Lou Gramm’s voice is as entwined in the musical culture of the last 40 years as any other rock musician on the planet. For much of that time, he was the lead vocalist for one of the most successful arena rock bands on the planet – Foreigner. And even after embarking on a solo career more than a decade ago, songs of that band are still near and dear to his hear and the still the centrepieces of his live show.
Gramm, a native of Rochester, New York, will be bringing his band to Belleville on Saturday, July 23, to help wrap up the 2016 edition of Empire Rockfest as he opens for another legendary rock frontman, Dennis DeYoung formerly of Styx.
Billing the show as Lou Gramm: Jukebox Hero, Gramm will delight audiences with songs have become part of the soundtrack of millions of lives since Foreigner’s first album was released in 1977. These include hits such as Hot Blooded, Urgent, Feels Like the First Time, Jukebox Hero, Dirty White Boy and the massive hit ballad, I Want to Know What Love Is.
He will also perform songs from his three solo records, including the hit singles Midnight Blue and Ready or Not, from the 1987 album of that title. His last solo album was the eponymously titled Lou Gramm Band, released in 2009.
“I will definitely be doing some solo stuff – two or three songs from those solo albums, and then the big Foreigner tunes which seems to really turn the audience on and they always leave very satisfied,” Gramm told Music Life Magazine, adding he plays between 50 and 60 shows a year, mostly on weekends, so he can spend as much time with his family as possible.
That desire for quality time with friends and loved ones became a more powerful and potent one after a health scare in the late 1990s when he was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour called craniopharyngioma. The surgery to remove the tumor damaged his pituitary gland and impacted his stamina and voice for some time. Today, he understands the importance of rest, but is otherwise feeling better than he in a while.
“I am feeling good. It’s something I have learned to deal with but I am feeling better than I have in a long time,” he said.
“And I think it did change my perspective on life and the music business very much. I am much more determined to spend time with my family. After that last tour I did with Foreigner in 2002 or so I haven’t done a full-blown, year-plus tour, complete with tour bus and all the big semi transports. We started doing shows the way we do them now about eight to 10 years ago – doing fly-ins. That’s really the only way I could go on. Usually we leave Thursday and play Friday and Saturday and I am home on Sunday, so I have at least half the week to spend with my family,” he said, adding that, like Chuck Berry, the band basically just brings their instruments to the shows with the promoter providing the staging, lights, amps and drums.
“You know what, it’s working, and I can satisfy my desire to rock by playing two great shows and knowing there are two more come up at the end of the following week. And I still enjoy performing the songs. I take very good care of my voice and I can still hit all the notes, and that’s very encouraging to me. I have a great band that plays the arrangements true to the original records, but they are still able to cut loose to satisfy their own creativity.”
Gramm was playing in a noted New York state rock band called Black Sheep in 1976 when he met Mick Jones, a veteran British musician then a touring member of the band Spooky Tooth, but who was in the process of assembling what would become Foreigner (after dumping the first moniker of Trigger, the band’s name came from the fact that it was half American and half English). Jones invited Gramm to audition and landed the job. The rest is rock and roll history.
Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, Foreigner filled stadiums sold tens of millions of albums (now upwards of 80 million worldwide) and their songs are heard on TV shows, in movies and video games and are still staples on classic rock and classic hits format radio stations.
“I think to a certain degree the songs are timeless. They’re heavy at times but they are melodic and I think the lyrics and melodies strike a chord with people of all generations. I just think some things are like that: I hear old Beatles songs that still hit me hard as if it was the first time I heard them, even if it’s been a bunch of years since I heard them. Some songs just hit that chord,” Gramm said, adding that he loves the fact that his audiences are multi-generational.
“Oh yes, it’s very encouraging to see all the young people at the shows and having them know all the words. It’s kind of stunning actually when you see them all singing along like that, in a good way. I think it’s a testament to the music that so many people want to hear those songs, whether it’s done by my band or by Mick’s version of Foreigner. Mick can call it Foreigner and no matter who he’s got on stage, it is Foreigner as long as they do the songs justice. I honestly think there are a lot of people who don’t have a clue if it’s the original band or not, and they don’t seem to care.”
Asked whether the songs are still fresh for him to play show after show Gramm said they’re fun every night, mostly because of the audience response.
“I still really enjoy playing all of them. Arrangement-wise, as I have said, we stay true to the records but we could put enough of our personality in there from time to time to make if fun. It’s a treat to play those songs, especially when you see how the audience reacts to them. It’s very satisfying. I think there may be some songs you have more of an attachment too, but the reality is when you write them, they become your children. And how many of your children to you like better than the others?” he said with a chuckle.
Gramm left Foreigner in 1990, but returned in 1992, staying until his final departure in 2003. Ten years after the split and eight years after Jones reformed Foreigner, the two shared a stage together as they were inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in June of 2013. Their contact rekindled, there has been talk ever since of some sort of reunion to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the release of the band’s self-titled debut album.
“There has been talk. I am not sure if either Mick or I could do a bigger tour but maybe a one-off show would be fine. That we could do I think, and it would be great if we could bring together all the other remaining original members too,” he said, adding there hasn’t been much contact lately and that there has been nothing more than preliminary discussions.
Like any creative and business partnership the relationship between the two has been strained at times, including conflict over the way Gramm was allowed to bill himself as a solo artist.
“First it was Lou Gramm, formerly of Foreigner and I got a letter from Mick’s attorney for that. And then I was Lou Gramm: The Voice of Foreigner and I was told that was not acceptable. Finally we’re now doing it as Lou Gramm: Jukebox Hero. That doesn’t mention Foreigner, but it sure does let people now that I was the voice of Foreigner,” he said.
Regardless of the billing, Gramm is the voice on the recordings that are still playing millions of times a day around the world, and which will be performed with great fidelity to the audience in Empire Square in downtown Belleville on a steamy Saturday night in July.
For more information on the show with Gramm, Dennis DeYoung and opener Bone, visit http://www.empiresquarelive.com/saturday-night-rockfest.
For more information on Gramm, visit his Facebook page or website www.lougramm.com.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHDy_b33cCQ
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