Sad News

Donald W. Dillavou Sr., 77, of Hollis and formerly of Nashua, died early Thursday morning, March 8, 2007, 

at St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, surrounded by his Loving family.

Mr. Dillavou was born Aug. 16, 1929, in Rockwell City, Iowa, the only child of the late Erwin and Silvia (Rummel) Dillavou. 

He was raised in Rockwell City and later lived in Nashua for more than 40 years before moving to Hollis in 1993.

He was the husband of Mitzi (Jewell) Dillavou, who he married in Nashua on July 7, 1951. 

The couple would have celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary this summer. (07/07/07)

Mr. Dillavou worked as a supervisor with the former Nashua Plastics/Irwin Toys for 29 years and then at New York Toy of Lawrence, Mass., until 1988. 

After moving to Nashua in the early 1950s, Mr. Dillavou worked at the former Yankee Flyer restaurant on Main Street.

He was an avid sports fan who followed the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots but his favorite teams were the St. Louis Cardinals and 

the New York Giants. He had a passion for yard work and enjoyed manicuring his lawns. He enjoyed walking as many as seven miles a day, 

visiting yard sales , flea markets and watching Gene Autry & John Wayne westerns. 

He also loved to play cards and Scrabble, eat home cooked meals, listen to his favorite music and hang out with the family dog, Dee Dee.

Mr. Dillavou was a United States Navy veteran.  He graduated from Rockwell (Iowa) High School.

In addition to his wife, survivors include two daughters and a son-in-law, Dolly and Norman Cantara of Wells, Maine, and Lori Kerr of Austin, Texas;

three sons and daughters-in-law, Donald W. Jr. and Zeny Dillavou of Jacksonville, Fla., David and Cindy Dillavou of Hudson and James and Julie Dillavou of Nashua; 

13 grandchildren, Jeff Labrie ,Jamey Cantara, Jessica and Juvy Dillavou, Gregory, Robert and Margaret Kerr, David Dillavou Jr., Dana, Dean, 

Ryan, Jaime and Jason Dillavou; and seven great-grandchildren.  The Farwell Funeral Service in Nashua is in charge of arrangements

March 9, 2007

Brad Delp, the lead singer for the rock band Boston, was found dead on Friday in his home in Atkinson, N.H. The Associated Press reported that a police spokesman said Mr. Delp apparently died alone and that there was no indication of foul play. The cause of death is under investigation and a report is to be released Monday, The A.P. reported. Mr. Delp was 55.

 

BenDeVries/The Daily Nonpareil, via Associated Press

Brad Delp

Mr. Delp’s vocals, overdubbed into group harmonies and grand chorales for songs like “More Than a Feeling,” were a vital ingredient in the sound of Boston, a band whose multilayered tracks were created in the studio by its guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, Tom Scholz. Boston’s elaborate songs were ubiquitous on radio stations during the 1970s, and its 1976 debut album, “Boston,” largely recorded in Mr. Scholz’s basement, has sold more than 17 million copies in the United States.

Mr. Delp was born in 1951 in Danvers, Mass., and discovered music as a Beatles fan. He started singing in bands as a teenager, and met Mr. Scholz as the 1960s ended. In an interview with Classic Rock Revisited, Mr. Delp said, “I am just lucky to be the guy who was there.”

Their band played cover songs in clubs for the early part of the 1970s while working with Mr. Scholz on the homemade recordings that became Boston’s debut album.

“The nice thing about Brad,” Mr. Scholz said in a 1986 interview with Musician magazine, “was his incredible ability in the studio. He was a master at controlling his voice — he could do things over and over, changing one note and doing everything else the same. He’s a natural overdubber, he can perfectly match what’s on tape, he can sing harmonies with himself and keep dozens of parts in his mind.”

Mr. Delp’s stacked vocal tracks, from earnest tenor to wailing falsetto, were so central to the music that in Boston’s first management and recording contracts, Mr. Scholz and Mr. Delp were the only official members of the band; Barry Goudreau on guitar, Fran Sheehan on bass and Sib Hashian on drums were soon added. Mr. Scholz wrote all the songs on Boston’s debut except “Smokin’,” written with Mr. Delp, and “Let Me Take You Home Tonight,” credited to Mr. Delp alone.

