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Rocker from New England
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Tom Scholz created Boston before disappearing into sunset
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After a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Tom Scholz joined the Polaroid Corporation as a product designer. During his off-hours, he recorded music in his 12-track basement studio.
Scholz then joined friends Barry Goudreau (guitar), Brad Delp (guitar, vocals), Fran Sheehan (bass) and Sib Hashian (drums) to form Boston. The 1976 self-titled maiden album sold 11 million copies and became the fastest selling debut in rock. Besides reaching No. 3, it stayed on the US charts for two years.
It's most memorable single, More Than A Feeling, epitomised the group's style that featured the guitar upfront, harmony vocals backed up by heavy bass and drums. They adopted the same formula with cosmetic changes for their second album, Don't Look Back. It peaked on the charts but the 6 million sales were deemed disappointing.
Anti-climax
Crowds at concerts dropped and the band felt audience interest declining. A long-drawn court battle began between Scholz and CBS Records, which the former won eventually. While this feud ran, Goudreau, Sheehan and Hashian quit, but Scholz bashed on regardless. He even invented the Rockman, a paperback-size guitar amplifier with headphones.
Following the exit of his mates, who also sued him, Scholz retained the right to the Boston moniker. In 1986, he combined with Delp for Third Stage, which yielded two hits and stayed put at the peak of the US charts for four weeks. Amanda, reached No. 1, while We're Ready touched No. 9. By 1994, when Walk On was released, Scholz was the sole remnant of the original line-up. The four albums, three of them scaling the charts, had a combined sale of nearly 50 million copies.
Delp returned in 1995 and `Greatest Hits' in 1997 added three new tracks that included a rock arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner.
A. GEORGE ANTONY
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