Fran Sheehan (born March 26, 1949) is an American rock musician best known for being the bass player in the original incarnation of the rock band

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Sheehan was perhaps the most experienced musician in the original lineup of

Life and career

Sheehan's father Skip Sheehan was a vaudeville performer, and Fran began performing at the age of five. He studied music at North Shore Community College and the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

. He dropped out of school to pursue a professional musical career. Sheehan was one of three musicians added to the Boston lineup shortly after band leader

Tom Scholz Donald Thomas Scholz (born March 10, 1947) is an American musician. He is the founder, main songwriter, primary guitarist, keyboardist and only remaining original member of the rock band Boston. He has appeared on every Boston release. Scholz, a ...

and vocalist

Brad Delp Bradley Edward Delp (June 12, 1951 – March 9, 2007) was an American musician who was the original lead singer and frontman of the rock band Boston. He began collaborating with leader Tom Scholz in 1970 and appeared on every album except '' W ...

signed a recording contract with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

in 1976. Sheehan, drummer Sib Hashian and guitarist

Barry Goudreau Barry Goudreau (born November 29, 1951) is an American musician. He was one of two original guitarists for the Rock music, rock band Boston (band), Boston alongside founder Tom Scholz; both Scholz and Goudreau shared lead and rhythm guitar part ...

were all long-time friends of Delp's who had worked with the singer in various other bands over the previous few years. The band was an overnight success, but relations between Scholz and the other four band members were strained from the beginning. Following Goudreau's and Hashian's departure, Sheehan was fired from the band midway through the sessions for Boston's ''

Third Stage ''Third Stage'' is the third studio album by the American rock band Boston, released on September 24, 1986, on MCA Records, as the band's first album on the label. It was recorded at Boston co-founder Tom Scholz's Hideaway Studio over a long, s ...

'' album in the early '80s. He received a songwriting credit for "Cool the Engines," however. After leaving Boston, Sheehan (along with two other ex-band members) sued

, before settling out of court. After leaving Boston, Sheehan formed Fran Sheehan and the All-Star Band, who gigged extensively but never released an album. In 1985, he produced a 4-track demo tape for a then unknown local band called Extreme. Sheehan stopped playing the bass during the 1990s for several years after he injured his arm and hand in a biking accident. However, he eventually recovered and still appears on stage from time to time. In the meantime, he sang with various bands. He has made several guest appearances over the years, including ''

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' (; , Modern ) is an interjection from the Hebrew language, used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Tanakh (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four times in the Christ ...

'' with

Sammy Hagar Sam Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose before launching a ...

and

The Waboritas The Waboritas, also known more recently as The Wabos, are Sammy Hagar's backup band. They were formed in 1997, after Hagar left Van Halen the year prior, and have been active ever since. Their only hiatus was during the Van Halen tour of 2004, d ...

. In August 2007, Sheehan, along with other previous and current Boston band members, appeared on stage at the

Tribute Show held at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston. On February 25, 2012, Sheehan played with Boston bandmate

on stage outdoors for a three-hour benefit concert in Florida at the All Star Jam for the Sydney and Berne Davis Art Center in

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,395; it was estimated to have grown to 95,949 in 2022, making it the List o ...

References

External links

Discogs page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheehan, Fran Boston (band) members American rock musicians American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Living people American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists Year of birth missing (living people)