Boston Singer Dies at Age 60 After Battle With Brain Cancer

Boston frontman Tommy DeCarlo has died after being diagnosed with brain cancer in September. He was 60.

Family confirmed that DeCarlo succumbed on Monday (March 9). “He fought with incredible strength and courage right up until the very end,” they said in a social media post.

Boston added DeCarlo in 2008 after original singer Brad Delp died by suicide. (They’d end up both dying on a March 9.) Then working a day job as a Home Depot credit manager, DeCarlo had an untapped ability to carry Delp’s vocal legacy forward on stage.

How Was Boston’s Tommy DeCarlo Discovered?

DeCarlo would end up taking part in multiple well-received tours and Boston’s most recent studio project, earning high praise from leader Tom Scholz along the way. “I think the performances of the band [with DeCarlo] are the best we’ve ever had,” Scholz once said.

A life-long Boston fan, DeCarlo had actually never even been in a band before. “I had that opportunity come when I was 42 years old,” he told the Pensacola News Journal.

READ MORE: Remembering Original Boston Frontman Brad Delp

DeCarlo was discovered on the internet after Scholz’s wife stumbled across his cover version of the title track from 1978’s multi-platinum Don’t Look Back. “I said, ‘Which show is that?'” Scholz later remembered. “She said, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘Which show is that? It’s got to be one of our live shows.’ She said, ‘That’s not your band.'”

Scholz couldn’t get over DeCarlo’s vocal resemblance. “I can not tell you that that wasn’t Brad Delp,” he added. “It was amazing.”

Tommy DeCarlo Becomes the ‘Ultimate Rock and Roll Frontman’

DeCarlo was singing with a pre-recorded track. He’d never toured before. “In spite of that,” Scholz said, “he was so obviously gifted.” At first, DeCarlo only handled about half the setlist as Boston played more than 50 summer North American dates on a double bill with Styx. (Michael Sweet was their second vocalist, followed by David Victor.)

By the time Boston returned to the road for his second tour, Scholz said DeCarlo had become the “ultimate rock and roll frontman and performer. … It was just an awesome transformation.” He’d also begin contributing in the studio.

READ MORE: Top 10 Boston Songs

Boston played dates from June through September 2012 ahead of the release of the group’s sixth album, Life, Love & Hope. DeCarlo sang the title track and “The Way You Look Tonight,” while sharing vocals on “Someday” and “You Gave Up on Love (2.0).” Boston’s subsequent Heaven on Earth shows took DeCarlo across the U.S. again and into Japan.

DeCarlo toured with Boston every year between 2014-2017, memorably celebrating the group’s 40th anniversary in 2016 with a rare show in their namesake hometown. DeCarlo also launched a stand-alone band with his son Tommy Jr., simply called DeCarlo. More recently, there’d been talk of new music from Boston and perhaps a 50th anniversary tour, but then DeCarlo’s health began to fail.

Listen to Tommy DeCarlo Sing Boston’s ‘Life, Love & Hope’

What Was Boston Singer Tommy DeCarlo’s Cause of Death?

“In late September, Dad suffered a sudden brain bleed and underwent an emergency craniotomy,” Tommy Jr. explained after launching a GoFundMe. “During surgery, doctors discovered two melanoma masses on his brain and another spot on his lungs.” DeCarlo recovered from surgery but then was hospitalized again with another brain bleed.

DeCarlo returned home just after Christmas. A fundraising event had already been announced to help with his medical expenses. Voices of Change: A Benefit Concert for Tommy DeCarlo was set for March 29 near his home in Cornelius, North Carolina.