Boston The Tragic History Of the Band, Death of Brad Delp & Tom Scholz Perfectionism

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What's going on my fellow rock n' rollers. Don't  forget to hit the bell notification icon to be   notified every time i put out a new video on my  channel. If i had to name one of my favourite   records of all time, I’d probably have to go with  Boston’s self titled debut record. Released in   1976, the album was a massive success selling  over 17 million copies. And it set the path for   what should have been a massive career, but it  didn’t. 4 years later, the band only released   one more album and they quickly crashed and  burned. So what happened? Stay tuned to find out! Tom Scholz was the mastermind behind Boston. An  MIT alumni and following graduation he would end   up getting a job with Polaroid working as a  product design engineer. Apart from tinkering   with electronics, he also was into music, having  played in a series of bands in the city of Boston   with names like Middle Earth, Freehold and  Mother’s Milk. While he spent a lot of time   on the live music circuit, he quickly realized  he wasnt going to get a record deal that way.   It was then he turned his attention to recording  demos in some local studios which never caught   the interest of record labels. He soon built a  twelve track recording studio in his basement   and again record labels showed no  interest in what he was creating.  It wasn’t until he enlisted the help of several  musicians he had played on the local boston   circuit that he finally got the attention  of the labels. Guitarist Barry Goudreau,   who Scholz played with in boston on the live music  circuit would introduce him to singer Brad Delp.   They worked on and created the songs that  formed the first Boston album, albeit some   of them with different names. San Francisco  Day which was later to named Hitch A Ride,   It Isn’t Easy which was re-titled Something About  You, Foreplay, originally composed in 1969, Peace   Of Mind, Rock ’N’ Roll Band, and the final track  they recorded was called, Ninety Days which was   later renamed More Than A Feeling. The hand claps  on the song were even from Scholz first wife.  And you would think these songs would’ve created a  bidding war with the record labels, but it didn’t.   In fact most record labels passed  on the demos. But in 1975, Tom,   Scholz was contacted a representative from ABC  Records named Charlie McKenzie. It had turned   out by some strange twist of fate McKenzie had  heard the demo while he was visiting a friend   who worked at RCA records. That friends name  was Paul Ahern. McKenzie and Ahern convinced   Scholz to let them shop around the demo  claiming they could get him a record deal.   They would end up taking the demo to CBS  owned Epic Records who showed interest,   but prior to signing a deal they wanted to  see the band perform live for executives.  Epic staff producer Tom Werman recalled to Classic  Rock Magazine hearing the demos for the first time   revealing "After More Than A Feeling, which  sounded quite like the final product, and halfway   through the second song, I stopped the tape. I  couldn’t believe that this music was actually   available to us, and told Ahern that if Lennie  and I could see the band reproduce this live,   we'd guarantee to sign them. " As Scholz turned to his live showcase   for the record executives he knew he didn’t really  have a band. Scholz would work with Delp as well   as a bunch of local musicians they already knew  from the Boston music scene for the live showcase,   which took place at a warehouse space, which  ended up belonging to Aerosmith. The band   passed with flying colours and ended up signing an  astounding 10 album deal that would last 6 years.   While it may seem crazy, that was the standard  contract that was given to bands back then.  However, things started to turn sour for Scholz  when Epic Records told him that they wanted to   re-record the demos in a studio setting with  an experienced producer. The label suggested   John Boylan who met with Scholz where the  pair hatched a pretty impressive scheme.   Instead of going to LA to re-record the demos,  which Scholz thought was pointless, He would stay   home in Boston and work in his basement sprucing  up the demos to give the record label something   that seemed more polished. Meanwhile, the rest  of the band would go to Los Angeles to work on   new material that would turn into the song Let  Me Take You Home Tonight, Scholz stayed home,   fastidiously gussying up the demos to give Epic  something that sounded like a more polished   version and he would end up striking a deal with  Boylan where he got a producer credit as well.   The plan worked and the label was none the wiser. With an album in the can, the band still didn’t   have a name. It would be the album’s producer  and his engineer who suggested Boston and the   name stuck. Released in the summer of 1976 the  album was a massive hit becoming the fastest   selling record of the 70’s helped in large part by  the opening track and single More Than a Feeling  "More Than a Feeling" was a top 5 hit and it was  enough for Scholz to quit his job at Polaroid.  