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
With You
Boston Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The type of man I thought was dead and gone
And said, Sparrow, it's you I've come to see
'Cause with you is where I want to be
Oh, with you, with you
You take me higher
With you, with you
With you, the stars shine much brighter
Fallin' into you, with you, with me
There's no way I'd ever resist
Or push away from your tender kiss
I give you my heart for the world to see
'Cause me with you, well it's destiny
Oh, with you, with you
You take me higher
With you, with you
The waters parted the sea
With you, the stars shine much brighter
Fallin' into you, with you, with me
Oh, with you
The stars shine much brighter
Fallin' into you, with you, with you
Oh, with you, with you with me
With you with me
The lyrics to Boston's song "With You" express an intense desire to be with a person who represents the singer's ideal love. The lines "My true love has come to call / The type of man I thought was dead and gone" suggest that the person singing is pleasantly surprised to have found someone who matches their idea of the perfect partner. The lyrics emphasize the singer's deep connection with this person, as they declare that they want to be with them and that being with them makes them feel higher, as though the waters parted the sea and the stars shine brighter.
The second verse of the song reinforces the singer's emotional attachment to their lover with lines like "There's no way I'd ever resist / Or push away from your tender kiss." The lyrics suggest that the singer is willing to be vulnerable and open up to this person, as they say "I give you my heart for the world to see." The choice of words like "destiny" further reinforces the intensity of the singer's feelings for their lover, suggesting that their connection is fated and unbreakable.
Overall, the lyrics to Boston's "With You" capture the intensity of romantic love and the feeling of being completely devoted to someone. The singer expresses a deep desire to be with their lover and emphasizes the transformative power of their connection.
Line by Line Meaning
My true love has come to call
The love of my life has finally shown up.
The type of man I thought was dead and gone
I never expected to find a man like you in this day and age.
And said, Sparrow, it's you I've come to see
He called me by my nickname and told me I was the reason for his visit.
'Cause with you is where I want to be
He made it clear that being with me is his ultimate desire.
Oh, with you, with you
You take me higher
Being with you makes me feel on top of the world.
The waters parted the sea
Our love is so powerful, it can do things beyond our imagination.
With you, the stars shine much brighter
With you by my side, everything seems brighter and happier.
Fallin' into you, with you, with me
I am falling deeper and deeper in love with you every day.
There's no way I'd ever resist
I cannot resist your love and affection.
Or push away from your tender kiss
Your gentle and loving kiss is something I can never turn away from.
I give you my heart for the world to see
I am giving my whole heart to you and showing the world how much I love you.
'Cause me with you, well it's destiny
Our love is meant to be and it was fate that brought us together.
Oh, with you
The stars shine much brighter
Just being with you is enough to light up my world.
Fallin' into you, with you, with you
I am falling deeper and deeper in love with you every day.
Oh, with you, with you with me
With you with me
As long as I have you by my side, I am content and happy.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KIMBERLY K. DAHME
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
avantasia
Kimberley Dahme
Corporate America - 2002
CA cover
Corporate America
Produced and Engineered by Tom Scholz, with the help from Fran and Anthony Cosmo, at their secret basement studios.
1. I Had a Good Time
Written by Tom Scholz
Brad Delp: vocals
Tom Scholz: vocals, guitar, bass drums
sexy girl's voice: Julia Van Daam
It's the journey, not the destination, so have a good time
2. Stare Out Your Window
Written by Anthony Cosmo
Fran Cosmo: vocals
Anthony Cosmo: vocals, guitars
Brad Delp: background vocals
Tom Scholz: bass, drums
also on keyboards: Dow Brain, Frank Talarico
No one likes to be on the outside looking in
3. Corporate America
Written by Tom Scholz
Fran Cosmo: vocshove it"
4. With You
Written by Kimberley Dahme
Kimberley Dahme: vocals, acoustic guitar
Tom Scholz: electric guitar, bass
The way love should be. Kimberley sings it like an angel, and recorded the vocal and acoustic guitar live in one take
Adam Shaw
love this band love this album love this song
Bugface
One of my favorites on the album!
FuzzzWuzzz
This is one of my favorite love songs.
Hypnotiksoul2
This is Boston, and its more blues/folky than straight country. I love it.
Justine S
I very much loved this song.
Ashley K.
this is outstanding, so beautiful
Nevin Thomas
Wonderful song! Yes it is out of the box for Boston, but listen to the harmonies and the lead work, classic Boston. As a musician who grew up with Boston from day one, I can tell you that an artist wants to grow with new sounds and vibrations. And for every one who compares this song to Heart's music... Well guess what, Heart was the female version of Boston. Get over your bad selves.
"CC" camarocowboy
@Nevin Thomas This song is listed on spotify as "Charlie Boston!"But you say this is who is singing it on a Boston cd out of the box.Why would they list it as Charlie Boston?You are right though,the electric guitars say it's Boston alright.Thanks for the info.
Slugmaiden C
My God, it has been a very long time since a song has made my cry! What a beautiful song.
Sandy Jones
Right, this is perfect: Something old, something new, etc., etc. You Gave Up On Love too. Whenever I hear these, I wish for a Boston record with Kim in front. It seems like such an obvious direction to take the band. Who knows, maybe she was asked and turned it down. I'm sure it would be a pile of work for even just one record.