- 1 year ago
Legendary rock band Foreigner is celebrating 50 years of bringing together the present and the past, including original frontman Lou Gramm, whose unmistakable vocals powered many of their biggest hits. The tour also marks a new chapter as it introduces Luis Maldonado in his first major U.S. appearances as Foreigner's lead vocalist. Universally hailed as one of the most popular bands in the world, and responsible for some of rock and roll's most enduring anthems, it seems they are finally getting their due, with a recent long overdue induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a new musical, Feels Like the First Time . The Foreigner Musical directed by Broadway icon Adam Pascal ( Rent , Cabaret , Chicago ) is coming early next year. The FOREIGNER 4 DELUXE show is making the following stops, and tickets are on sale now at www.foreigneronline.com .
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hi, I'm Lou Graham, and you're watching Life Minute TV, and boy, does she give good interviews.
00:09Legendary rock band Foreigner is celebrating 50 years of music with new U.S. tour dates,
00:15a new musical coming out early next year, and a new frontman.
00:20I sat down with original frontman Lou Graham, whose unmistakable voice powered their biggest hits.
00:25I'm Joanne Butler, and this is a Life Minute with Lou Graham.
00:30So you're going back out with Foreigner, the new Foreigner. Tell us about that.
00:34The new Foreigner's been actually playing as Foreigner for over 20 years now.
00:39They play the songs really well. It's a lot of fun playing those songs with them.
00:44It's the 50th anniversary this year of the Foreigner 4 album.
00:48In any other instance, Mick would be touring with them.
00:51I'm not sure you know, but he's not in good health, and he's unable to tour.
00:56So I volunteered to be the original member that goes out with them.
01:02And I'm singing about a half a dozen songs.
01:04We're having a lot of fun.
01:06And the guys play the songs greatly, and we've established some good friendships.
01:11Oh, that's great.
01:12What about Louis? How's Louis doing?
01:14He's doing terrific.
01:15You like his voice?
01:16I sing harmonies with him on a bunch of songs that he sings, and he's got a terrific voice and a great attitude.
01:21He was there long before I became re-involved, and he's a terrific singer.
01:27And he plays guitar, too, very well.
01:29Oh, that's great.
01:30And what songs are you going to be singing?
01:32Oh, I think I'm going to be singing Urgent, Luann, and Woman in Black, Juke Boxer with Louis.
01:39And I think I want to know what love is with Louis, too.
01:41Do you have any favorites?
01:43That's like asking me if which of my kids is my favorite, you know?
01:47Yeah.
01:48Lou, so you mentioned Mick.
01:49Are you two still in touch?
01:51Yes.
01:52Oh, I think it's beautiful that you stepped in, and you're going to be there.
01:54It's wonderful.
01:55It's going to be so great.
01:56I'm sure a lot of people are really excited to see it.
01:58But it's a lot of fun playing with this band.
02:01We get great response for it.
02:03You sure do.
02:04It's hard to believe 50 years, huh?
02:06Did you ever imagine that?
02:08No, because, you know, when Foreigner started, bands were only lasting maybe a decade, if that,
02:14you know, and then they were gone.
02:16And I assumed that we would be like that, too.
02:19And then also there's a new musical in the works that's really interesting with Adam Pascal.
02:23Tell us a little bit about that.
02:25Well, I remember about three or four years ago going to Toronto to hear a group that wanted to bring a musical to Broadway.
02:36And they were pretty good, but the actual story itself needed some work, and that kind of fell through.
02:44So when I heard about a Broadway play again, I was wondering if it was the same people.
02:48But it's a completely different cast.
02:50It's a new director and producer, and I haven't heard them yet, but I hear that they're terrific.
02:57And I'm going to be hearing them when they open.
03:00Matter of fact, I'm going to be there to introduce them.
03:03That's fantastic.
03:03Did you always know you wanted to be a musician, Lou?
03:06I did, yes.
03:06You did?
03:07My mom and my dad were musicians.
03:09My dad had a big 12-piece band back in the mid-40s, you know, a jazz band.
03:15And like Harry James or Tommy Dorsey, they were good, but some of the criticisms were that they needed a singer.
03:23So my dad auditioned a number of girls, and the girl that won ended up being my mother.
03:28Wow.