Now the band had to turn it’s attention to  touring, which saw them open for some pretty   big names including, opening for Foghat, Black  Sabbath, and Blue Öyster Cult. While the tour   was enjoyable for the group, the record label  was hungry for another album. Scholz felt the   pressure, but being the perfectionist he was,  he felt like it was too soon to record a follow   up. Soon enough Scholz started to work on Boston’s  sophomore record 1978’s Don’t Look Back. And while   the record hit number 1 on the album charts, and  sold over 7 million copies, Scholz felt like it   was rushed despite the fact it was delivered a  year later than the label wanted. Scholz wanted   the freedom to work on the album for as long as  he needed without the pressure of a label, but   unfortunately, the business doesn’t work that way. The tour to support the album was grueling lasting   over 2 years. And during an interview with  thirdstage Scholz revealed: “We had gone on   a horrible tour in 1978-79. We played BOSTON songs  and I loved playing on stage but it was horrible.   It was long and when I got off the road I wasn’t  sure that I wanted to ever go on tour again.   Brad told me that he didn’t ever want to go on  tour. I was going to hang it up and just record.   I took a little time off after Don’t Look  Back. I was drained. I was more than drained,   I was demoralized. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be  in the music business. I didn’t like what I had   seen. Brad and I had made a lot of money for a  lot of people and I didn’t like what they were   doing. I began to feel guilty about enabling  people to do things that I didn’t approve of.   I considered leaving music altogether and  going back to being an engineer" he'd say.  Scholz ended up staying in the music industry  and began work on Boston’s third album,   but he was going to take his time until he was  ready to release something new. It was around this   time the guitarist realized that his manager  Paul Ahern had owned a percentage of all the   songs he had written when they first signed their  contract during the mid 70’s. The manager would be   sacked by Scholz and he turned around and sue. Burned out by what was going on around him,   Scholz convened his band and told them he was  no longer interested in working on music and   they were free to pursue other career ventures.  So guitarist Barry Goudreau managed to sign a   deal with Epic Records and released a solo album  which featured future boston vocalist Fran Cosmo.   The guitarist’s solo record was enjoyed by  critics, but commercially it didn’t do much.   Things took a turn or the worst for Scholz noticed  a billboard Epic ran advertising Goudreau’s album   with the claim “12 million people know the sound  of this guitar. We’d like to introduce you to the   owner.” Tom allegedly complained to the label  and it was claimed he wanted Epic Records to   pull support for the album, a charge he now  denies. Goudreau left Boston in 1981 with   Scholz claiming they ended their relationship on  good terms during an interview with Third Stage. The next fight Scholz had to face was with Epic  Records and their parent company CBS who were   eager for a third record. With years having  passed since Don’t Look Back was released the   label devised a plan to withhold royalty payments  to scholz to force his hand to release an album   sooner rather than later. The plan failed and  with no other options Epic’s parent company CBS   would file a lawsuit against Schulz citing  a breach of contract in 1984 claiming the   guitarist was and i quote "uncooperative." In turn  Scholz retaliated with his own lawsuit over unpaid   royalty payments. Scholz would win both cases  despite the fact the litigation lasted for   over half a decade and slowed the progress  on a third record. It was during this time   Scholz sought out a new record label eventually  signing with MCA, but CBS records was pretty   vengeful and ended up suing MCA issuing a cease  and desist order, and they wanted a huge advance   claiming that for every album Scholz sold on any  future boston releases CBS should get 25 cents.   His old label would end up losing their  case in 1985 and Scholz was now a free man.  During the litigation Scholz also founded a  music research and development company in 1982   called Scholz research and development, which made  amplifiers and other musical electronic equipment.  With record label lawsuits behind him Scholz was  able to finish the work he started on Boston’s   third album. Scholz would bring back vocalist Brad  Delp, as well as drummer Jim Masdea who helped him   on the original boston demo and also joining them  in 1985 was former Sammy Hagar guitarist Gary Pihl   who also helped out Scholz with his research and  development company by acting as an executive. The   resulting album would be 1986’s Third Stage, which  was a quasi concept that explored the several   stages of life from infancy to adulthood. Compared  to the band’s first two records, it represented a   more subdued sound, while still featuring a  few songs that harkened back to late 70’s.   Despite the long gaps between records the album  still went platinum, selling over 4 million units.   