There’s no shortage of bands named after locations—Beirut, Chicago, Kansas or Asia, for example—but no geographically-minded group has ever matched the success of Boston. This rock group began in the basement of guitarist Tom Scholz, a senior production designer for Polaroid with degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Scholz built a recording studio in his basement and engineered complex music, often playing all the instrumentals himself, recording and re-recording and re-recording. Scholz recruited Brad Delp, a local talent with ridiculous range, to sing. Scholz and Delp, the MIT intellectual and the guy who made the springs inside Mr. Coffee machines, would be the backbone of Boston. Their 1976 debut album, also called “Boston,” was the fastest-selling debut album of any American band, selling a million copies within three months.

Boston has produced a number of memorable singles, like “Foreplay,” “Don’t Look Back” and “Amanda.” Frequent listeners to classic rock radio stations will immediately recognize the opening chords of “More Than a Feeling” or “Peace of Mind.” Almost all of Boston’s music features multilayer guitar tracks, producing a polyphony any fan of rock music could adore.

The band has continued to tour since 1976, though the lineup has changed considerably, especially after Brad Delp’s death in 2007. Boston will play this Friday at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in nearby Maryland Heights.