Sib Hashian, the drummer on Boston’s mega-selling, self-titled 1976 debut album and its followup, 1978’s Don’t Look Back, died on March 22, 2017, while performing on a rock legends cruise via Hitmaker Cruises when he collapsed mid-set. Attempts to resuscitate him with CPR and a defibrillator failed and Hashian was pronounced dead. He was 67 years old.
According to TMZ, the cruise began on March 18 in Florida and had stops in several places including Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. “We’re told the cruise will continue and other musicians are performing tributes to Sib on the boat Thursday,” TMZ stated.
[Note: the TMZ report, and most others, misidentified the cruise where Hashian appeared, attributing it to “Legends of Rock,” which is a competing cruise line.]
The drummer was playing on the ship in a band that included fellow ex-Boston member Barry Goudreau, former Foreigner singer Lou Gramm, former Beach Boy David Marks and former Kansas singer John Elefante.
Boston issued a statement on March 23:
Related: Former Boston members and other musicians have also paid tribute
Hashian, who sported a large Afro hairstyle in early promotional photos of Boston, joined the band in 1975 when founder and leader Tom Scholz needed a replacement for original drummer Jim Masdea, who the band’s record label, Epic, did not want in the lineup. According to an article on Hashian in Wikipedia, many of Hashian’s drum parts on the debut album, which contained the massive hit “More Than a Feeling,” were transcriptions of Masdea’s original drum arrangements.
Hashian left the band during the recording of the Third Stage album, when Masdea returned to the group. Hashian sued Scholz and the case was settled out of court.
Born John Thomas Hashian on Aug. 17, 1949, “Sib” also played on Goudreau’s self-titled solo album, and worked with Sammy Hagar and others after leaving Boston. In addition to performing music, he owned a record shop and a string of tanning salons in Boston.
Hashian is the second member of Boston to pass away. Original vocalist Brad Delp committed suicide on March 9, 2007.
Listen to Boston’s original smash hit, “More Than a Feeling”
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