03:29Well, she wasn't my mother then, but she ended up being the singer in the band, and then her and my dad fell in love.
03:37Wow.
03:38That's amazing.
03:39Sounds like a movie, doesn't it?
03:40Yeah.
03:41Yes.
03:42How old were you when you realized you could sing?
03:45Probably around six or seven years old.
03:47Wow.
03:47And did they know it, too?
03:49My parents?
03:50Yeah.
03:51Not really.
03:52Really?
03:53Not right away.
03:54When did they figure it out?
03:55When they started hearing me singing along with the radio.
03:58Whatever was on the radio, I was singing.
04:00Oh, gotcha.
04:00Okay.
04:01No, I was only eight or nine years old.
04:03Okay.
04:03You know, the other thing was I was a drummer, too, and I got my first drum set when I was about nine years old.
04:08And my dad would come down with his trumpet, and he would play some of the old big band songs that he played when he was younger, and I would play the drums along with him.
04:19And then my mom would come down, this was in the basement, and my mom would come down the basement stairs, swing in her dish towel like this, and she would start singing.
04:29Oh.
04:30And we had awesome jam sessions, just the three of us.
04:33Oh, it's so cool.
04:34I love it.
04:35Now, my older brother was being taught how to play trumpet by my dad.
04:39But I had my drums set up, and I would practice my drums every day after I got home from school.
04:45And then I'd put the sticks down, and I'd run outside and go play with my friends down the street.
04:50Then we'd have dinner.
04:52After dinner, I'd go back downstairs to play my drums again.
04:55And my seat was low, I couldn't even hit the snare drum, I couldn't even reach the cymbals, and I'm going, what's going on here?
05:03So the next day, I fixed everything up, I played my drums, and instead of going down the street to my friend's house, I ran around the back of the house, and I was looking in the basement window.
05:12And who comes down the stairs?
05:14My brother, Ben.
05:15And he sits down at the drums and adjusts them all to his height.
05:18He was about a foot taller than me.
05:20And then he starts playing.
05:23And I was like, because he was good, self-taught, and he was really good.
05:28Oh, boy.
05:29It was rough hearing somebody learn so fast and be so good, you know.
05:34While I was just at a regular pace, he blew by me in less than a half a year.
05:39And he ended up going to Berklee School of Music for percussion.
05:43Now, he's my drummer.
05:45Did your parents see you become famous?
05:46Yes, they did.
05:47Oh, they did?
05:48Oh, wonderful.
05:49I've got pictures backstage with them the first time we played the Rochester War Memorial.
05:56You know, Rochester is where I live.
05:57So it was my mom and dad and myself in a really nice picture.
06:02Oh, that's beautiful.
06:03I love it.
06:03When did you say, you know what, I'll just let my brother do the drums.
06:06I'm just going to sing.
06:07When did that happen?
06:08Right away.
06:10Well, it was about that time in my own band that we were looking for a lead singer.
06:14Because I was singing everything and playing drums.
06:18And it was very difficult to do both of them well.
06:20So we auditioned singers and we couldn't find any singers.
06:24But we found a good drummer.
06:26So I went up to the front and the other guy played drums.
06:30How did Foreigner begin with Mick?
06:31How did you guys get together?
06:33Well, Mick was in a band called Spooky Tooth.
06:35And they were a very good band.
06:38And they came to Rochester, New York, where I lived, to play a show.
06:44And Black Sheep's manager worked for A&M Records on his day gig.
06:50And Spooky Tooth was on A&M Records.
06:53So we got free tickets to go see Spooky Tooth.
06:57And after the show, we got to go backstage and meet them.
07:01And I carried the two Black Sheep albums with me.
07:04And we met all the guys at Spooky Tooth.
07:06And as fate would have it, I gave the two albums to Mick.
07:09And I says, this is our band.
07:12I hope you like it.
07:13It wasn't long after that that we got the slot to open the show for the Kiss Tour.
07:17Wow.
07:18That would have been huge.
07:19Because we just released our second album.
07:21We could have promoted both albums playing in the opening position for the show.
07:26And we played the first night of the tour, we played Boston.
07:29And we went on.
07:31And when we were finished, we were starting to walk off the stage.
07:34And we were getting a standing ovation.
07:36Wow.
07:37And we went to Kiss's tour manager.
07:39You know, like, what do we do?
