Meet Mark Dixon, Boston’s One-Time Secret Singer

A man who spent a year as the lead singer of Boston, but wasn’t allowed to tell anyone, said he still wasn’t sure why the deal collapsed.

Mark Dixon was hired by Boston mastermind Tom Scholz in 1981 after original vocalist Brad Delp appeared to have quit. Scholz was impressed with Dixon’s ability to sound almost exactly like Delp.

But around a year later DIxon was told he wasn’t required, and dismissed without receiving all the pay he’d been promised.

READ MORE: How Tom Scholz Navigated Tension Recording Boston’s ‘Third Stage’

The situation arose during a period of unrest in the Boston organization. Scholz was in dispute with a former manager who claimed he was entitled to a share of songwriting credits.

He was also in dispute with record label CBS, who were suing him for his failure to deliver a third Boston album on time. With the band unable to operate, Scholz had suggested to his colleagues that they work on their own projects, which led to rumors that the band had split – raising more concerns at the label.

Scholz eventually won the court case, but it took six years and added to the delay over Third Stage, which finally arrived in 1986 via the MCA label.

In a new YouTube documentary (embedded below) journalist Brendan Borrell suggested that Scholz had been forced into continuing with Delp, rather than working with Dixon or both singers.

In late 1980 Dixon saw an ad in Rolling Stone which read: “Wanted: rock singer. $50,000 minimum guarantee first year. Highly successful U.S. recording artist adding another vocalist. Male high range capable of Chicago, Foreigner, Boston, new Starship, Bad Co. style vocals. Tape quality, material and accompaniment unimportant. Acceptable applicants will be auditioned live, expenses paid.”

Partly attracted by the promise of a paycheck worth around $200,000 today, Dixon – then a singer with a covers band – recorded three songs in his basement. “Two of them I can remember,” he said. “One was Journey, ‘Lights’ – I always liked that one – and Boston, ‘Let Me Take You Home Tonight.’”

He sent the tape to the address in the ad and forgot about it, until Scholz called him a few months later. “I recognized his voice,” Dixon said. “He goes, ‘I’m producing a project for a band.’ He wouldn’t tell me who the band was.”

Why Tom Scholz Wanted A New Brad Delp

Having been chosen from around 3,000 applicants, Dixon was flown to Scholz’s home in Massachusetts to record a version of Boston’s “A Man I’ll Never Be.” He said of the trip: “One day I’m just gigging in my own city… and now I’m hanging around this pop star. [He had] every modern convenience you could see as far as recording goes down in his basement.”

When he session concluded, he continued, “[Scholz] turned around with a look on his face. He said, ‘I don’t believe it – you sound just like Brad. This is amazing! I’ve never heard anyone sound like Brad.’”

Borrell quoted Scholz’s later comments during the legal dispute with CBS: “I mounted a one-man campaign to canvas the country and find a vocalist who had the identical vocal sound as Brad Delp, for the purpose of using both of them on the record, and then having this fellow do the live touring when Brad didn’t feel like going out.”

His completed version of “A Man I’ll Never Be” contained Dixon and Delp’s vocals alternating line by line. When he played it to his label boss, Scholz said, “He couldn’t tell the difference. Neither could I.”

CBS – anxious to keep Boston’s signature sound – agreed that Dixon should remain aboard. “We discussed also whether or not this fact should be a secret for the time being,” Scholz said. “I felt it should. He agreed, and also suggested that… we not tell anyone else at CBS… which I agreed to do.”

READ MORE: Top 10 Boston Songs

Scholz then flew to Niagara Falls to tell Dixon: “I want to let you know … that you will now be the new lead singer of Boston. … But you have to keep this quiet.” The singer’s response: “I said, ‘Really? Keep this quiet? Okay, I’ll do the best I can.’”

He set about living as healthily as he could – “All I drank was Diet Pepsi. No smoking, no nothing” – but broke his promise to Scholz when he felt he had to explain things to his local colleagues.

“My band at the time was all mad at me – ‘You’re leaving us!’ I couldn’t tell them… but I told them. Somehow it got back to Tom. He called me up one day, furious. ‘What are you doing running around your city telling people you’re my singer?’”

Dixon was let off with a warning not to do it again. During the year he received a demo from Scholz for the song “Don’t Say Goodbye,” with Delp’s vocals. He flew to Scholz’s studio, recorded his own vocal parts in a few hours, and flew home the same day.

Then, after months of silence, he got another call from Scholz, who told him: “As of tonight you won’t be the lead singer of Boston anymore. Brad’s coming back. But I’ll send you another check…”

Mark Dixon Considered Suing Boston

He recalled thinking, “I was on top of the world… and then I’m back where I started on the ground.” Scholz put him in touch with another band, but nothing came of it. Dixon considered suing Boston since he’d only ever received about half the money he’d been promised, but decided against it.

“I developed a drinking habit,” the vocalist admitted, saying it was partly because he felt he’d never been given a complete explanation.

Around 45 years on, though, he reflected: “People knew me… around the area as the ex lead of Boston. They knew that, and that really helped.”

Delp eventually left Boston after completion of their Third Stage tour in 1988, returning in 1994 and remaining until he took his own life in 2007. Tommy DeCarlo has been fronting the band since 2008, briefly sharing duties with Stryper’s Michael Sweet.

Dixon, who’s received a number of honors including being inducted into two local halls of fame, added: “I’d like the fame. I’d like the money. You know what? I’m happy.”

Watch the Mark Dixon Documentary