Tom Scholz

Donald Thomas Scholz (born March 10, 1947) is an American rock musician, songwriter, inventor, engineer, and philanthropist, best known as the founder and only continuous original member of the band Boston. He came into the recording industry in an unusual way; as an MIT-trained engineer interested in music, he had designed his own recording studio in an apartment building basement to record his own music. The first Boston album was mostly recorded in this basement studio, often using devices he designed and invented himself. After the initial success of the band, he founded Scholz Research & Development, Inc. to develop and market his own inventions, many under the Rockman brand. He has been described by AllMusic as "a notoriously 'un-rock n' roll' figure who never enjoyed the limelight of being a performer," preferring to concentrate almost exclusively on music, production, and inventing new electronic equipment. In more recent years, he has spent much of his money and time working on charitable work.