07:41He says, you go back out there and you play another song.
07:43When you get an ovation like that, you go play another song.
07:46I said, really?
07:47He says, yeah, go on, get out there.
07:49So we played another song.
07:50And we came off stage.
07:52And there were a standing ovation again.
07:54And he says, you did well.
07:56That's enough now.
07:56And so we went back and we changed our clothes and we sat down to watch Kiss play.
08:01And that was terrific.
08:03They were good, too.
08:04Then we got in the band station wagon.
08:06The guys in the band got in the band station wagon.
08:07We drove back to Rochester.
08:09This was Christmas Eve, 1975.
08:12Okay?
08:13Yep.
08:13And I made it back to Rochester about 3.30, quarter to 4 in the morning.
08:18I went to sleep.
08:19At about 6.15, I got a call from the head of the crew saying that the equipment truck slid off the New York State Thruway after it hit a patch of ice and went off the road and tipped over.
08:32A couple of us got back in the band car and we drove back to where the truck was.
08:38And the people at the gas station had jammed the door up so we could see the equipment.
08:44And about 80% of it was destroyed.
08:46And we were supposed to be in Florida two days later to play our next show with Kiss.
08:51I called Kiss's tour manager and I told him what happened.
08:54And I said, we asked our parents to help us get some used equipment so we can keep touring with you.
09:02I said, but, you know, it's a recession.
09:04They're barely making their house payments.
09:06He says, don't bother with your parents.
09:08He says, go to Capitol Records.
09:10You just made a new album.
09:12They should back you up with new equipment and a truck so you can promote the album and make everybody money.
09:19So we called our contact at Capitol Records and told them what happened.
09:24And she said, oh, that's a tragedy.
09:27I says, can they help us with some money so we can keep touring with Kiss?
09:30She says, well, we're in a big meeting now.
09:32I'll bring that up and I'll call you back later in the day.
09:35And she called us back later in the day and she says, no, they won't do it.
09:39And they're dropping you from the label.
09:42Wow.
09:43You're kidding.
09:44Basically, that was the end of the band.
09:45We would meet about once a week at one of the band members' house and talk about getting part-time jobs
09:52and maybe getting some used equipment and starting to play at clubs again, you know.
09:57And that didn't really sound so good to anybody, but we didn't know what else to do.
10:01And during one of those meetings, my dad called over there.
10:05And so I took the call and my dad says, some guy named Mick Jones called me and wants to talk to you.
10:12I says, really?
10:13He says, yeah.
10:14He says he left his number.
10:15I says, I'll get it from you later, Dad.
10:16And so I didn't say anything to the band members, but I did call him back and he remembered me.
10:23And he says, I listened to your albums.
10:24He goes, they're good albums.
10:26He says, boy, you're a really fine singer.
10:28And he says, I'm not in Spooky Tooth anymore.
10:30I says, I'm starting my own band.
10:32He says, and I have some of the players already with me.
10:37He says, but we're looking for the right singer now.
10:40Can you come to New York and audition?
10:43He says, I'll get you a plane ticket.
10:47You know, I says, I'm still in Black Sheep.
10:49We're still trying to remedy our situation or at least come to some conclusion about what, if anything, we're going to do.
10:55I said, can you call me back in two weeks?
10:57He says, yes.
10:59So during those two weeks, we decided that we didn't have the money to do anything and we were just going to end Black Sheep.
11:07So then I told him about Mick and they says, you've got to go there.
11:11I says, I wasn't going to go anyplace until we had a conclusion about what the band was going to do.
11:16I says, now I can go there without feeling like I'm japping out the band, you know?
11:22So they wish me good luck and I got the job.
11:25Wow.
11:26What a story.
11:27That's amazing.
11:28Yes, it is.
11:28Well, if that didn't happen, Foreigner never would have been.
11:31Well, they would have got somebody else.
11:33And maybe Black Sheep would have reformed and done good.
11:37But it turned out the way it's supposed to turn out, you know?
11:39And the rest is history, as they say.
11:44When did you know it wasn't going to work?
11:47Why did you leave?
11:48After Foreigner 4, we weren't playing a lot of rock songs on our new album.
11:53We were playing all mid-tempo and ballads.
11:56And Mick wasn't picking up his guitar very much.
