The leader of the pack was young Brad Delp, who asked Raiche, then the Salem YMCA director, to help their fledgling teenage band learn to get along, and get established. Raiche didn't know anything about the music business, but he volunteered himself as manager of The Monks, drove them to their gigs - since they didn't have driver's licenses yet - and watched the group blossom into a local hit.
"I remember they were paid $10 apiece (for a show) and they were just thrilled," said Raiche, who supervised the band practices in their parents' garages in Woodvale and other neighborhoods.
"At the beginning we attracted the police a few times to tell them to keep it down. After a while, teenyboppers used to appear during practice, and part of my job was to come out and ask the young ladies to go home," he recalled with a laugh.
The news of Brad Delp's death on Friday, at age 55, shocked the Danvers community where Delp grew up, attended school, and became the hometown star who never forgot his roots as he went on to become the legendary lead singer for the 1970s rock band Boston.
"Everybody is very upset because he was one of the nicest people you could ever meet," said Raiche. "He didn't accept the fact that he was different than anyone else being a popular star. He wasn't like that."
Friends of Delp's from the Danvers High School Class of 1969 said he was quiet, modest and peaceful, even after he became famous.
"One of his most memorable lines to me was, 'Let's not talk about me, let's talk about you,'" said his classmate Dana "Mike" Hagan, now a Danvers police officer. "He was very humble. He was the greatest guy."
Debby Marticio became friends with Delp when they worked together at the Hotwatt factory in Danvers Square in the 1970s. She remembered Delp was a big fan of "The Exorcist" when it came out in 1973, and him entertaining his co-workers with his music at the company Christmas parties.
"He was marvelous, one of the nicest, most mellow people," said Marticio, who owns Ma Duke's restaurant in Danvers Square. "He would walk by you and put his hands together and bow to you. He just made you smile."
Delp was found dead in his Atkinson, N.H., home on Friday afternoon of still-unexplained causes. Police called his death untimely.
For the last decade or so, Delp was part of a popular Beatles tribute band called Beatlejuice. He came home to Danvers last month to perform a benefit concert in the Danvers High School auditorium to raise money for the school's Falcons baseball team.
Beatlejuice played regularly in Salem at Bay Bridge Restaurant and Night Club, where they were scheduled to perform on May 12. The owner, John Colantoni, said Delp was always willing to stay after shows to talk with audience members and sign autographs.
"I've been in the business since the middle-'80s and worked with a lot of big names, and he's probably one of the most well-respected people in the business," said Colantoni.
Delp also played at the 25th and 30th reunions for his graduating class, the Class of 1969.
"It was fabulous," said classmate Jan Levasseur. "It was just amazing that someone so successful was so down to earth."
Delp grew up on Wadsworth Street in Danvers and his musical talent was evident early on.
"He was always about the music," said Gene Demsey, who graduated with Delp in 1969. "I remember him carrying around sheet music when we were at the Holten Richmond Junior High."
Raiche said Delp had the ability to listen to a piece of music, transpose it onto paper, and then guide the other musicians in how to play it.
"He had an incredible ear for music," said Raiche. "I remember once saying to a friend of mine who stopped by during practice, 'You hear that (Beatles) record playing now? Wait till they play the same thing. You'll have a hard time telling the difference.' Well, it was actually them playing. It was just incredible."
The other members of The Monks were Steve Frary, Steve Cohen, Roger Kimball and Bobby Hayes. When the group came together again in 2001 for a reunion concert at the Danversport Yacht Club, more than 600 people turned up, according to Hagan, who organized the event.
"He was a wonderful guy and it's unfortunate," said David DeLuca, who sat behind Delp in homeroom all four years at Danvers High. "Now I hear his songs and it's sad to know that he is gone. It's just sad."
Funeral services
Brad Delp's family is conducting a private funeral, and will hold a public memorial service at a date to be announced, according to statement released by his family.
By Amanda McGregor , ebony porn
Staff writer
Salem News