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Back to the Future with Boston Mastermind Tom Scholz
On March 9, 2007, Boston vocalist Brad Delp sealed himself in his bathroom, lit two charcoal grills, pinned a note on himself that read "Mr. Brad Delp: I am a lonely soul," laid down on a pillow and inhaled a lethal amount of carbon monoxide.
Delp's suicide was a shock to family members, close friends, his band and the music world alike. What made the event so perplexing was that Delp had spent his career as a health-conscience vegetarian and promoted and donated to several charities. In music circles, he was known as one of the good guys. He was fan friendly and spent time after every Boston show signing autographs and taking pictures with his admirers. Delp was engaged to be married and was preparing for a tour with Boston at the time of his death.
Boston bandleader Tom Scholz, a friend of Delp's for over 30 years, admits that while no one could predict Delp would end his life, the vocalist was suffering much emotional pain.
"No one saw it coming - I certainly didn't see it coming. Brad wasn't a happy camper. He had a tough life in a personal sense. He went through two divorces and he had a couple of engagements that never led to marriage. That part of his life was not very good."
Scholz goes on to reflect on his relationship with Delp. "We were work friends; sometimes your work friends are your closest friends. We shared a lot of things together. We spent a lot of time together when we were not working, during our breaks and when we were on the road. You talk about a lot of things, and a lot of things come out. We had some really unusual parallels. We both had serious relationships in the '90s that left us both in not a very good state of mind. Ten years later, I ended up marrying somebody and being happier than I have ever been. Brad was not so lucky."
Cinderella story
Aside from one album, 1994's Walk On, Brad Delp had always been the voice of Boston. He was the perfect person to translate Scholz' musical visions vocally. Boston would not...