RIP Brad Delp

sad... RIP

 

Very sad news. I feel a deep loss inside of me.

 

I haven't heard him sing anything new for years but, I feel this pain inside as if I lost someone special. This affects me deeper than I could've imagined. A piece of my youth died with him.

 

I got Bostons first album from the Columbia house record club way back when. That month it was double selection of the month, along with Toys in the Attic. Always loved that first album!

Our loss is heavens gain. Imagine what the choir up there sounds like now.

 

I loved Boston and Delps voice was one of the major reasons.Very sad news,

 

Interviewed him by phone for a Dutch rock magazine a few years back. He was a very, very nice and open guy. I love Boston since my highschool days (70's). So sad his voice is silent now. Miss him already. Will play some Boston this weekend.

 

Sweet, sweet tenor voice - and still had it all -
like many here, a huge Beatle fan - loved 'all the bits in the middle'.
A gentle spirit, and an inspirational rock vocalist.

 

Very sad indeed

R.I.P.

Achim

 

As someone said above, I also feel like a small part of my youth passed..I wore that first album out years ago..then one of, if not THE first CD I ever bought back in the early/mid 80's..was the S/T Boston album..the man had an incredible voice. I hadn't really listened to them much in years, but I feel sadder than I would've thought..from what I've read he seemed like a genuinely good person.. RIP..

 

I was shocked when I heard the news on the radio last night. This morning, almost every story about Brad's death proclaims him as "the nicest guy in rock and roll" (as does Boston's website). I think they are correct. I didn't really know him but I was fortunate enough to speak with Brad several times and meet him in 2004. I do a radio show (along with another Mike) here in Maine where Boston kicked off their summer tour in '04. Leading up to the concert, we interviewed Brad twice for our morning radio show. The second interview can be heard here.

Brad Delp Interview with Mike and Mike July 2004

The interview is about 12 minutes long and gives you an idea of what a gentleman he was. In the first interview (sadly, I'm not sure we saved it ) he spoke about his childhood and Boston's formative years up to the release of the first album.

In the interview posted above, he discusses Boston's next two albums, his "Beatle band", "Beetlejuice" and CDs that we would find if we were to root around in his car. We had a mutual friend in Maine guitarist Mark Miller (currently in Austin). Brad and Mark recorded an album together in 1988 which remains unreleased. Brad has always been a big supporter of Mark and his music (Mark really might be the best guitarist you have never heard...he's that good!). I recorded some of Mark's shows and sent some live CDs to Brad. One of those CDs is the first disc he refers to.

For Boston fans, I'm sure there is no new information in the interview posted above but I decided to put it up here as a kind of tribute to demonstrate what a sweet guy he really was. We took some listeners backstage with us before the show in 2004. Brad met with us and arranged to have a guitar signed for our contest winner. We had a few minutes to chat and what would we talk about? The Beatles, (and Mark Miller) of course! Brad told me that he owned all of Steve's McCartney DCC Gold discs and the DCC "Ringo." That made me happy!

Before leaving the room to meet up with the rest of the band for the show, he turned and asked, "have I met everyone? I don't want to leave anyone out." That is a nice guy!

I'm not sure if the has already been posted here but Boston's official website has been temporarily taken down. In it's place, a page with these words...

We've just lost the nicest guy in rock and roll.

www.bandboston.com

 

Waaay back when I was a paperboy, I delivered the local newpaper (The Beverly Times....Wooohoooo!!! ) to his home near Wenham Lake on the Wenham/Beverly town line in Mass. It was in that just prior to/just after timeframe surrounding their 1st release, but of course I never saw him.....and there was barely a mouse stirring on the property. Don't know when he went up to NH but I can see how Kevin might not have known 'cause most of the folks on the street didn't even know who he was. Looks like he had recently been 'hanging around' the 'ol stomping grounds in that Danvers/Wenham/Beverly area doing a benefit over at his former High School.
http://www.townonline.com/danvers/arts/x921554826

 

ya know......

I didnt think there were a whole lot of fans on this site for Boston. some yes, but some also say they didnt care for the music. which I could never understand. I always thought Boston was a universal band and music that could be enjoyed by all types of music lovers.

its nice to see so many people putting out how they feel about this sad news and this great vocalist for a band that really put its mark on the late 70's. even for those who didnt care for the band. Brad prob was the nicest guy in Rock although I didnt know him personally.

I love seeing this thread grow and hope more people express respect for a guy whos voice will never be forgot from a band that was a big part of Rock history.

 

listening to some Boston.

man, Brad finally did "Hitch A Ride" but wayyyyyy to early.

now these songs seem to have another meaning.

