A celeb dies -- time to get sentimental!

The last couple of days, my thoughts have turned back to Elk Grove Village, Ill., circa the late ’70s.

My brother is in the garage, working on his GTO yet again. I’m playing Wiffle Ball in the backyard with my friend Jeff, having watched the Cubs lose on WGN. (Hey — at least Kingman hit a home run.) And my sister still has a bath towel on her head as her copy of Boston’s debut, self-titled album spins on the turntable.

The brainchild behind the arena rock band was, of course, Tom Scholz. He did it all — the swirling guitars, the laid-back lyrics and, of course, the innovative technology. Even the spacey album covers were his idea. But the high, shrill voice of Boston was always Brad Delp, who died mysteriously at 55 last Friday.

Of course, Boston’s heyday ended, for the most part, around the time Jimmy Carter left office. But back in the day, the band was huge. I mean, who didn’t know “More Than a Feeling,” “Foreplay/Long Time” and “Peace of Mind”? While the disco ball was still rolling, that first album showed that rock still had muscle, even if just for a few more years.

Boston is no stranger to the Central Coast, having performed at the Mid-State Fair a couple of times. When they came here in 2004 I had a chance to interview Delp, who lived up to his reputation as a nice-guy rocker. I mean, yeah, I only interviewed him over the phone for an hour, but he seemed genuinely like a good guy. He wasn’t an egomaniac who tried to claim all the band’s success for himself. In fact, he went on and on about how Scholz was the genius behind Boston — that his job was to make Scholz’s ideas sound as good as they could.

He talked a lot about his family. When Boston had an 8-year hiatus because of legal problems, Delp — with no money problems, thanks to past success — didn’t get frustrated that the limelight was gone.

"If I were a more ambitious person, I probably would have been upset about it," Delp said. "As it turned out, my daughter was born in 1980, and that was a little while after we got off the 'Don't Look Back' tour. So I got to spend a lot of time watching her grow up."

Now that’s peace of mind, baby.

No word yet on what caused Delp’s death. He seemed to be in good shape. There were even plans for Boston to tour again this summer, possibly with a new album. And, well --

Sigh.

I don’t know what it is about celebrity deaths. But sometimes they get me down. Yeah, I know – they’re just celebs. They probably wouldn't care less if I dropped dead tomorrow. And, sure, you're probably sick and tired of reading sentimental columns about people dying. Still, when a celeb you grew up watching or listening to dies, you can’t help but think of your own mortality.

During those Chicago winters, I’d tuck a football under my arm, then leap over my neighbor’s shrubs, pretending to be Walter Payton jumping over the goal line. Payton was the symbol of strength and athleticism when I was a child. So to see him die a slow death at 45 was ironic and sad. Gee, I thought, if this can happen to the almighty Walter Payton . . .

Then I quickly thought of something else -- maybe even cartoons, even though I was in my 30s. Because I didn’t really want to think about death and dying; I wanted happy thoughts.

Which brings me back to Brad Delp. Because while there will never be another “Boston” again, at least Delp’s passing did conjure some good memories for me.

Heck, if I smelled Bondo right now, I might just cry, thinking of my brother and that damn GTO.


-Pat P.