In 2017, my cover band Maggie Speaks started a new program called Celebrity Sit-In. It has been an incredible addition for corporate events, charity galas and fundraisers, high end weddings and music festivals. Celebrity singers from world famous bands join Maggie Speaks on stage to perform their top 4 – 6 hits. I have been fortunate enough to do this over 30 times in the past few years. Each time, I seem to learn something different from each of our guests, a little nugget that I can take back with me to continually refine Maggie Speaks live performance.
We have had the pleasure of performing with Fran Cosmo, the former lead singer of Boston at least five times. Boston had one of the most successful debut albums in rock history, selling over 17 million copies. Collectively over their 40 plus year span, they have sold 75 million albums. Fran joined the band in 1994 when founder Tom Scholz venuted back into the studio to record the Walk On album. Vocalist Brad Delp deemed himself unavailable for the project as he was focusing on solo work. Fran had known the members of Boston since their inception in 1976 and was the lead singer of guitarist Barry Goodreau’s band Orion the Hunter. They toured as the opening band for Aerosmith supported by their hit single So I Ran. Fran was the only vocalist to sing on the Walk On album, which peaked at #7 on the charts and spawned the hit single I Need Your Love, which peaked at #4 on the Billboard’s US Mainstream Rock Charts. The album was certified Platinum. Later that year, Delp returned for the tour where he and Fran shared lead vocal responsibilities. I was fortunate enough to see this show at Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy, Wisconsin while in college. It was truly a dream come true for me to see both Fran and Brad on stage hitting notes in the stratospheres that most vocalists only dream of.
In 2007, after the untimely death of his best friend and fellow vocalist Brad Delp, Fran left the band. He has toured the world with his own band Cosmo as well as the World Classic Rockers. Fran first performed with Maggie Speaks in 2018 in Scottsdale, Arizona at a corporate event. Together we rocked through Boston classics like, “More Than a Feeling”, “Rock and Roll Band”, “Foreplay / Long Time”, “Peace of Mind”, “Don’t Look Back” and “Smokin’”. Fran always asks me to take the second verse on “Smokin’” which is truly an honor. To go from a kid in the crowd in 1994 to singing a duet in 2018 is quite surreal to me. Since that initial show we have performed together five more times for festivals and corporate events.
In talking with Fran, he shared some knowledge with me that I have really taken to heart as a performer and a band leader. Fran said to me, “Dave, this is rock and roll. The people watching you want to experience the dream that you are living, so you have to deliver. You have to play with passion and deliver a big sound with big endings. We work so hard to perform these songs and they deserve big time rock and roll epic endings that impact people and leave them wanting more.” I thought about this and realized how helpful this advice was. So many bands slog through tunes and get to the end and just punt so they can get to the next song. The ending is the most poignant moment of the song as it is the last thing the crowd will hear, so it is important to make it impactful and memorable.
