Tommy DeCarlo, the frontman of US rock band Boston since 2007, has died of brain cancer, his family have confirmed.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of our dad, Tommy DeCarlo, on Monday, 9 March 2026,” they wrote in a statement. “After being diagnosed with brain cancer last September, he fought with incredible strength and courage right up until the very end. During this difficult time, we kindly ask that friends and fans respect our family’s privacy as we grieve and support one another.”
The family had previously shared a GoFundMe page asking for support for the singer’s medical bills after he suffered a sudden brain bleed and underwent an emergency craniotomy in September. Doctors discovered two melanoma masses on his brain and one on his lungs; following treatment, DeCarlo was hospitalised after another brain bleed.
DeCarlo joined Boston in 2007 after original frontman Brad Delp killed himself. DeCarlo, a lifelong fan of Boston, had posted an original tribute song to Delp on MySpace, along with covers of the band’s Don’t Look Back and Smokin’, which he sent to the band’s management with an offer to perform at a tribute concert to Delp.
They declined – until founding band member Tom Scholz heard the cover and invited DeCarlo along to perform with the remaining band members. “I haven’t heard anyone else sing like that in 35 years,” Scholz is quoted as saying in a bio on the band’s website. Then working as a credit manager at Home Depot in North Carolina, DeCarlo gave his first gig – other than karaoke slots at the local bowling alley – at the 5,000-capacity Bank of America Pavilion in Boston.
The group then invited him to join the band. “The most scary time for me was when I walked into rehearsal and met them all for the first time,” DeCarlo said. “As I walked into the building where rehearsal was taking place, I could hear the sound of a kick drum in the distance. I walked through the doors and could not believe it … there was Boston rehearsing Don’t Look Back.”
DeCarlo was born and raised in Utica, New York. A sports fan in his childhood, he discovered music by singing in the school choir – and taught himself to play piano at the age of 14 – but cited Delp with teaching him a love of singing.
“When I first began to listen to Boston as a young teenager, I absolutely loved Brad’s voice and how he would sing those classic hits,” DeCarlo said in a biography on Boston’s website. “It wasn’t like I was trying to sing like Brad, it was just that I loved to sing along with him.”
DeCarlo sang on the band’s 2013 album, Life, Love & Hope, their only full-length released after he joined the group.
Boston last toured in 2017 with support from Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Performing their music live, DeCarlo said, “That’s almost indescribable. It’s an amazing feeling and it’s something that the fans and band members share together in that moment of music.”
Scholz has been working on a new album; last year guitarist Gary Pihl said he hoped the band would mount a 2026 tour to coincide with the 50th anniversary of their 1976 self-titled debut album.
DeCarlo and his wife Annie had two children. DeCarlo also formed the band Decarlo with his son Tommy DeCarlo Jr in 2012.
“Dreams are what give us hope and inspiration,” DeCarlo told the Pensacola News Journal in 2015. “That’s something that you got to hang on to.”
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