11:59He was playing keyboards and stuff.
12:01And while they were good songs, they weren't rock songs.
12:04And we are a rock band.
12:06So I started to get very tense and upset about the direction that the band was going.
12:12And when we'd play these new songs live, we weren't getting a lot of response because people wanted our rock songs.
12:18And we weren't playing them.
12:19So at some point, I just decided that I didn't want to be in a band like this anymore.
12:26And I gave my notice and left.
12:29And I did my solo albums.
12:30Started doing my solo albums then.
12:32And they were rock.
12:33After about four or five years, Mick called me on the phone and told me that he was getting ready to record a new album.
12:45And he'd like to play me some of the ideas.
12:48And they were all guitar rock ideas.
12:50So then he asked me to come back to the band, and I did.
12:52And the Rock Hall of Fame induction, finally.
12:56It was awesome, but it could have been so much better if it had come 10 years earlier.
13:00We were eligible 20 years ago, and we weren't nominated.
13:05If we had been nominated and inducted all that time ago, Ian McDonald would still be alive.
13:11Mick would still be in better health and ready to play.
13:14The original band could have got on stage and performed some of those songs at our induction.
13:21But as it stood, the new Foreigner played that night.
13:24And they played well, you know, but it just wasn't the same.
13:26See, there was somebody in that organization that was keeping us out of the rock hall.
13:34They were more or less making sure that we didn't get enough votes.
13:38Oh, my God.
13:38And it's supposed to be unanimous votes, so we'd have six yeses and one no, and that would keep us from getting in.
13:44Wow.
13:45And that happened for about eight or ten years in a row.
13:49And we finally found out who it was, and the rest of the board of directors fired that person.
13:55Oh, my God.
13:56Yeah, but it was a little too late.
13:59By the time we did get voted in, one member was passed away.
14:02The other one, Mick, is not well enough to even play at all.
14:08Yeah.
14:09Do you think he knew, though?
14:10Did he understand?
14:11Yes, because we called him on the phone when we received the award.
14:17And we're talking to him over the phone while the audience was listening to the conversation.
14:22We were telling him that this award is mostly for you, Mick, because you had the foresight to put the band together.
14:28And your input on the songs, you know, was largely responsible for us getting to this point.
14:34I know he heard that, and I think he started to get emotional.
14:37It felt good at that moment to let him know that we were not only proud of ourselves, but particularly proud of him.
14:44Well, you've been through a lot, too.
14:46You suffered a brain tumor?
14:48Yes.
14:48God.
14:49I went to three brain surgeons, and they all did MRIs, and they sent me home to put my affairs in order because they didn't think I had a chance of surviving the operation.
15:00The last one that sent me home, that night I watched 20, 20, or 60 Minutes on TV, and there was a segment about a brain surgeon in Boston who used laser surgery to operate on inoperable tumors.
15:15Wow.
15:15And at the end of the segment, they gave his phone number.
15:18So 8 o'clock the next morning, I was on the phone with his secretary, and that was on a Tuesday.
15:24And they brought me in Thursday, and I did some more tests.
15:28And Friday morning at 4 in the morning, they were wheeling me into the operating room.
15:32Wow.
15:3319-hour operation.
15:34Although the operation was a success, he told me that I was going to be going through some struggles.
15:40My equilibrium would be off.
15:41I might not be able to find all the words I want to find in a conversation right away.
15:46Yeah.
15:47And he told me he didn't want me touring for at least a year and a half, and two months later, I was on the road.
15:52And I couldn't remember the words of the songs.
15:54I had them written out in a semicircle around my mic stand.
15:57And every time I'd come to a verse, I couldn't remember, I'd look down and see the words.
16:04I'd read the first three words, and then the rest of it would come to me.
16:07And then it just eventually came back to you?
16:09How long did that take?
16:11A couple months.
16:12Wow.
16:12That's not even that long.
16:14Not long, but it was a long time for me, you know?
16:18Yeah.
16:18Yeah.
16:19What would your current self say to your younger self with all you've been through?
16:24You're lucky you're here.
16:25You're blessed that you're here.
16:27Who were your inspirations growing up?
16:30As a band, the Beatles.
16:32And the band Free.
16:33You know the band Free?
16:34All right now.
16:37Baby, it's all right now.
