TheUglylucy4's video: Rock and Roll Band

"Rock and Roll Band" was written by Tom Scholz and is the fourth track off of Boston's eponymous debut album released in 1976. The LP sold extremely well, breaking sales records and becoming one of the best-selling debut albums of all time. It spawned the singles "More Than a Feeling" and "Long Time". Nearly the entire album receives constant rotation on classic rock radio. The album has been referred to as a landmark in 1970s rock and has been included on many lists of essential albums. The album has sold 17 million copies in the United States alone and 25 million worldwide. The do not make debut LP's like this anymore. "Rock and Roll Band" is a charming bit of the groups self-mythology. The ballad simply is about Bostons rise from a bar band to a commercially signed nationally acclaimed rock band. The song opens with..."Well, we were just another band out of Boston,On the road to try to make ends meet,Playin' all the bars, sleepin' in our cars,And we practiced right on out in the street,No, we didn't have much money,We barely made enough to survive,But when we got up on stage and got ready to play,People came alive"...which kind of sets the storyline. The ending approaches with..."Playin' for a week in Rhode Island,A man came to the stage one night,He smoked a big cigar,Drove a Cadillac car,And said, Boys, I think this bands outta-sight,Sign a record company contract,You know I've got great expectations,When I hear you on the car radio,You're goin' to be a sensation". However powerful, the song's lyrics do exaggerate the band's story, as they spent years of work and rejection to get their recording contract, rather than being suddenly discovered by a record executive who happened to catch a show. Further speculation is found when you understand the song is pure fantasy since the band never played live or toured at the time the song was written. Simply put, Scholz wrote "Rock and Roll Band" to give us a song for everybody who dreams about hitting the big time... even though that's not how it went down with Boston. And I'm glad he did. Boston's sound became imitated by several other prominent rock bands of the era. The debut LP created a reference point for production values and studio technology that would stand for years. It very well may be the greatest debut LP ever.