Brad Delp
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".[1] 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".[2]
Brad Delp
Bradley Edward Delp
June 12, 1951
Peabody, Massachusetts, U.S.
Danvers, Massachusetts, U.S.
March 9, 2007 (aged 55)
Atkinson, New Hampshire, U.S.
- Singer
- musician
- songwriter
- Vocals
- guitar
- keyboards
- harmonica
1969–2007
Early life[edit]
Delp was born in Peabody, Massachusetts, on June 12, 1951, to French-Canadian immigrant parents and raised in Danvers, Massachusetts.[3]
Personal life[edit]
Delp was married and divorced twice, and had two children by his second wife, Micki, who had been a flight attendant on tour with Boston. Micki's sister, Connie, subsequently married band member Goudreau. Brad and Micki married in 1980 and divorced in 1996.
Delp was a vegetarian for over 40 years, and contributed to a number of charitable causes.[17]
Death and aftermath[edit]
Sometime between 11:00 pm on March 8 and 1:20 am on March 9, 2007, Delp died by suicide via carbon monoxide poisoning in his home on 55 Academy Avenue, in Atkinson, New Hampshire.[18] The Atkinson police discovered his body on the floor of his master bathroom. Two charcoal grills were found to have been placed in the bathtub and lit, causing the room to fill with smoke.[19] The following day, Boston's website was replaced with a simple black background and white text message: "We've just lost the nicest guy in rock and roll."[20]
A concert known as "Come Together: A Tribute to Brad Delp" occurred on August 19, 2007, at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston.[21]
The reason for Delp's suicide has been the subject of contradictory news reports and various lawsuits. A series[22] of interviews conducted by the Boston Herald alleged that lingering hard feelings from Boston's disbandment in the 1980s and personal tension between Delp and bandleader Scholz drove the singer to suicide. Scholz denied these claims and filed defamation lawsuits.[23] The court ruled that statements attributing Delp's suicide to Scholz were "statements of opinion and not verifiable fact and therefore could not form the basis of a claim of defamation".[24][25] On June 6, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to review the case.[26]