 

The first two Boston albums were present at just about every party I went to in high school and college. I can't even begin to articulate how often Brad's voice accompanied the good times of my youth. R.I.P.

 

One of the best voices in rock and roll. Very sad, indeed.

 

Just found out at 8 am on the Today show about this. What a shock.

Everyone I knew thought the Boston albums were amazing, and we couldn't wait for the next, but they always seemed to take forever to be released. They were masterpieces.

Very, very sad. Someone post here when a "cause of death" is given. He was only 6 years older than me. I can't believe these deaths so young.

 

RIP- found out while reading the newspaper.

 

The first CD I ever bought also was Boston's debut album. It was 1987. Before that, I played the cassette constantly, and my friends got irritated by it after awhile. I just couldn't get enough of the album. Still can't.

 

Kick but music with great voices,is that rock or what.

 

He's my favourite singer, my number 1 voice.
Going downtown right now, I need to get drunk, inmediately.
Rest In Peace Bradley Delp.

 

Hey, I'm bummed too. But be careful out there. I hope you're not driving.

 

My local newspaper, The Eagle Tribune, did a nice story on Brad, the person, not Brad, the ROCK STAR.

http://www.eagletribune.com/punews/local_story_068231638.html

Published: March 09, 2007 11:16 pm

Danvers' Brad Delp, singer of '70s band Boston, found dead

From staff and wire reports

ATKINSON, N.H. -- Brad Delp, who grew up in Danvers and was lead singer for the 1970s rock band Boston, was found dead yesterday in his home, police said. He was 55.

Atkinson police responded to a call for help at 1:20 p.m. and found Delp dead. Police Lt. William Baldwin said in a statement the death was "untimely" and there was no indication of foul play.

Delp apparently was alone at the time of his death, Baldwin said.

The cause of his death remained under investigation by the Atkinson police and the New Hampshire Medical Examiner's office. Police said an incident report will not be available until Monday.

Delp's hugely successful rock band rose to fame in the late 1970s and had several hits, including "More Than a Feeling." The group sold millions of records.

But before that, Delp, who grew up on Wadsworth Street in Danvers, played in a band called The Monks while a student at Danvers High.

"Anybody who grew up in Danvers knew who he was," Danvers teacher Lisa Dean told The Salem News this winter. "When he hit it big in '76 and ended up being the lead singer of Boston, of course everybody in the world knew who he was."

Delp's Beatles cover band BeatleJuice headlined Feb. 3 at a fundraiser concert Dean helped organize for the Danvers High Falcons baseball team. It was Delp's first time on the Danvers High auditorium stage since he graduated from there in 1969.

The Monks were known for their performances at high school variety shows and YMCA dances. They held a reunion in July 2001 at the Danversport Yacht Club to raise money for the Friends of Folly Hill, a neighborhood group fighting plans for a subdivision. The reunion featured original members Steve Frary, Steve Cohen, Roger Kimball and Bobby Hayes.

For several years, Delp had been living on a quiet, wooded street just north of the New Hampshire line, in Atkinson. No one answered the door at his home last night.

Neighbors said he lived there with his fiancé, Pam Sullivan, whom he had proposed to over Christmas and planned to marry this summer. He also has a teenage son who lives in California and sometimes came to visit in the summertime, according to neighbors.

Ken Silva, who lived directly across the street from Delp for four years, said he was friendly and kind, often helping his neighbors shovel snow or dropping by to say "hello" if he saw Silva out on the front lawn.

"Brad was just a regular guy," he said. "You wouldn't know Brad was a famous pop star."

Next door to Silva, 14-year-old Amanda Harty has pictures of her and Delp from one of the many BeatleJuice shows she has attended, the last one at the Portsmouth Music Hall just a couple of weeks ago. But Harty also enjoyed Boston's music, especially since her name is the same as one of their most famous songs.

Harty said she was impressed with how normal Delp was.

"You'd think a lead singer from a big band would be snobby," she said. "He was just all around a good person."

Last night, Boston's official Web site was taken down and replaced with the statement: "We just lost the nicest guy in rock and roll."

A call to the Swampscott home of Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau was not immediately returned last night.

 

I got a new job 3 months ago, the first good one I got in my 33 years of life. I was saving money to go from Spain to wherever in the US to see Boston live next summer, I thought it may be my last chance, I didn't care about the money, it was going to be a life-time experience to me.
I'm shocked.

 

Bummer, I missed seeing Beatlejuice last year, I wanted to go this year, I've never seen Boston live and that first album is one of my all time favorites. Brad's voice will always be one of my favorites too, its fun trying to sing along and making a complete fool of yourself.

RIP Brad.