Sib Hashian, the drummer for Boston on their first two albums, collapsed and died on Wednesday night while participating on the Legends of Rock Cruise which was sailing in the western Caribbean. He was 67.
Hashian and former Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau were playing a show of Boston music when Sib suddenly collapsed in the middle of the set. He was given CPR and a defibrillator was used but he did not regain consciousness.
Boston was still in its infancy when original drummer Jim Masdea, who group founder Tom Scholz had played with since 1969, left the band and Hashian was brought in as a replacement for an audition in front of the executives from Epic Records.
Their self-titled debut album was released on August 25, 1976 and, although it only made it to number 3 on the Billboard 200, it went on to sell seventeen million copies, one of the biggest debuts in music history. Included on the album were the hits and classic rock staples More Than a Feeling, Foreplay/Long Time and Peace of Mind.
They followed in 1978 with Don’t Look Back which did go to the top of the charts and has sold over seven million copies. Scholz then entered into a long legal battle that kept Boston out-of-the-studio for a number of years. In the meantime, guitarist Goudreau, singer Brad Delp and Hashian started working together on a solo project for Barry.
Hashian went on to record a few drum tracks for Boston’s third album, Third Stage, but orginal drummer Masdea returned to the band and rerecorded most of the drum parts. Post-Boston, Sid sued Scholz for back royalties in a case that was settled out of court.
Although he never totally left the music business, Hashian went on to other business enterprises including a chain of tanning salons and a record store. Musically, he occasionally played around Boston with his former bandmates and recorded with the group Ernie and the Automatics.
Hashian is survived by his wife Suzanne, a son, two daughters and a number of grandchildren.
