BRAD DELP

'Bradley E. Delp' (June 12 1951 – March 9 2007) was an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Boston.

Contents

Early life

Boston and bands

Later life and death

Discography

References

External links

Early life

Born in Danvers, Massachusetts^[1] to Canadian immigrants. While his father played fiddle at home, Brad was inspired after seeing The Beatles perform on ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' in 1964 and he started to learn guitar. He saw the Beatles live at Suffolk Downs in East Boston on 18 August 1966. Delp's bandmates, friends unite in tribute and in sadness In 1970, he was making heating elements for Mr. Coffee machines at Danvers company Hot-Watt when he met Boston founder Tom Scholz, guitarist Barry Goudreau and drummer Jim Masdea.

Boston and bands

Delp auditioned as lead vocalist for the band that became Boston in 1969, and got the job immediately. He also contributed back-up vocals, guitar, and keyboards on the Boston albums, and also played the harmonica. His partnership with guitarist Tom Scholz led to a string of hit songs.^[2]
Delp did all of the lead and backing vocals on the first three Boston Albums. Following the 1978 album ''Don't Look Back'', Delp contributed lead vocals to a solo album by Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau. Delp also contributed backing vocals to Orion the Hunter's debut album (1984), another band from Goudreau.^[3] He returned to the group Boston to record ''Third Stage'', released in 1986.
On the 1994 album ''Walk On'', Fran Cosmo replaced Delp who was working with Return to Zero, but the album did not sell as well. Delp later shared vocals with Cosmo in concert, where Delp said Cosmo covered "the really tough high parts." ^[4]
Delp returned to the Boston line-up in 1994 and made contributions to their 1997 ''Greatest Hits'' and 2002 ''Corporate America'' albums.
From 1995-2007 Delp played in a Beatles tribute band called Beatlejuice when he had time off from the band. Delp also performed with Goudreau on an album released in 2006, titled ''Delp and Goudreau''.

Later life and death

Delp was married and divorced twice, and had two children by his second wife. He had been a vegetarian for over thirty years and had contributed to a number of charitable causes.^[5] He had been set to marry Pamela Sullivan, his girlfriend of seven years.
On March 9 2007 Delp was found dead in his home in Atkinson, New Hampshire. He had killed himself in his bathroom by burning charcoal and was found by his fiancee.^[6][7] That day, the official Web site for the band was taken down and replaced with the statement: "We've just lost the nicest guy in rock and roll."
Delp left private notes to all his family members and a public note that read: "Mr. Brad Delp. J'ai une âme solitaire. I am a lonely soul." ^[8]
[9]
A tribute concert featuring his former band mates was scheduled for 19 August 2007, the day after his marriage was to have taken place, R.I.P.

Discography

''Boston'' (1976)
''Don't Look Back'' (1978)
''Barry Goudreau'' (1980)
''Orion The Hunter'' (1984)
''Third Stage'' (1986)
''Return To Zero'' (1991)
''Greatest Hits (Boston)'' (1997)
''Lost'' (1998)
''Corporate America'' (2002)
''Lost And Found'' (2005)
''Delp And Goudreau'' (2006)

References

1. Pareles, Jon (March 10 2007). Brad Delp, 55, Lead Singer for Boston, Dies. ''The New York Times''
2. Pareles, Jon (November 5 1986) New Boston hit a throwback to the 70's. ''The New York Times''
3. Winberg, Pär (1980). Interview with Brad Delp. melodic.net
4. Pareles, Jon (June 10 1995). In performance: Rock. ''The New York Times''
5. Wright, Jeb (July 2003). Interview with Brad Delp. ''Classic Rock Revisited''
6. Police Report On Delp's Death Reveals His Final Message March 14, 2007
7. Family: Rocker Brad Delp's death was suicideMarch 14, 2007
8. Boston Singer Death: Brad Delp Wrote 'Lonely Soul' Suicide Note March 16, 2007
9. Brad Delp's fiancee releases statement on his death March 28, 2007

External links

★

★