16:41They were an inspiration, including the singer Paul Rogers, who eventually formed Bad Company.
16:48Steve Winwood from Traffic.
16:50Steve Marriott from Humble Pie.
16:53You know, those were my main vocal inspirations, yeah.
16:56And they were great songwriters, too.
16:58Yeah.
16:58And how do you take care of your voice?
17:00Do you still do anything?
17:01Any exercises?
17:03I still take lessons from a gentleman who's in his mid-80s.
17:08He sang opera and Broadway shows.
17:11And even though he's in his mid-80s, he still can sing like a bird.
17:17And he shows me his technique that I pick up and use.
17:22So when I'm doing two or three shows in a row, I can get through the shows and still sing well.
17:27Well, you sure do.
17:28Your voice is still beautiful.
17:29You always know it's you when you're singing.
17:31You always know it's Lou Graham's voice.
17:33You have that voice like nobody else.
17:35Oh, that's nice.
17:36Thank you so much.
17:42So what do you do to relax when you're not working?
17:45I like my sports.
17:47I like watching it live or on television.
17:50I also collect muscle cars.
17:53I have five of them myself.
17:55Wow.
17:56And I go to cruise nights and car shows and stuff.
17:58That's my hidden passion, you know?
18:01And also my children.
18:02I have five children who I really love.
18:06From age 45 down to age 7.
18:10Are all your kids close by?
18:11Yes, they are.
18:12It's something that you stayed there in Rochester, too.
18:15Yes, for that reason.
18:16That's cool.
18:17Certainly not the weather.
18:18Spring, summer, and fall are beautiful here.
18:21Yes.
18:21But winter is long and bitter.
18:23What sports teams do you root for?
18:25I root for the Mets.
18:26I root for the Bills football team.
18:29Very nice.
18:29Do you binge watch anything?
18:31I like the series Deadwood.
18:33I missed a lot of it because I was on the road.
18:35So now I started the very first show and go through two years of it straight through.
18:41So what's your favorite comfort food?
18:44Pasta.
18:45Pasta is my favorite regular food.
18:48And I think banana cake is my favorite dessert.
18:51I prefer banana muffin, banana nut muffins.
18:54Yeah, me too.
18:55It's one of my favorites, too.
18:57What does music do for people?
18:59It loosens them up so their emotions are not pent up.
19:03Their emotions get away from them and do what emotions are supposed to do.
19:09You know, make people loose enough to emote and let their feelings be unencumbered.
19:15Feelings aren't pent up when you hear good music.
19:18And you're still going to be touring with your own band, too, right?
19:20Yes, it's the Lou Grimm All-Stars.
19:22And I have great, great people playing.
19:24I have my brother, Ben, playing drums.
19:26Scott Gilman, playing sax and rhythm guitar.
19:29He was with Foreigner about 12 or 15 years ago.
19:32Jeff Jacobs was with Foreigner in the 80s and the 90s.
19:37Gary Hoey playing guitar, who's a great player.
19:41He's got his own albums out.
19:42He does very well for himself.
19:43He's a terrific player and loves playing our stuff.
19:46I think that's about it.
19:47I have a new album coming out in September.
19:55It's all brand new songs.
19:57And I've been working on it for about a year and a half.
19:59And I think it's a very well-written and emotive album with very strong songs, I think.
20:07And I hope it gets promoted well and sells big.
20:11And we hope to go on the tour to promote it.
20:14At the end of that tour, I'm retiring.
20:16Wow, really?
20:17So you say.
20:18No, I've made up my mind.
20:20Really?
20:20I've almost done it a few times.
20:22And I still probably will tinker and write some songs.
20:25But I don't want to be on the road anymore.
20:29I just don't.
20:30I've seen everything there is to see.
20:32Well, good for you.
20:33You deserve it.
20:34Yeah, I've just had enough.
20:35That's all.
20:36Well, we'll see.
20:37I'll check in with you later.
20:38We'll see.
20:39Okay.
20:40You're on.
20:41You're on.
20:42Well, gosh, it's been such an honor and a pleasure to talk to you.
20:46I've enjoyed myself a lot.
20:47Thank you so much.
20:48You get good interviews.
20:50Aw, thank you.
20:52To hear more of this interview, visit our podcast, Life Minute TV on iTunes and all streaming podcast platforms.
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