Although Boston’s first album was derided by critics as derivative and calculated, it was immediately embraced by radio stations. The band’s first tour after its release started in clubs and ended in arenas. Mr. Scholz, a painstaking songwriter who had worked for seven years on what became the debut album, rushed to complete a follow-up, “Don’t Look Back,” released in 1978. It eventually sold seven million copies in the United States.

In 1980, Mr. Delp, along with Mr. Hashian, appeared on Mr. Goudreau’s album of his own songs, “Barry Goudreau.” Mr. Goudreau and Mr. Delp left Boston and worked together in the early 1980s under the band name Orion the Hunter; it released an album in 1984 with Mr. Delp as background vocalist and songwriting collaborator. (Fran Cosmo, who would later join Boston, was the lead singer.) But Mr. Delp rejoined Boston in 1985 to sing on the album “Third Stage,” which was released in 1986 and has sold four million copies in the United States.

As the 1990s began, Mr. Delp worked again with Mr. Goudreau in a band called RTZ, for Return to Zero. He was replaced in Boston by Mr. Cosmo, the lead singer on Boston’s 1994 album “Walk On.” But Mr. Delp toured with Boston after the release of “Walk On,” sharing vocals with Mr. Cosmo, and sang three new songs on Boston’s “Greatest Hits” collection in 1997. He remained with Boston ever since, touring and singing lead on Boston’s 2002 album “Corporate America.”

Between Boston tours, Mr. Delp performed in New England clubs with a band called Beatle Juice, playing faithful copies of Beatles songs. He is survived by a daughter, Jenna, and a son, John Michael.

ATKINSON, N.H. - Brad Delp, the singer for the band Boston who killed himself last week, left behind a note in which he called himself “a lonely soul,” according to police reports released Thursday.

The note was paper-clipped to the neck of Delp’s shirt when police found his body at his Atkinson home, on the bathroom floor, his head on a pillow. He had sealed himself inside with two charcoal grills; toxicology tests showed he had committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.

“Mr. Brad Delp. J’ai une ame solitaire. I am a lonely soul,” the note reads.

Regarding allegations surrounding the death of lead singer Brad Delp, we offer the following responses:

TOM SCHOLZ (BOSTON leader, friend and collaborator for 35 years):

I am sick over this incredible loss, it is the worst of my life.

  Brad and I were both overly sensitive. We both became vegetarians and opposed violence, and it's probably the reason we lasted so long together as friends. He was the passive one and I was the feisty one, we were a good team while he was alive. Now that he is gone, I'm trying to be a little more like him.

  I can only say that Brad always seemed happiest when he was playing music with us, and to the extent possible, BOSTON matters were arranged for his comfort. Brad was hard to read, but the group and I did our best, and maintained contact with some of his other close friends. There were no warning signs; no one saw this coming.

  Brad had a sad and difficult life. He was divorced twice, his children lived 3,000 miles away in California, people were constantly pulling at him for something.

  Like many people I'm haunted by the thought that there was something I could have done. I can't speak about pressure Brad may have felt from others, but his involvement with BOSTON was strictly voluntary; I thought I was lucky he had any interest in my work. Brad was autonomous; I didn't tell Brad he had to do anything for BOSTON, or ask him to do anything. I only asked him if he wanted to do something. If he didn't, we didn't.

  BOSTON took up a tiny portion of Brad's time, a three month tour roughly every three or four years. Studio work took only a couple of days every three to six months.

  By the end of BOSTON's 2004 tour Brad and I were both worn out. We took 2005 off, I still physically couldn't tour in 2006, and 2007 was in limbo waiting for Brad to decide if he wanted to do it. Shortly before his death I had sent him an e-mail telling him "...if you don't want to tour, I don't want to tour...," and a second e-mail telling him we hadn't even received an actual tour offer yet. At the time he died he knew there was no scheduled tour; we had only a few weekend dates planned for the summer.

  Allegations have been made that Brad died because I put him in a difficult spot, because working with BOSTON made him unhappy, and then because he was sad that he had to tour without Fran [Cosmo]. I don't think this is true, or the reason a man with two children and an upcoming wedding would take his life.

