Tommy DeCarlo obit

Boston Singer Tommy DeCarlo

Dead at 60 

He was not on the list.

Tommy DeCarlo -- lead vocalist for the rock band Boston -- has died.

The singer's family confirmed the news in a Facebook post, writing that he died Monday after a battle with brain cancer.

"He fought with incredible strength and courage right up until the very end," they wrote.

DeCarlo joined Boston after the original lead singer, Brad Delp, died in 2007.

In 2021, he released the audiobook, "Unlikely Rockstar -- The Tommy DeCarlo Story," detailing his life up until his first performance with Boston.

He was 60.

DeCarlo discovered and became a fan of Boston at age 12. Years later, he began writing his own music and in the 1990s began recording covers of himself singing his favorite Boston songs.

In March 2007, original Boston lead singer Brad Delp committed suicide at the age of 55. To honor Delp, DeCarlo wrote and recorded an original song about his favorite vocalist as well as recorded a couple of Boston covers. His daughter suggested he post the songs on a MySpace page that she helped him set up. He then decided to send his MySpace page link to Boston management. Not long after, he was contacted by Boston founding member Tom Scholz. At the time, DeCarlo was working at a Charlotte, North Carolina-area Home Depot as a credit manager. From 2007 until his death in 2026 , he was the lead vocalist (or co-lead vocalist) for every subsequent touring lineup of Boston.

In November 2021, DeCarlo recorded and released the audiobook, Unlikely Rockstar – The Tommy DeCarlo Story, in which he narrates his life events from birth through his first performance with the band Boston in 2007. The recording of the book occurred throughout 2020 and 2021. The audiobook is currently available on Audible.