ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Even some people not alive during the heyday of rock band Foreigner know the lyrics to songs like "Jukebox Hero" and "Feels Like the First Time."
Lou Gramm, former lead singer of Foreigner, will perform Foreigner hits, hits from his solo days ("Just Between You and Me") and other songs when he and his band takes the Wagon Wheel Theatre stage Feb. 23.
In a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon, Gramm talked about the Foreigner days, going out on his own and his life now with The Lou Gramm Band.
"From our first album, we had two or three hits and album radio hits," said Gramm, adding he knew Foreigner was going to be successful. "It was a good indication people were grasping our music. It just kind of snowballed."
Foreigner's songs were diverse, Gramm said. They ranged from hard-rocking songs like "Jukebox Hero" to songs more spiritual in nature, like "I Want to Know What Love Is." Gramm said there were different sides to the band, and it was nice to try and play those various types of music.
Gramm was the vocalist for 20 of Foreigner's Top 40 singles, starting when Foreigner exploded onto the international music scene in 1977 with "Feels Like The First Time."
In the mid-1980s, Gramm wanted to try music on his own, but his bandmates were opposed to the idea and told him he had to leave Foreigner if he did. He didn't want to leave the band, but given no option, he struck out on his own.
"Really," Gramm said, "I wanted to do something on my own. I had been with Foreigner for 12 years and I felt I had been stifled."
Gramm said making music out on his own turned out to be the best thing for everyone. It gave him time to explore the possibilities.
In 1987, Gramm released his first solo album, "Ready or Not," which received critical acclaim and contained a Top 5 hit single with "Midnight Blue." Gramm rejoined Foreigner, but later left the band again "for entirely different purposes," he said.
Gramm's second solo effort, "Long Hard Look," included the Top 10 hit "Just Between You and Me" and "True Blue Love," which reached the Top 40. Gramm also performed the title song from the 1987 movie "The Lost Boys" titled "Lost in the Shadows."
Gramm returned to Foreigner in 1992 to record three new songs for the compilation "The Very Best of ... and Beyond." In 1994, the group released the album "Mr. Moonlight."
In April 1997, two months after providing vocals for Christian rock band Petra's "Petra Praise 2: We Need Jesus," and on the eve Foreigner was to leave for a Japan tour, Gramm was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Surgery was successful and Gramm was able to continue with Foreigner in 2002.
In 2003, Gramm once again split from Foreigner to rejuvenate his solo career. Following the death of both of his parents, Gramm joined his brothers Ben and Richard and friends Andy Knoll and Don Mancuso, and formed The Lou Gramm Band.
Recently, Lou Gramm signed with Spectra Records and will be releasing a Christian rock album. Except for two cover songs, including a cover of an Al Green song, Gramm said the songs on the album are original.
Gramm said the Christian rock album came about after he "suffered from a brain tumor in 1997, which almost took my life." As he was being wheeled down the hospital corridor at 5 a.m., Gramm said he realized he needed help, and he knew God was watching over him.
"It still dominates my thinking that I'm so thankful that the good Lord let me live," Gramm said.
Some of Foreigner's songs were pretty suggestive, Gramm admits, but he's still OK with doing that material for the time being. However, he said he is looking forward to putting out new material with a new outlook.
When audiences watch The Lou Gramm Band at the Wagon Wheel Feb. 23, Gramm said they will hear a pile of their favorite Foreigner songs, music from Gramm's solo days and even some Beatles.
"We have a lot of fun," said Gramm.
"Songs, arrangements hold true to the way they're suppose to be played," he said.
