Have you ever met any of The Beatles?
I met Ringo! Actually (and that was the great thing about being in Boston), it afforded me the opportunity to meet certain people. It turned out when Ringo was here. I believe it was his second All-Star tour, and he had the same tour manager that we had in Boston. So the tour manager had heard me talking a great deal about The Beatles and called me when Ringo was in town and asked, "Do you want to come down to the show?" I said, "I'd love to." He said, "Great, we're staying at The Four Seasons Hotel in Boston, and you can ride down with Ringo and me for the sound check." Suddenly panic set in and I said, "Well, I don't know, I don't really need to do that, I'd just love to come to the show, that would be great". He said, "Well, O.K.". So I hung up the phone and thought to myself that I'd probably never get this opportunity again. My first reaction was that I wouldn't have the vaguest idea of what to say to Ringo. I'm just not good at meeting my idols. After some thought, I called the tour manager back and said, "I'll be there in 45 minutes." So I got there and ended up riding down with the tour manager who I fortunately felt comfortable with, along with Ringo and his wife Barbara, who were very gracious. Along the way, they told me that normally when they came to town a guest comes up and does a song with them, and, would I like to sit in. So, in short, I actually got to go on stage and sing "Get Back" with Ringo and his All-Star Band at the Tweeter Center and that was definitely among the coolest things that ever happened to me. The other incredible thing was that I got to sing twice with George Martin (The Beatles' producer). On the second occasion I actually sang at The Hollywood Bowl along with a number of other people and performed "Live And Let Die" and "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" with The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and George Martin conducting. I happened to be the only person from out of town; most everyone was from L.A., and they put me up in the same hotel as George Martin. We had to do a few rehearsals to prepare for the show, and he and I rode to work every day, which was truly incredible. When I look back at my career and all the success of Boston, I have to think that was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. You know, selling records and all the other things that occured, I have to be eternally grateful to Tom Scholz, because if it wasn't for him I wouldn't have got the chance to sing with George Martin or Ringo, for that matter. I have not met George Harrison or Paul McCartney, but I've seen Paul in concert on a number of occasions, and I can actually say that on August 18, 1966, I saw The Beatles perform at Suffolk Downs.
Do you have a favorite Beatles song?
Actually, I do. And here's the funny thing....we don't play it yet. We've talked about doing it for a long time, and it's kind of a tough song to get together. You may not have even heard it, but it's called "Yes It Is."
What album was it on?
It was never on an album, I don't think. It was a single and resembles the style of "This Boy," but there's something about the harmonies in it that almost sounds a little discordant, and I think it's a beautiful song. On a number of times, we've started to learn it but somehow never finished, and I always think of that song as my favorite.
What is your favorite song to play onstage?
"I Saw Her Standing There". It's usually the song we end the night with, and something about the energy of that song makes it so great to sing. The Beatles are such a short mystery because they came to the U.S. in 1964 and broke up in 1969, though "Let It Be" was released a year later. So the whole recorded history that we know of them was only a period of 5 years, which, when you consider not only the incredible amount of songs but the fact that you can sing along with just about every one of them, is amazing. When we do "I Saw Her Standing There", which to this day still holds up as well as any other song you could possibly play, people love that song and it's like coming full circle.
Besides The Beatles, who were your musical influences?
Growing up, I got into my first band probably in 1965, when I was 14 years old. It was the summer before I began high school. I met these guys in Danvers who lived across town, and they were looking for a singer. I had a guitar at home, which I played but never with a group of people. So at that time it was the British invasion with the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Animals and all of those bands. Later, as I began listening to another musician, and I'm sure his style doesn't show itself on any Boston records. That musician was Stevie Wonder. He is a vocalist that I truly admire, and I can't think of anyone more talented.
Explain the formation of Boston and when you initially met Tom Scholz.
It was either 1969 or 1970 when I originally saw Tom, Barry Goudreau, who played guitar on the first two Boston albums and drummer Jim Masdea in a club on Revere Beach. They were playing as a trio. They had a vocalist who had moved away, so he wasn't with them, and they were primarily playing instrumental stuff. I auditioned about a week later and got the gig. We eventually started making some very unsophisticated recordings. Tom simply wired two little stereo tape recorders together, and that's how it basically all began and evolved from there.
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