  This loss has devastated me, and now the accusation that I am responsible is crushing. Brad didn't have a mean bone in his body and would never say anything that would hurt someone; this is not the way Brad would have wanted it. Words cannot express how much I will miss him.


GARY PIHL (BOSTON guitarist for 22 years, friend for 30):

Everyone I've talked to said they felt they lost a close friend with Brad's passing.

  Over the thirty years that I knew him he seemed happiest when he was making music. His enthusiasm for working on our songs never waned.

  On tour, he'd be the first guy to go to any "meet and greet," and he'd be the last guy to get on the bus at the end of the night because he'd be talking and signing autographs for fans who had waited at the back gate.

  Brad's opinion was always solid when it came to choosing band mates. Just like sports teams, where players come and go for a variety of reasons, we've worked with some talented people over the years, but I never heard Brad say he didn't want to perform without Fran, or any other individual. The fans have always requested we do the songs Brad sings; most knew Brad as the sound of Boston.

  Rehearsing recently with this five-person core group, Brad seemed his hard-working self, making sure we all knew our parts. Brad even insisted on coming to rehearsal to work with us after he had his minor (but painful) motorcycle accident. He was tireless in his pursuit to get it right, whether it was a guitar solo he needed to play or making the vocal harmonies blend perfectly.

  Pamela often joined us on tour so he was never without her for very long. Brad seemed to be looking forward to the summer shows as much as the rest of us. In any interview Brad's ever done he talks about the fun he has performing and meeting the fans.

  Boston has only done seven tours in it's thirty year history. Brad could have done anything else he wanted, but he chose to get together with friends from our area to play Beatle songs on weekends. He treated all his fans as friends and his friends were his biggest fans. We'll all miss him.


KIMBERLEY DAHME (BOSTON bass and singer):

  We are all trying to cope with losing our dear friend and family member. The depth of our grief is limitless, and now is compounded by the allegations that have been made that Tom Scholz is at fault for Brad's actions. What I'm hearing in the press is absolutely not true. I am mortified and terribly hurt that someone would print such lies and try
to destroy and blame someone for this horrible tragedy.

  I have been working with Brad for 6 years, and he has always been the kind and gentle man that everyone talks about. As a newer member of the group, I always felt like Boston was as much Brad’s band as it was Tom’s and that Brad had a full say in the musical decisions when he wished.

We were more than fellow musicians in a band. As we passed the hours traveling from one show to another, he never missed an opportunity to ask to see new photos of my young children or hear stories about how they were doing.

  He was very happy performing with BOSTON, fueled by the energy and loyalty of his many fans who often brought photos and album covers that he had autographed for them as far back as nearly 30 years ago. Being the humble man he was, Brad wasn’t affected by this adoration but I know the quality of his performances with our band filled him with pride.

  Brad spoke to the band as well as the press about looking forward to touring this summer. He showed no signs of sadness during any of our rehearsals. I mean no signs at all.

  I believe that there was something much deeper troubling him. I think that it was quite clear in Brad's final words that he took complete and sole responsibility for his situation. Please, let's honor Brad and his memory, and wish him, his dear Pamela and children, family, friends, fans, and the rest of the world some much needed peace.


JEFF NEAL (BOSTON drummer):

  Like everyone else who knew Brad and worked with him, I was, and still am, in a state of shock and disbelief over his recent death. It has been a very difficult and trying time. My heart goes out to all of Brad’s family and his circle of friends. I am hopeful that with time, support from loved ones, and acceptance, all those who are grieving will be able to come to terms with this tragic loss.

  I first met Brad in 2003. Throughout the four years that I knew him, I always found him to be a friendly, humorous and kind-hearted individual. It was clear to me from the beginning that Brad placed the needs of others above his own and it was one of his many admirable traits. He would often go out of his way to make me, “the new guy” in
the band, feel comfortable. Whether it be explaining to me the inner workings of the organization or simply playing a joke on me, Brad had a gift for making others feel welcome and important.

  Brad was also at times a very private and reserved individual. To me, it was obvious that he had an incredible depth of character and that he was also a sensitive, caring individual. Simultaneously though, I often had a hard time reading him as he regularly kept his emotions and feelings close. I often attributed this to his persona, and a simple coping mechanism that he probably developed over his career to handle the attention and notoriety that he had acquired and continually had to deal with over the years.

  At no point did Brad ever share with me that he felt unduly obligated or pressured into playing with the band or going on tour by anyone or anything. If Brad had felt this way and shared it with me, I would have had serious reservations about participating myself, for numerous reasons.

  In the wake of Brad’s death, one theme that has been repeated over and over by many who knew him was how Brad did everything for everyone, sometimes (tragically) at his own expense. His career as a musician brought him fame, admiration from millions and financial profit, but it seemed that these were unimportant to him. If anything, the role was one he was extremely uncomfortable with and intentionally tried to dispel. Throughout our time together, I saw him as a private, relatively content man with a simple, honest lifestyle, which was another reason why I admired him so. Obviously now, some elements of this belief have been proven wrong, but nonetheless, I will always admire him for the person I knew him to be. It was an honor and a privilege to share the stage with him and to call him a friend. He is, and will continue to be, deeply missed.

PAMELA SULLIVAN (Brad's fiancee)
 
On Christmas Day, 2006, Brad Delp asked me to marry him. Our wedding was to be on August 18th, marking seven years together. We shared a special bond that will be with me all my life. Bradley lived a private life, and I had hoped that his death might also be private.

  But Bradley - his music and his heart - touched many lives, and we all feel the pain of his loss. For many, the loss of a beautiful voice, but more importantly, the loss of a beautiful person. We are all grieving.

  In our grief, we look for answers, for reasons, and perhaps for blame. In the days that have passed since his death there has been a great deal of speculation and rumor put forward by the media and the Boston (band) fan base as to why he chose to end his life. Words have been taken out of context, statements have been misconstrued, and people have been hurt. People are looking for answers, and there are none to be had.

  Bradley blamed no one, held no one accountable, for what was in his own heart. His music, his business, his relationships, these were the things that brought him joy. His sadness came from within; it was his own. He wanted no one to carry his burdens, in life or in death.

  Bradley had the great gift of being able to love all and to understand all: his compassion for everyone he met was the essence of his soul. He would not want anyone to feel responsible for the path his life took.

  I can only ask that we honor his memory, and his great legacy of compassion, and let him rest in the peace he so deserves, as we all begin to heal.


The following are excerpts from Classics Revisited interview, 2003

BRAD DELP 1952-2007 (BOSTON lead singer, friend to everyone) :
 
...I want to say I am proud of Tom but that sounds patronizing and I don't want to do that. A point of fact is that Tom and the band have been supportive of a number of organizations over the years with little to no fanfare... He has been with these organizations for a number of years without the publicity. As it turns out, happily, the rest of the band is in tune with these organizations as well. I have been a vegetarian for over 30 years and I am involved with animal rights organizations. They are all things that resonate with all of us but I want to give Tom the lion's share of the credit for taking the initiative and being more forceful with it.

  Now, with the new incarnation of Boston, everyone is a great singer and plays multiple instruments. It really comes out in the live shows.

  Tom suggested that we do one of my songs from the first record called "Let Me Take You Home Tonight." We have only played that once on one other tour. We have worked up a kind of acoustic version. It has been a lot of fun... I am just totally lucky to be the guy who was there. I am having a blast singing my song, "Let Me Take You Home Tonight" which is one of the lesser known songs on that album -- if there are any. It gets a great response as well. I am just so lucky. What guy gets to have this much fun at his job?

  I have been very lucky over the years. I go in [the recording studio] and there is a microphone set up. The rest of my time is my own. He sweats over every other detail. He puts literally years of work into each album... Tom and I know each other so well. When we go in the studio there is a little bit of ESP.

  It didn't occur to us that we had to write a hit [for the second album] because that is not what we had done with the first album. We were not trying to make radio friendly music... I respect Tom because he is so focused on the music and not what everybody else is doing. I think we have all been rewarded for that.

  I have been playing in a band that plays Beatle songs when Boston is not touring. I play almost every weekend. I tell people that it is the only thing that I can do that makes me feel 15 again; it really does. The Boston thing is the only thing I can do that makes me feel 25 again. At 52, 25 is not that bad an age to be.

