 Boston was founded by Tom Scholz, an MIT-trained engineer and senior product designer for Polaroid whose home demo tapes led to the formation of the band and their signing to Epic Records. Released in the fall of 1976, the group's Epic debut album Boston peaked at No. 3 but remained on the Billboard Pop Albums chart for more than two and a half years. Two decades later, Boston still holds the RIAA record as the best-selling debut album of all time. (The album was recently certified 16X platinum in the US.) Boston spun off the Top 5 single, "More Than A Feeling," and two additional hits, "Long Time" (No. 22) and "Peace Of Mind" (No. 38). The Rolling Stone Album Guide states: "Boston's soaring combination of high-tech metal guitar punch and smooth pop vocal hooks quickly became the cornerstone of Album Oriented Radio. But as slick as it sounds, 'More Than A Feeling' also strikes an un-commonly resonant emotional note." Two years later, Boston released its second Epic album, Don't Look Back. This No. 1 album includes the No. 4 title single and two other hits, "A Man I'll Never Be" and "Feelin' Satisfied". Following the recording of Don't Look Back (now certified 7X platinum), Tom Scholz invented a new type of guitar mini-amplifier. He dubbed it "The Rockman" and successfully marketed this and other sonic inventions through his own company, Scholz Research & Development. Boston released their next album, Third Stage, in October, 1986 on MCA. Featuring Tom Scholz and Brad Delp, Third Stage topped the Billboard chart for four straight weeks. With sales of over four million copies. Third Stage produced the No. 1 single "Amanda" and the follow-up hits "We're Ready" (No. 9) and "Can'tcha Say (You Believe In Me)/Still In Love" (No. 20). In June 1994, Boston released a second MCA album, Walk On, which was quickly certified platinum.
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