Been going so crazy for you
I have been deeply in love with you for a long time
Dreaming and hoping, hoping that dreams come true
I am always dreaming and hoping that our love will grow stronger
You're my religion, girl, I've been livin' for you
You are my everything, I am devoted to you and live my life only for you
Don't want to fight it, tried everything I know
I have tried to resist my feelings for you, but I cannot fight it anymore
You're everywhere I try to go
I cannot escape my feelings for you no matter where I go
You mean the world to me
You are the most important thing in my life
I'm praying for you
I ask for your well-being and happiness every day
Knew it so easy, don't have to think it through
Our love is so natural and effortless, I never have to question it
Love is for giving
Love is an act of generosity and selflessness
I know I'm just livin' for you
I am devoted to you and my life is fully dedicated to loving you
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: TOM SCHOLZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind