Brad Delp Biography, Life and Death, Suicide, Discography

 
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Bradley E. Delp (June 12, 1951 – March 9, 2007) was an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Boston.

Early life
Delp was born in Danvers, Massachusetts to Canadian immigrants. While his father played fiddle at home, Brad was inspired after seeing The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 and he started to learn guitar. He saw the Beatles live at Suffolk Downs in East Boston on 18 August 1966. In 1970, he was making heating elements for Mr. Coffee machines at Danvers company Hot-Watt when he met Boston founder Tom Scholz, guitarist Barry Goudreau and drummer Jim Masdea.

Boston and bands
Delp auditioned as lead vocalist for the band that became Boston in 1969, and got the job immediately. He also contributed back-up vocals, guitar, and keyboards on the Boston albums, and also played the harmonica. His partnership with guitarist Tom Scholz led to a string of hit songs.

Delp did all of the lead and backing vocals on the first three Boston Albums. Following the 1978 album Don't Look Back, Delp contributed lead vocals to a solo album by Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau. Delp also contributed backing vocals to Orion the Hunter's debut album (1984), another band from Goudreau, and the group RTZ (Return to Zero) . He returned to the group Boston to record Third Stage, released in 1986.

On the 1994 album Walk On, Fran Cosmo replaced Delp who was working with Return to Zero, but the album did not sell as well. Delp later shared vocals with Cosmo in concert, where Delp said Cosmo covered "the really tough high parts."

Delp returned to the Boston line-up in 1994 and made contributions to their 1997 Greatest Hits and 2002 Corporate America albums.

From 1995-2007 Delp played in a Beatles tribute band called Beatlejuice when he had time off from the band. Delp also performed with Goudreau on an album released in 2006, titled Delp and Goudreau.

Later life and death
Delp was married and divorced twice, and had two children by his second wife. He had been a vegetarian for over thirty years and had contributed to a number of charitable causes. He had been set to marry Pamela Sullivan, his girlfriend of seven years.

On March 9, 2007 Delp was found dead in his home in Atkinson, New Hampshire. He had killed himself in his bathroom by burning charcoal and was found by his fiancee. That day, the official Web site for the band was taken down and replaced with the statement: "We've just lost the nicest guy in rock and roll."

Delp left private notes to all his family members and a public note that read: "Mr. Brad Delp. Je suis une âme solitaire. I am a lonely soul."

A tribute concert featuring his former band mates was scheduled for 19 August 2007, the day after his marriage was to have taken place.

On October 16, 2007, Barry Goudreau released one final song with Brad on vocals titled "Rockin' Away". Recorded in the summer of 2006, it is an autobiography of Delp's music career.

Discography

• Boston (1976)
• Don't Look Back (1978)
• Barry Goudreau (1980)
• Orion The Hunter (1984)
• Third Stage (1986)
• Return To Zero (1991)
• Greatest Hits (Boston) (1997)
• Lost (1998)
• Corporate America (2002)
• Lost And Found (2005)
• Delp And Goudreau (2006)
• Delp And Goudreau (2007) a single titled "Rockin Away"

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