Boston in Gilford on Friday

By RICH BERGERON
Staff Writer
citizen.com
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

GILFORD — This Friday night Boston comes to Meadowbrook with a solid history of creating hits like "More Than a Feeling," "Long Time," and "Peace of Mind."

The rock group began as the brainchild of Toledo, Ohio, native Tom Scholz. While Scholz was a fan of rock growing up, he didn’t develop his own musical talent until he began writing songs while earning a master’s degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He worked for the Polaroid Corp. after graduation and joined a local band led by guitarist Barry Goudreau. Scholz joined as a keyboard player, but he soon mastered the guitar and took a leadership role in the group.

By the time the band found its name, Scholz began working to create a 12-track recording studio in his basement. Scholz, Goudreau, vocalist Brad Delp, bassist Fran Sheehan, and drummer John "Sib" Hashian recorded demos there and eventually secured a contract with Epic records in 1975.

The label’s name would describe their rise to fame. Their first self-titled release in 1976 set sales records as a debut album and shot directly to the top of the charts. Two years followed before "Don’t Look Back" came out, though Scholz would have liked to spend even more time on the album. Losing all the original members but Delp between the second and third "Boston" album, 1986 saw the band top the charts again with "Third Stage."

The tumultuous relationships that developed over the course of the first two albums being recorded set the stage for court squabbles between Sholz and Goudreau. Goudreau alleged that Sholz had damaged his solo career, and Scholz settled the case. Scholz also fought a seven-year battle with the Epic label, which claimed he had taken too long between releases and breached his contract. Still not willing to give up, Scholz came back in 1994 with "Walk On" and without any original member of the band. Delp and Goudreau re-united in 1992 and released the album "Return to Zero." "Walk on" was Scholz’ first major failure and forced him to re-think his approach.

He took eight years to produce another hit with a song he released to MP3.com in the summer of 2002 that quickly became the site’s number one download. He compiled a new record entitled "Corporate America" and put together a band to begin touring again.

Part of the reason behind Scholz’s success spanning across decades was his ability to invent products as well as catchy tunes. He formed Scholz Research and Design Incorporated in 1981. The outfit specialized in high-tech music equipment. The company introduced popular products like the volume control device Power Soak and The Rockman, a small guitar amplifier with headphones. The inexpensive Rockman was a quick and easy seller, allowing Scholz to remain independent the rest of his career.

With total sales of more than 50 million albums and three No. 1 albums, Boston has made history with