Lou Gramm

Best known as the powerhouse original frontman of AOR rock legends Foreigner, co‑writing many of the band’s biggest hits, Lou Gramm mounted a successful solo career during the '80s, cracking the Top 10 in 1987 with the single "Midnight Blue" and repeating the process two years later with "Just Between You and Me." Gramm continued to perform and record into the 2000s, even reuniting periodically with Foreigner for special appearances, including their 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. He issued his third solo album, Released, in 2026. Born in Rochester, NY, on May 2, 1950, Gramm first surfaced as the drummer with the band Black Sheep, assuming lead vocal duties before recording the group's self-titled 1975 Capitol debut. Neither the album nor its follow-up, Encouraging Words, earned much mainstream notice, but they did capture the attention of journeyman guitarist Mick Jones, best known for his stint with a latter-day incarnation of Spooky Tooth. Jones soon tapped Gramm to front his new group, Foreigner, and together they began writing songs, co-authoring the smash "Cold as Ice" from their best-selling 1977 eponymous debut LP. Gramm's powerfully distinctive vocals were inescapable in the years to follow as Foreigner reeled off an impressive series of pop radio hits, including "Hot Blooded," "Double Vision," "Urgent," and "Waiting for a Girl Like You." The hits culminated in 1984's chart-topping power ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is," which reached number one in America, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, and the U.K. While Foreigner took a brief hiatus, Gramm made his solo debut in 1987 with Ready or Not and scored a major hit with "Midnight Blue." Foreigner reconvened and recorded another platinum-selling album, Inside Information, but Gramm maintained his solo success with 1989's Long Hard Look and soon left the group to form his own band, Shadow King, which released its self-titled debut on Virgin Records in 1991. Shadow King proved to be short-lived, however, and in 1994 Gramm and Jones revived Foreigner for the release of Mr. Moonlight. As the decade drew to a close, Gramm was sidelined by several health issues. He was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor on the eve of the band's planned Japanese tour in 1997, and the surgery that followed damaged his pituitary gland. After a year of rehabilitation and radiation treatment, the singer made a full recovery and resumed touring in 1999. He split with Foreigner once again in 2003, however, preferring to tour in support of his solo material instead. The Lou Gramm Band released a Christian rock album in 2009, and in 2013, he published his autobiography Juke Box Hero – My Five Decades in Rock ’n’ Roll. In 2024, Gramm was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Foreigner, coinciding with the release of the newly unearthed 1996 recording "Turning Back the Time," featuring his vocals. He returned to the stage again in 2025, joining Foreigner on select dates of their farewell tour. His third solo album, Released, built from unfinished tracks he recorded in the '80s, arrived the following year, marking his first solo studio release since Long Hard Look in 1989. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi