Brad Delp was born in Peabody, Massachusetts on June 12, 1951 to French-Canadian immigrants, and raised in Danvers, Massachusetts. In 1969, guitarist Barry Goudreau introduced Delp to Tom Scholz, who was looking for a singer to complete some demo recordings. Eventually Scholz formed the short-lived band Mother’s Milk (1973–74), including Delp and Goudreau. After producing a demo, Epic Records eventually signed the act. Mother’s Milk was renamed Boston, and the eponymous debut album (recorded in 1975, although many tracks had been written years before) was released in August 1976. Delp performed all of the lead and backing vocals, including all layered vocal overdubs. Boston’s debut has sold more than 20 million copies, and produced rock standards such as “More Than a Feeling”, “Foreplay/Long Time” and “Peace of Mind”. Delp co-wrote “Smokin'” along with Scholz, and wrote the album’s closing track, “Let Me Take You Home Tonight”. Their next album, Don’t Look Back, was released two years later in August 1978. Its release spawned new hits such as the title track, “Party” (a sequel of sorts to “Smokin'”), and the poignant ballad “A Man I’ll Never Be”. As they did with “Smokin'”, Delp and Scholz again collaborated on “Party”, and Delp penned “Used To Bad News”.

After the first two Boston albums, Brad Delp sang vocals on Barry Goudreau’s self-titled solo album, released in 1980. Scholz’s legendary perfectionism and a legal battle with their record company stalled any further Boston albums until 1986, when the band released the appropriately titled Third Stage. Delp co-wrote the songs “Cool the Engines” and “Can’tcha Say / Still in Love” for the album, and both songs got significant airplay. Though well known for his “golden” voice with soaring vocals and range, Delp was also a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, harmonica and keyboards. He wrote or co-wrote songs for Boston, RTZ, Orion the Hunter, Lisa Guyer, and other artists. In 1991 Delp and Goudreau formed a new band called RTZ. After Boston released the album “Walk On” in 1994 with Fran Cosmo on vocals, Delp and Boston eventually reunited later that year for another major tour and Delp continued to record vocals on several albums and projects, including new tracks for Boston’s 1997 Greatest Hits compilation and their 2002 release, Corporate America. From the mid-1990s until his death in 2007, Brad Delp also played in a side project when he had time off from Boston – a Beatles tribute band called Beatlejuice. The Beatles had always been a personal favorite of Delp, and he revered them for their songwriting.During this time Brad Delp also co-wrote and recorded with former Boston bandmate Barry Goudreau and in 2003 released the CD Delp and Goudreau.

Brad Delp committed suicide sometime between 11:00 pm on March 8 and 1:20 pm on March 9, 2007. The local police discovered his body after a 911 call from Pamela Sullivan when she saw a dryer vent tube connected to the exhaust pipe of Delp’s yellow car. They found him lying on a pillow on his master bathroom floor of his home on Academy Avenue in Atkinson, New Hampshire. Two charcoal grills were found to have been lit inside the bathtub causing the room to fill with smoke. A suicide note was paper-clipped to the neck of his T-shirt, which read: “Mr. Brad Delp. ‘J’ai une âme solitaire’. I am a lonely soul.” Delp left four sealed envelopes in his office addressed to his children, his former wife Micki, his fiancee, and another unnamed couple. He was 55 years old.