Some singers have voices you recognize within a few seconds.
Lou Gramm needs considerably less time.
As the lead singer of Foreigner, Gramm delivered some of the biggest rock songs of the late ’70s and ’80s, combining raw power with the ability to handle everything from arena-rock anthems to one of the decade's biggest power ballads.
In this classic Stuck in the ’80s interview, we talk with Lou Gramm about Foreigner's hit-filled ’80s run, his solo career and life behind one of rock's most distinctive voices.
Lou Gramm and Foreigner Rule the Early ’80s
Foreigner was already a major band when the ’80s began, thanks to songs including “Feels Like the First Time,” “Cold as Ice” and “Hot Blooded.”
The album became Foreigner's biggest, producing “Urgent,” “Waiting for a Girl Like You” and the ultimate fantasy for anyone who ever dreamed of becoming a rock star, “Juke Box Hero.”
With Gramm out front and Mick Jones helping steer the band's sound, Foreigner found the sweet spot between hard rock and mainstream pop.
Then they went even bigger.
“I Want to Know What Love Is”
Foreigner released Agent Provocateur in 1984, featuring “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
The song reached No. 1 and became Foreigner's biggest single, with Gramm delivering a vocal that starts restrained and ends somewhere in the vicinity of the stratosphere.
More than four decades later, it's still one of the defining power ballads of the ’80s.
And yes, we still want to know what love is.
Apparently nobody has gotten around to explaining it.
Lou Gramm Goes Solo
By the late ’80s, tensions within Foreigner were growing, and Gramm began establishing a career outside the band.
His 1987 solo album Ready or Not produced the hit “Midnight Blue,” while 1989's Long Hard Look gave us “Just Between You and Me.”
Both proved that the voice behind Foreigner could succeed without the Foreigner name attached.
In our Lou Gramm interview, he looks back on those years, the enormous Foreigner hits and his journey from arena-rock frontman to successful solo artist.
Foreigner's music remains a fixture of classic-rock radio, but there's no mistaking the ingredient that made those original recordings soar.
Turn on “Juke Box Hero,” “Urgent” or “I Want to Know What Love Is,” and there he is.
One of the great voices of the ’80s.
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We want to know what love is.
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