Peace of Mind

Boston founder Tom Scholz wrote this song while he was working as a senior engineer at the Polaroid corporation. The song is about finding your passion; Scholz seems to sympathize with the many people who are working for companies and don't feel fulfilled.

Unlike many folks toiling away in dead-end jobs, Scholz liked what he did at Polaroid and was paid well for it, well enough that he could afford to build a studio in his basement with a 12-track recorder. He played in bands while he was a student at MIT and after entering the corporate world, but the studio let him create new songs using his engineering background to push the boundaries. After a few years, one of his demo tapes earned him a deal with Epic Records. He formed Boston using local talent (including singer Brad Delp, who sang on the demos), took a leave of absence from Polaroid, and completed the self-titled album, which was released on August 25, 1976. Scholz went back to his job, but that didn't last long: the album took off like a shot, so the band toured to support it. "Peace Of Mind" shows how dreams can come true with the right amount of talent, passion and hard work. Of course, there were probably many times over the next several years - especially when he was at odds with his management and record company - when Scholz would have liked to back at Polaroid.

This was the third single from the Boston album, following "More Than a Feeling" and "Long Time." They could have released more, but didn't have to: radio stations were playing the songs right from the album, and the album was selling. It eventually sold 17 million copies in America.