Although Foreigner has been eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for 20 years, the British-American rockers received their first nomination this year. Fortunately for the “Juke Box Hero” artists, they received enough votes and will be inducted this fall. Former vocalist Lou Gramm already has the song in mind for the Oct. 19 ceremony.
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Lou Gramm Wants To Play This Foreigner Song
Which track will Foreigner choose to represent their initiation into music’s most exclusive club? Well, there’s no shortage of options. The band’s self-titled 1977 debut spawned two top 10 singles, “Feels Like the First Time” and “Cold As Ice.” Their sophomore effort, Double Vision, was even more successful, with hits like the title track and “Hot Blooded.”
Gramm recently told Rolling Stone that time constraints could limit the group to just one song at the induction ceremony. That song is the 1984 ballad “I Want to Know What Love Is.” It’s perhaps Foreigner’s most radio-friendly track — but Gramm isn’t thrilled about performing it. The ex-frontman doesn’t feel the lead single from their fifth album, Agent Provocateur, is the most accurate representation of what the band stands for.
“I love the song, but it pigeonholed us into something that we were not,” said the 73-year-old New Yorker.
Gramm says he has devised a plan to squeeze in “Juke Box Hero,” the band’s third single from their 1981 album 4. It’s his favorite, after all.
“I think that the of people saying nice things about us could be whittled down to two minutes, thus giving us eight minutes,” Gramm said. “Eight minutes would be substantial to do two songs… As a matter of fact, we could even edit ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ and cut out some of the choruses that keep going at the end, just have it fade out, and then go into the beginning of ‘Juke Box Hero.’ I’d be totally cool with that.”
Hall of Fame Class of 2024 Includes Peter Frampton, Ozzy Osbourne And More
Half of the eight inductees were first-time nominees, including Cher, Foreigner, Frampton, and Kool and the Gang. Artists become eligible 25 years after the release of their first record.
Additionally, Dave Matthew Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Mary J. Blige, and A Tribe Called Quest rounded out the class of 2024.
Featured image by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame
