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
The Journey
Boston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There was something missing
You should have known by the tone of my voice maybe
But you didn't listen
And you played dead, but you never bled
Instead you lay still in the grass
All coiled up and hissing
And though I know all about those men
Still I don't remember
Cos it was us baby, way before then
And we're still together
And I meant every word I said
When I said that I love you
I meant that I love you forever
And I'm gonna keep on loving you
Cos it's the only thing I wanna do
I don't wanna sleep
I just wanna keep on loving you
And I meant every word I said
When I said that I love you
I meant that I love you forever
And I'm gonna keep on loving you
Cos it's the only thing I wanna do
I don't wanna sleep
I just wanna keep on loving you
Baby, I'm gonna keep on loving you
Cos it's the only thing I wanna do
I don't wanna sleep
I just wanna keep on loving you
The lyrics to Boston’s “The Journey” describe the singer's desire to continue loving their partner, despite previous issues in the relationship. The first verse acknowledges that their partner failed to recognize their emotional distress, despite clear signals. The singer felt something was missing and their tone revealed that, but their partner did not listen. The second verse references “those men,” likely alluding to past relationships that have caused the singer to feel jaded or mistrustful. However, despite these experiences, the singer and their current partner have a bond that has lasted. The chorus repeats the singer's unwavering commitment to their partner and love for them.
The lyrics overall speak to the idea of enduring love and commitment, despite the challenges that arise in any relationship. The singer's willingness to continue loving their partner is a testament to the strength of their bond. Despite past experiences that may have caused them to doubt relationships, the singer is confident in their feelings for their partner and their desire to continue loving them.
Line by Line Meaning
You should have seen by the look in my eyes, baby
I showed you through my eyes that something was missing in our relationship.
There was something missing
Our relationship was lacking something important.
You should have known by the tone of my voice maybe
My voice gave away my feelings, but you didn't pay attention.
But you didn't listen
You didn't pay attention to my feelings.
And you played dead, but you never bled
You acted like nothing was wrong, but you were never hurt by what was missing.
Instead you lay still in the grass
You remained calm and didn't show any emotion.
All coiled up and hissing
You were tense and ready to strike, like a snake.
And though I know all about those men
Although I know about other men who might try to love you, it doesn't matter.
Still I don't remember
I don't remember those other men because our love goes back a long time.
Cos it was us baby, way before then
Our love existed before those other men came along.
And we're still together
Our love has stood the test of time and we're still together.
And I meant every word I said
I truly meant it when I said I love you.
When I said that I love you
When I expressed my love for you.
I meant that I love you forever
My love for you is eternal.
And I'm gonna keep on loving you
I will continue to love you no matter what.
Cos it's the only thing I wanna do
Loving you is my top priority.
I don't wanna sleep
I'm not interested in sleeping or resting, because...
I just wanna keep on loving you
All I want to do is love you forever.
Baby, I'm gonna keep on loving you
My love for you is unwavering.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: T. SCHOLZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Wesley Bradford
I love The Journey. I can close my eyes and it's like I'm traveling through outer space. And the segue to It's Easy is like sudden acceleration to warp speed. I usually listen to this album start to finish as I do with the debut album. Ya I know they weren't perfect but they managed to get me through extreme periods of depression and self-doubt esp in my teens. Forever grateful to each band member for his skill, honesty, and positive energy that was (still is) Boston! 😊👍
Irvin Ruiz
My dad used to listen to this out loud when I was a young boy, I'm 33yrs old now, the journey always made me imagine like I was traveling to a different world with the unknown 💗🌌🪐 the whole album is magic
David Morrow
❤️🇺🇸Love This (Journey)
I close my eyes and it takes me back to when I was younger to up to present in minutes.
The journey is still going .
❤️🇺🇸Thank You
Boston
Eduardo Nolasco Flores
Muchos
La
Consideraron
Musica
Chatarra
Para
Mi
Persona
Siempre
La
He
Considerado
Maravillosa
Blockmm
I love this song from more than 30 years ago.
Michele Parker
44 years ago for me!!!🤗
Brian Hamilton
Always loved Boston
John Stix
Tom Scholz told me that of all the songs on the first three Boston albums, this one is his favorite.
Ricc Ardo
This song is the reason I started confusing the Boston with the Journey, love yuo both though
Miracle Tire
Best with headphones.