Lou Gramm of Foreigner on the Rock Hall And The Real Story Behind Jukebox Hero

It’s hard to comprehend why it took so long for Foreigner to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But it’s finally happening, and their lead singer Lou Gramm took time to join us before the ceremony (Saturday live on Disney plus).

To spend time talking to Lou is always a bit nerve-wracking for me - Foreigner is one of those bands I grew up with…and Lou’s vocals soared from the very first album to today. I was too nervous to introduce myself to him at the recent Bret Michaels concert here in Detroit (and yes, he can still bring it). 

Here’s a bit of our conversation (entire chat here): 

Big Jim:  Is there a song—I’ve always wondered about this—is there a Foreigner song that really gets you emotional? One that brings up memories or hits you hard when you sing it?

Lou: There’s probably a few. I would definitely say "Jukebox Hero" is a very emotional song. It’s graphical to a certain degree. Just the pure, unabashed rock and roll feeling of it is what I see rock and roll should be about.

Big Jim: People don't realize, but that song was really you standing in the rain, right?

Lou: That's correct, yeah.

Doni: What band were you going to see?

Lou Gramm: Jimi Hendrix.

BigJimsHouse: Wow. Really?

Lou Gramm: Yep. Man, like the song says, I was standing by the backstage door. When guests with passes would come in, they’d open the door, and for about 10 or 15 seconds, I could peek my head in there, see Jimi playing, and see the audience going crazy. Then the door would shut. Ten minutes later, another guest would arrive, and I'd do it all over again.

Big Jim: Jimi Hendrix? We didn’t know that part, Lou! That’s incredible. How old were you?

Lou Gramm: I was 15 years old.

Big Jim: Were you in a band at that time? Were you singing with somebody?

Lou Gramm: I was playing drums with a band called the St. James Infirmary.

Show: Wait a minute. So you weren’t the frontman at first? Did you want to be a drummer or the lead singer?

Lou Gramm: I was a school-taught drummer. I played in the Gates-Chili High School band and the marching band. But it was only after one of my first bands—actually, it was Black Sheep—that we started doing original songs. It was really hard to put the songs across to an audience from behind the drums.

Doni: So you got out in front?

Lou : Well, not right away. We auditioned singers because I didn’t want to leave the drums. But we couldn’t find anybody, or the good singers wanted to play top 40 to make money. Back then, if you were in an original band, you didn’t make as much.

Big Jim: I’ve never heard this story! We always assumed you were a frontman. Do you relate to guys like Phil Collins or Don Henley, who made that transition from drums to lead vocals?

Lou Gramm: Absolutely. And the drummer for Rare Earth, too.

Big Jim: Oh yeah, that’s true. So, Lou, if someone comes up to you and says, "I know who you are, but I’ve never heard a song from Foreigner," what’s the first song you’d tell them to listen to?

Lou: I don’t know... I’d say a good song might be "Urgent" or maybe "Dirty White Boy."

Big Jim: Why those?

Lou Gramm: I think the energy, the attitude. And the musicianship is exemplary in those tracks.

Big Jim: At the end of "Cold As Ice," I’ve always wondered—you guys changed the end with all those background vocals, saying things like "pay the price" instead of just repeating "cold as ice." Why?

Lou Gramm: Oh, I remember that. It was "Cold as ice, pay the price," and then at the bottom of the fade, we threw in "three blind mice."

Big Jim: [laughs] What? Why’d you guys do that?

Lou Gramm: It was just a little something at the end, a shot in the ribs to see if people were still paying attention as the song faded out.

Big Jim: So that was your "Brown M&Ms" moment, huh? Just seeing if anyone caught it.

Lou Gramm: [laughs] You better believe it.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, Lou Gramm is a hero (could I say a “Jukebox Hero”?). So allow me to vent for just a second. It’s embarrassing that they weren’t put in the Rock Hall sooner. I could rattle off the 10’s of millions of albums sold, the concert tours and relevance today.

But the worst part was this: The Rock Hall ignored the fans. As any artist will tell you, fans speak with their wallets - buying your albums, going to your shows, wearing the merchandise. Foreigner is actually OVER QUALIFIED for the Rock Hall. I don’t blame the current CEO and the folks in Cleveland. But Jann, it became more about what YOU liked and not the fans. 

Lou Gramm is a national treasure - and you’re damn right I’ll go to the Rock Hall just to see their display.