The Third Stage. Following it’s release the  band hit the road for 2 years supporting the   album and they would play the third stage  from start to finish during live shows.  As the 90’s rolled in, Boston turned  their attention to their new album,   but much like the rest of the career, things  never went easy. Tom Scholz was surprised when   singer Brad Delp left the band soon joined former  guitarist Brad Goudreau’s new band at the time,   RTZ. And ust like that the recognizable voice  of Boston was gone leaving Scholz as the only   original member remaining. Prior to his  departure Delp did help co-write a song   With Delp's departure, Scholz was then the  last remaining original member. Prior to   his departure Brad Delp did help co-wrote  a song that would be titled"Walk On", which   became the title track of Boston's next album. Needing a new singer, Scholz looked closer to   home than getting a complete outsider when he  enlisted former Iron The Hunter singer Fran   Cosmo who had played on Barry Goudreau’s solo  record. The next Boston album titled Walk on   would be released in 1994 and there would be  elements of the band’s three previous records   sprinkled throughout the album. The album  failed to be a top 5 hit peaking at number 7,   but it still went platinum and produced the single  i need your love. As the band got ready to hit the   road to support the record, vocalist Brad Delp  rejoined the group. With two singers in the band,   Delp shared vocal duties with new singer Fran  Cosmo.Looking back at Boston's career 8 appears   to be the magic number in Boston time as the  band would take another 8 years to release their   follow up album, 2002’s corporate america.The  marketing strategy behind corporate america was   a bit different from their previous records as  Boston was no longer on a big label and Scholz   would upload the album to mp3.com under the  monicker Downer's Revenge instead of Boston.   Waiting 8 years between releases meant  there was seismic shift in rock n’ roll   as trends came and went and Scholz was worried  that if the album had the Boston name on it,   some people wouldn’t have bothered to have  given the record a chance.Corporate America   was released on a now defunct indie label  Artimis, which was headed by nirvana’s longtime   manager Danny Goldberg. The record featured the  largest lineup of Boston to date with Cosmo and   Delp both singing on the album. But Corporate  America would fall on deaf ears and didn’t even   chart in the top 40, but that didn’t stop the  band from touring for several years on the album.   And Scholz’s business relationship with Artimis  records would be shortlived as he turn around   and sued the labe for $4 million records for  as he claimed inadequately promoting the album,   despite repeated promises from the label that the  record would be the company's highest priority.  Fast forward to March of 2007 fans were shocked  to learn that the voice of the band Brad Delp   had taken his life at his home in new Hampshire.  Rather than coming together the aftermath had   a lot of people pointing fingers more specifically  at Tom Scholz. Scholz was accused of running his   band with an iron fist, with little regards  for how his bandmates felt,with some claiming   it made Delp feel marginilized. Scholz  defended himself claiming Delp was free   to come and go in the band and that he did. Things got especially ugly when his widow Delp's   widow gave an interviews to the Boston Herald  where she incinuatedthat Scholz was responsible   for her husband’s death. This resulted in  Scholz suing the widow as well as the newspaper   for running a defamatory story  and causing emotional distress.   Following his death the members of  Boston held a tribute concert to Delp   titled ‘Come Together: A Tribute To Brad Delp’, In 2013 Boston released their sixth album, Life,   Love & Hope, which featured lead vocals  from Brad Delp among many other singers.   The album’s sessions dated back to 2002. In the  subsequent years Scholz has continued to tour   under the Boston name and it was reported in 2018  that some of the band’s master recordings were   destroyed in the universal music fire. During an interview with thirdstage   webside, Tom Scholz was asked Last one: Has anyone ever told you   that you are too damn smart for your own good? To which he would respond I used to be very   smart but I am not that smart anymore. I  am just right now he's say. So that does   it for today's video.thanks for watching. Be  sure to hit the like button and subscribe.   If you guys have suggestions for future topics let  me know in the comments section below. Take care.
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Channel: Rock N' Roll True Stories
Views: 1,153,396
Rating: 4.845705 out of 5
Keywords: rock n' roll, rock, music, documentary, story, interview, boston, boston band, tom scholtz boston, more than a feeling, don't look back, third boston, walk on boston, corporate america boston, brad help boston, brad delp tom scholtz, tom Schultz interview, boston band history, brad delp boston, brad delp death, don't look back boston
Id: vWLNrlILiqA
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Length: 12min 57sec (777 seconds)
Published: Tue Nov 24 2020
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