Bradley Edward Delp (June 12, 1951 – March 9, 2007) was an American musician who was the original lead singer and frontman of the rock band Boston. He joined the band in 1970 and appeared on every album with the exception of Walk On (1994) and also participated in every tour prior to his death in 2007. Delp was known for his “unique and soulful singing and the vocal range of his ‘golden’ voice”. ILoveClassicRock.com ranked Delp third on its list of the top 10 male classic rock vocalists; it described Delp’s tenor voice as “flawless” and “effortless”.
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), which included Delp and Goudreau. After the band produced a demo, they were signed by Epic Records. Mother’s Milk was renamed Boston.
The band’s debut album, Boston, was released in August 1976. With over 17 million copies sold, the album ranks as one of the best-selling debut albums in U.S. history. The band was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The album spawned three singles, “More Than a Feeling”, “Long Time”, and “Peace of Mind”, all of which made the national charts. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and remained on the charts for 132 weeks.
Boston was followed by Don’t Look Back (1978), and Third Stage (1986). “Amanda”, the lead single from Third Stage, went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Subsequent singles “We’re Ready” and “Can’tcha Say” reached numbers nine and 20, respectively.
In 1990, Delp stated that he wanted to concentrate on other projects while Scholz concentrated on the legal dispute between Scholz and Paul Ahern, the band’s manager at the time. In 1991, Delp and Goudreau formed a band called RTZ. When Scholz called Delp in to record the vocals on “Walk On” Delp was already committed to doing a tour with Goudreau/RTZ and was unavailable to record with Scholz. Scholz contacted Fran Cosmo to complete the record. After Boston released the album Walk On in 1994 with Fran Cosmo on vocals, Delp and Boston reunited later that year for another major tour. 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.
On October 16, 2007, several months after Delp’s death, Barry Goudreau released a song with Delp on vocals. Entitled “Rockin Away”, the song was co-written by Delp and Goudreau and recorded in mid-2006. It is an autobiography of Delp’s musical career. The song reached #20 on the U.S. rock charts in January 2008.
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