'70s Classic Rock Band's Late Singers Shared an Eerie Coincidence

The rock world is mourning the loss of Boston singer Tommy DeCarlo, who died of brain cancer on March 9 at the age of 60.

Making DeCarlo’s death even more tragic for longtime fans of the band is that it occurred on the 19th anniversary of the death of the band’s original singer Brad Delp, who is heard on the group’s two classic albums, 1976’s Boston and 1978’s Don’t Look Back.

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Delp’s body was found on March 9, 2007, by police in Atkinson, New Hampshire. They’d been alerted to come to his home by his fiancée, Pamela Sullivan, after she found a dryer hose attached to Delp’s car, per Guitar World. She told police that the singer “had been depressed for some time” and was “feeling emotional [and] bad about himself.” A note was found at the scene that read: “To whoever finds this I have hopefully committed suicide. Plan B was to asphyxiate myself in my car.”

Once police arrived at the scene, they found a second note directing them to the main bedroom, where they found a third note warning of potentially deadly carbon monoxide.

After smelling the odor of charcoal, police knocked on the bathroom door, asking Delp if he was OK. After no response, they broke down the door, and the tape around the frame meant to seal in the fumes. There they found two charcoal grills and Delp with his head resting on a pillow. A note was paper-clipped to the collar of his shirt. It read: “Mr. Brad Delp. Jai une ame salitaire. I am a lonely soul.”

Delp’s death at the age of 55 was declared suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning by the New Hampshire medical examiner.

Yet another note found at the home gave more clues about the motivation for Delp’s suicide. “I take complete and sole responsibility for my present situation. I have lost my desire to live,” it read. It included instructions for the police on how to contact his fiancée. “Unfortunately she is totally unaware of what I have done,” the outlet added.

The possible motive for Delp’s suicide resulted in a series of lawsuits after interviews by the Boston Herald alleged that the band Boston’s split in the 1980s and ill will between Delp and the group’s mastermind Tom Scholz drove the singer to suicide. Scholz denied such claims and filed a defamation lawsuit that was later dismissed, with the court ruling that claims Delp’s suicide was due to Scholz were “statements of opinion and not verifiable fact and therefore could not form the basis of a claim of defamation.”

In another strange coincidence, DeCarlo, who became a fan of Boston at the age 12, originally gained attention by writing and recording an original song as a tribute to Delp, his favorite singer. He posted that song and some Boston covers on his MySpace page. Soon after he was contacted by Scholz and asked to join the band, which he was a member of from 2007 through his death.

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide or struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available 24 hours a day through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.