Rock & Roll Band - Music

Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Rock & Roll Band

Boston - Boston

"Rock & Roll Band" Is A Song American Rock Band Boston Written By Main Songwriter And Guitarist Tom Scholz And Helped Out By Lead Vocalist Brad Delp The Song Appears On The Band's 1976 Self-Titled Debut. It Is One Of Many Songs Scholz Worked On In His Basement In 1974 And 1975 Before Boston Got Its Record Contract Five Of Which Eventually Appeared On The "Boston" Album. The "Rock And Roll Band" Demo Was Finished In 1974 Along With Three Of The Six. However Scholz Had Begun Writing The Song Years Earlier Maybe Two In The Early 1970s. The Drum Parts Of This And Other Early Boston Songs Were Developed By Jim Masdea But This Is The Only Song On The Boston Album On Which Masdea Plays Drums. Scholz Plays Clavinet And All The Guitar Parts Including Bass Guitar And Brad Delp Sings Everything Brilliantly. Boston Consistently Opened With "Rock And Roll Band" While Playing At Live Concerts. This Song Tells The Story Of A Boston Rock Band Paying Their Dues Busking Sleeping In Cars Playing The Bar Circuit. Eventually They Get A Big Break When A Record Company Guy Sees Them Perform And Makes Them A Deal. Many Assumed It Was The Story Of The Band Because The Lyrics Are In The First Person And They Sing About Being From Boston Which They Are But That's Not The Case. Group Leader Tom Scholz Wrote The Song Based On Conversations He Had With Jim Masdea A Drummer Who Often Collaborated With Scholz And Had Lots Of War Stories From Playing In Various Bands. Masdea Was Always Telling Scholz About Struggling Bands Trying To Get Signed To Record Contracts.
Boston Had Quite The Opposite Experience Of The Group They Sing About Here. Rather Than Paying Their Dues On The Road Boston Released A Well-Produced Album That Was An Instant Hit. In Fact They Weren't Even A Band Until Tom Scholz Landed A Record Deal Based On Demos He Made In His Home Studio. They Played A Few Gigs Before The Album Was Released But Didn't Tour Until After It Came Out. Just A Few Months Later Their Songs Were All Over The Radio And They Were Headlining Arenas. None Of The Band Members Lucked Into This Though. They Were All Veterans Of The Boston Music Scene And Had Proven Their Mettle. Scholz Took Care Of The Studio Work But They Had To Win Over Fans On The Road Which They Did.
Jim Masdea Who Inspired The Lyric Played Drums On The Demos Tom Scholz Made In His Home Studio That Led To A Deal With Epic Records. Other Than Singer Brad Delp Masdea Was The Only Other Musician Scholz Used On These Recordings. When Scholz Got Signed And It Came To Assemble An Actual Band Delp Stayed On But Masdea Was Replaced With Sib Hashian A Decision Seemingly Made By Scholz' Management. Scholz Did Make Sure Masdea Played Drums On "Rock And Roll Band" To Earn A Credit On The Album. This Wasn't Released As A Single But That Hardly Mattered Because Album Oriented Rock AOR Stations Played It Anyway Along With The Other Eight Tracks On Boston's Debut Album. These Well-Crafted Uptempo Tracks Kept Listeners Tuned In So They Became Staples Of Many Playlists.