Brad Delp

Brad Delp

Delp performing in 1976.
Background information
Birth name Bradley Edward Delp
Born (1951-06-12)June 12, 1951
Peabody, Massachusetts, United States
Origin Danvers, Massachusetts, United States
Died March 9, 2007(2007-03-09) (aged 55)
Atkinson, New Hampshire, United States
Genres Rock
Occupation(s) Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards
Years active 1970–2007
Labels Epic, MCA, Artemis
Associated acts Boston, Barry Goudreau, Orion the Hunter, RTZ, Beatlejuice

Bradley Edward "Brad" Delp (June 12, 1951 – March 9, 2007) was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock bands Boston and RTZ.

Early life

Delp was born in Peabody, Massachusetts on June 12, 1951 to French-Canadian immigrants, and raised in Danvers, Massachusetts.[1]

Musical career

Delp while playing for his band Beatlejuice

In 1969, guitarist Barry Goudreau introduced Delp to Tom Scholz, who was looking for a singer to complete some demo recordings. Eventually Scholz formed the short-lived band Mother's Milk (1973–74), including Delp and Goudreau. After producing a demo, Epic Records eventually signed the act. Mother's Milk was renamed Boston, and the eponymous debut album (recorded in 1975, although many tracks had been written years before) was released in August 1976. Delp performed all of the lead and backing vocals, including all layered vocal overdubs.

Boston's debut has sold more than 20 million copies, and produced rock standards such as "More Than a Feeling", "Foreplay/Long Time" and "Peace of Mind". Delp co-wrote "Smokin'" along with Scholz, and wrote the album's closing track, "Let Me Take You Home Tonight".

Their next album, Don't Look Back, was released two years later in August 1978. Its release spawned new hits such as the title track, "Party" (a sequel of sorts to "Smokin'"), and the poignant ballad "A Man I'll Never Be". As they did with "Smokin'", Delp and Scholz again collaborated on "Party", and Delp penned "Used To Bad News".

After the first two Boston albums, Delp sang vocals on Barry Goudreau's self-titled solo album, released in 1980. Scholz's legendary perfectionism and a legal battle with their record company stalled any further Boston albums until 1986, when the band released the appropriately titled Third Stage. Delp co-wrote the songs "Cool the Engines" and "Can'tcha Say / Still in Love" for the album, and both songs got significant airplay.

Though well known for his "golden" voice with soaring vocals and range,[3][4] Delp was also a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, harmonica and keyboards. He wrote or co-wrote songs for Boston, RTZ, Orion the Hunter, Lisa Guyer, and other artists.

In 1991 Delp and Goudreau formed a new band called RTZ. After Boston released the album "Walk On" in 1994 with Fran Cosmo on vocals, Delp and Boston eventually reunited later that year for another major tour and Delp continued to record vocals on several albums and projects, including new tracks for Boston's 1997 Greatest Hits compilation and their 2002 release, Corporate America.

From the mid-1990s until his death in 2007, Delp also played in a side project when he had time off from Boston – a Beatles tribute band called Beatlejuice. The Beatles had always been a personal favorite of Delp, and he revered them for their songwriting.

During this time Delp also co-wrote and recorded with former Boston bandmate Barry Goudreau and in 2003 released the CD Delp and Goudreau.

Personal life

Delp was twice married and divorced, and had two children by his second wife, Micki Delp. He was a vegetarian for over 30 years, and contributed to a number of charitable causes.[2]

Death

Delp committed suicide sometime between 11:00 pm on March 8 and 1:20 pm on March 9, 2007.[3] The local police discovered his body after a 911 call from Pamela Sullivan when she saw a dryer vent tube connected to the exhaust pipe of Delp's yellow car. They found him lying on a pillow on his master bathroom floor of his home on Academy Avenue in Atkinson, New Hampshire. Two charcoal grills were found to have been lit inside the bathtub causing the room to fill with smoke.[4] A suicide note was paper-clipped to the neck of his T-shirt, which read: "Mr. Brad Delp. 'J'ai une âme solitaire'. I am a lonely soul." Delp left four sealed envelopes in his office addressed to his children, his former wife Micki, his fiancee, and another unnamed couple.[5][6][7] He was 55 years old.

The official cause of death was listed as suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.[8]

The following day, Boston's website was temporarily shut down, the webmaster having replaced their home page with a simple black background and white text message: "We've just lost the nicest guy in rock and roll."[9]

On March 19, 2008, Barry Goudreau released one final song with Delp on vocals titled "Rockin Away". Written and recorded in the summer of 2006, co-written with Goudreau, it is an autobiography of Delp's musical career. The song was a hit in early 2008, charting up to No. 18 on the United States of America's Music ranking of rock radio airplay.[10]

On what would have been Delp's 61st birthday, June 12, 2012, Jenna Delp, Delp's daughter and President of the Brad Delp Foundation, released an MP3 on the foundation website of a "never before released" song which was written and recorded by Delp in 1973. It was also announced that the Foundation intended to release a complete CD of Brad's solo work at some point in the future, which would encompass a span of 30 years of previously unreleased material written and recorded by Delp and his closest friends.[11]

On November 25, 2015, The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts found in favor of the Boston Herald and Micki Delp in a defamation lawsuit stemming from the 2007 suicide of the lead singer ( Brad Delp ) of the rock band "Boston."

On February 23, 2016, Tom Scholz, producer, primary songwriter and lead musician for Boston, filed a writ of certiorari asking the Supreme Court of the United States to allow his defamation lawsuit against the Boston Herald and Micki Delp to go ahead. In question is if the Herald's statement that the hard feelings coming from the breakup of Boston contributing to Delp's suicide are opinion rather than fact, and thus the basis for a defamation suit.[12]

Discography

With Boston

With Barry Goudreau

With Orion the Hunter

With RTZ

With Delp and Goudreau

With Mark "Guitar" Miller

With Orpheus

References

  1. ↑ Pareles, Jon (March 10, 2007). Brad Delp, 55, Lead Singer for Boston, Dies. The New York Times
  2. ↑ Wright, Jeb (July 2003). Interview with Brad Delp. Classic Rock Revisited
  3. ↑ "The Band Boston Fan Site – Lead singer of band Boston dies". Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  4. ↑ "Brad Delp: Details Emerge About His Tragic Suicide". Guitar World. April 27, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  5. ↑ "'I am a lonely soul,' Delp suicide note says". MSNBC. March 15, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Brad Delp's fiancee releases statement on his death". therockradio.com. March 28, 2007. Archived from the original on April 27, 2007.
  7. ↑ "Police Report on Delp's Death Reveals His Final Message". WMUR. March 16, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Family: Rocker Brad Delp's death was suicide.". Boston.com. Associated Press. March 14, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  9. ↑ . March 10, 2007 http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2007/03/10/brad_delp_55_lead_singer_for_bestselling_70s_band_boston/. Retrieved October 11, 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ↑ "'Rockin Away' on Radio Charts". thirdstage.ca. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Brad Delp Foundation press releases".
  12. ↑ http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/scholz-v-delp/

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brad Delp.

"Brad Delp". Find a Grave. Retrieved August 12, 2010. 

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