Yes, Boston's first album coverthat is Grieving and not Griefing.

Brad Delp, singer of the 70s rock band ‘Boston,’ committed suicide on Friday though I only saw the news this morning. I don’t think anyone’s going to claim that Boston was one of the greatest bands of all time, but their eponymous first album was, I believe, one of the longest charting albums ever. I recall having a tape of the album as a kid in the early 80s and remember listening to their biggest hit, “More than a Feeling,” quite a bit.

It always saddens me when someone whom I “knew” as a younger person dies, and I was moved to fire up Guitar Hero immediately and play “More than a Feeling, which is my favorite song to play in the first GH (and I’ve played it many, many, many times). I closed my windows so as not to annoy my neighbors, turned the volume on my receiver way up and launched into the opening notes of the song.

When Brad’s voice kicked in (ok, not really Brad’s voice, but the cover singer on that song isn’t half-bad, and it’s the thought that counts) I really fell into the moment and easily flowed through the song, reveling in nostalgic memories of Boston. I’ve never felt so in-sync with the song before. The lyrics “I closed my eyes and I slipped away” in the song took on some pretty melancholy overtones this time through and put me even deeper into the groove. Upon finishing, I realized that I’d just beaten my high score (currently 267,934 on Expert mode for anyone who cares).

Thanks for the music, Brad. We’ll miss you.