RIP, Brad Delp of Boston

Brad Delp, lead singer of the amazing band Boston, died today. You can read about it here. He was 55.

As many of you know, I was and am a Boston devotee, a member of the fan email list since 1997. I attended the fan-email-list get-together, "Bostock", in the summer of 1998, driving all the way from New York City to Mt. Gilead, Ohio (about 550 miles, I think). I met a lot of fun people there - people who were just as (and many of them more) fanatical about Boston than I was. I can't imagine how this news might hit some of them. I think mostly about Becky Asbury, who hosted the party that weekend; I had never met anyone who was so utterly devoted to a band, and who spoke many times that Boston had pulled her through the bad times. I met her again at a Boston concert in 2003, and she was friendly and remembered me. My thoughts are with you, Becky. Boston can pull you through again.

I never had the opportunity to meet Brad, but from all accounts, he was an exceptionally warm and accessible person. Boston's official website just changed tonight, to a single sentence, "We've just lost the nicest guy in rock and roll."

My condolences to your family and friends and all the fans around the world who loved your voice and music.

Rest in peace, Brad.

UPDATE 15 Mar 2007

Brad's death was a suicide. What a tragic and shocking turn of events. He apparently left two notes, for his fiancee and family, and killed himself through carbon monoxide.