Tom Scholz is no ordinary rock star. With a master’s degree from MIT, a self-built recording studio and countless hours spent making music alone in a basement, he created Boston — one of the defining rock bands of the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Today, their founder and creative mastermind celebrates his 79th birthday.
Scholz was born on March 10, 1947, in Toledo, Ohio. As a child, he studied piano and spent his time building model planes, customizing go-karts and taking apart anything he could find. That curiosity eventually led him to earn a master's degree in mechanical engineering from MIT and work as a product design engineer at Polaroid.
Even with a successful engineering career, Scholz felt something was missing. While still at his day job, he built his own studio and spent more than five years recording demos and sending them to record labels.
His persistence finally caught the attention of Epic Records, who signed Scholz and vocalist Brad Delp, even before Boston had officially come together.
Scholz then completed the band’s lineup by recruiting drummer Jim Masdea, bassist Fran Sheehan, guitarist Barry Goudreau and later drummer Sib Hashian.
Released in August 1976, Boston’s self-titled debut quickly became the most successful debut album of its time, much of it recorded using technology Scholz had invented himself. The album’s breakout single, "More Than a Feeling," became a rock classic and helped push the record to over 17 million copies sold.
When Epic tried to market the album with the slogan “Better music through science,” Scholz pushed back.
“I thought it was a terrible reflection on the album,” Scholz later said. “I can’t argue that I put my technical background to work when I was trying to make the record. But the music itself had nothing to do with science. Music was my escape from that world.”
Scholz's attention to detail meant fans often waited years between albums. The follow-ups Don't Look Back and Third Stage were delayed — but the patience paid off. Boston's first four albums all reached the Top 10 in the U.S. and internationally.
The most commercially successful single of Scholz's career came with "Amanda," from Third Stage (1986). Written by Scholz, it became the only Boston song to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, holding the top spot for two weeks in November 1986. It also hit number one in Canada and on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.
Today, Scholz remains Boston’s primary songwriter and guitarist, as well as the sole remaining original member. Though he once disliked being called the “mad scientist in the basement,” he now admits it wasn’t far from the truth.
"The fact is I do work in a basement. So that part of it is accurate. A scientist? I do have a couple of degrees. Whether that makes me a scientist or not I'm not so sure. What I do is I like to design things—gadgetry, things people called 'wizardry.' Mad? I suppose some people would think so. So I suppose it's not altogether undeserved."
With a seventh Boston album still rumored to be in the works, the basement studio may not have heard the last of Scholz.
Related: Classic Rock Is Getting Crushed in Its Own Hall of Fame Fan Vote
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