Rolling Stone writer Andy Greene has asked me for some recollections about my experiences with Brad. An edited version of the reply I sent him appeared on rollingstone.com with questions inserted in the text. Here is the complete unedited note I sent to Andy:

Andy,

Thanks you for allowing me to answer your questions by e-mail. I haven't been in the mood to talk to people much for the last few days as you might imagine, but I appreciate you turning to me for this. Brad and I were friends and collaborators for 35 years. Both of us being vegetarians, non-drug users and more interested in music than money, put us in a very small minority in the music business; our bond ran much deeper than just BOSTON music.

In answer to your questions:

I met Brad, soft spoken and unassuming, when he auditioned in a recording studio outside of Boston one night to sing several songs I had written. Back then in the early seventies recording a song demo meant coming up with a significant amount of money, several weeks of my day job savings, to buy a few hours of 8 track time.

Having endured countless sessions with other singers, most with undeserved egos, I had only the faintest glimmer of hope that he might be good enough to squeak by as a suitable vocalist.

He didn't warm up; he just listened to the prerecorded instrument track once. Then he started to sing. I don't know if it took two seconds or three, but before he finished singing the first line I knew that some guardian angel had just delivered to me one of the best vocalists ever to step up to a microphone! Then he kept going and I realized he wasn't just one of the best, he was amazing! High notes I hadn't heard before followed by harmonies, and overdubbed exact duplicate layered tracks, all with ease, all with emotion, and yet all technically precise.

Before we left that night he had rewritten the lyrics and the melody, sung all the vocal parts, and with the magic of his voice turned my stark guitar riff into a song! From that moment on I only hoped I could write and record music worthy of his attention and interpretation.

There were soulful notes that pulled you into the song, stratospheric screams and angelic high notes, and after hitting these record breaking notes he'd go back and sing a harmony part above it! He didn't rehearse any of these parts, he could jump back and forth between harmony parts, double tracking parts, and then go back and do it again exactly the same with one tiny change, adjusting all the other singing parts to fit with bionic accuracy.

You'd think anyone with this super human talent would be an insufferable egomaniac. But Brad was just the opposite, and amazingly he remained honestly humble in spite of the incredible star pressure that followed BOSTON's success.

Brad and I banged our heads against the wall trying to get a break with record companies for five years. During that time he and I did a lot of basement recording; we received absolutely zero recognition locally and complete rejection submitting our demos to national record labels. I think this experience put our future success in perspective as we both realized that after so many years of insult, we were just very lucky to be able to record and play music above ground! Unlike many other individuals eventually involved with BOSTON, Brad's down to earth personality never wavered; it was his natural demeanor.

When someone asked me what Brad was like, the first words that always came to mind were "nice guy." Oddly, his incredible performing abilities seem barely worth mentioning compared to his attributes as a human being. He was soft spoken yet very quick and funny. Although I rarely remember seeing him in the throws of a good belly laugh, he could keep the people around him in stitches effortlessly, and did so on a daily basis. When he wasn't making someone laugh, or giving his time to a fan, he was a tireless worker, both in the studio and on stage.

He and I had a very strong personal connection because of our moral beliefs, yet we were drastically different kinds of people. While I am rebellious and easily provoked to an unyielding defense, Brad was passive and studiously non confrontational.

Somehow over the years I think we both grew not only to accept this in each other, but to respect it; I think this is part of the reason we were able to work together for so much of our lives. In an odd parallel we were also opposites in the studio. Once Brad would laid down a vocal track he became instantly committed to it and would dig in if challenged, whereas I would want to change everything and never be sure. We were usually at odds on how vocal arrangements should go also, which in early years caused heated debates. Later we both developed such respect for each other's abilities that the collaboration, so important to the eventual outcome of BOSTON's music, became much easier. It was largely my music, but it was Brad who brought it to life, and this struggle we both had to endure was part of what made it so many people's favorite.

I last saw Brad at rehearsal last month where we prepared several old and new songs for our upcoming summer shows. These are my fondest memories, playing music with my friend and the greatest singer in rock and roll.

Andy, Brad and I have been used and abused throughout our adult life by the music business, it continues even in his death. Please do the right thing with this. Sorry I wrote you a tome.

Tom Scholz

GREAT NEWS

Sad  News

Foghat guitarist dies in Wilton New Hampshire