Brad Delp, 1951 - 2007

“I looked out this morning and the sun was gone
Turned on some music to start my day
I lost myself in a familiar song
I closed my eyes and I slipped away”

“We've just lost the nicest guy in rock and roll” BandBoston.com

I’m coming back with this second post today because I just read that Boston singer Brad Delp was found dead yesterday. Unless you lived through the late 70s, it’s impossible to describe how insanely popular Boston was. Everyone, I mean everyone, had that first album. You heard it on the radio, at parties, at school - everywhere. It’s a rare album where every song is a classic.

Individually, I didn’t know much about the band members. I knew the names Tom Scholz and Brad Delp, but couldn’t have told you who else was in Boston. I don’t remember the band being fodder for rock gossip magazines like Creem or Circus, the stuff I was reading back then. But 17 million copies later, we all know the songs: “More Than a Feeling,” “Smokin’,” “Peace of Mind.”

Brad Delp was born June 12, 1951, in Danvers, MA. He met his future band mates when he was 19, while playing in a cover band. While he was Boston’s original singer, he left the band several times to pursue other collaborations. On the 1994 album Walk On, Fran Cosmo replaced Delp. Delp later shared vocals with Cosmo in concert, saying Cosmo covered "the really tough, high parts."

Rock & Roll Band.mp3

More info from CNN.

posted by aikin @ 5:53 PM