November 19, 2025 • 6 mins
We spoke with Foreigner Lead Singer Lou Gramm about their new tour, his new album and the upcoming concert in CT. You can win tickets to see Foreigner at the Oakdale at The River 105.9 website.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The River, one oh five nine, variety from the eighties
and more. I'm Allison de Merz. It's my pleasure to
have with me today. Lou Graham. Wow, so great to
talk with you.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Oh, thank you. Awesome. How you doing.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
I'm doing great. Been a big fan my entire adult life.
I remember the first time I heard you sing and
I was like, Wow, what a voice. And then I
got to see you and I was saying my prayers
at night and I go, please, Jesus, can I marry him?
Because you got it all. You've got the voice, you've
got the looks, you've got the stage presence. You're coming
(00:35):
here to Connecticut for the Foreigner for De Luxe tour
at the Toyota Oakdale Theater December ninth. The fans are
going crazy. We put something out on social media saying
that we were going to interview you and that you
were coming, and they're like, I got my ticket, I
got my ticket. They're losing their minds. Oh that's what
we like, right, yes, So why the tour?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Well, I think it's marking fifty years for so to
mark dedication, we've done a re recording of foreign or
four and with a few little twists to it, and
we're putting it out again and touring to support it.
It's not with any of the original members. It's with
the Nuke Corner and I've played with them a number
of times over the past few years and they're an
excellent band.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
So what can we expect at this concert?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Well, I think the songs are going to be pretty
much like the record, elaborated on a little bit, you know,
just to make them a little looser and a lot
more fun to play. And so we're going to be
doing the whole album top to bottom, and then we're
going to do some of the other big hits.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
What's it like for you to have fifty years You
were a young man, your parents were musical. Did you
ever think you would become this amazing rock star?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Do you know that when I joined the Foreigner the
life of a rock band was usually round four to
five years, except groups like led Zeppelin and stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
You know, But here you are fifty years later and
looking back, what's it been like for you?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Oh, there's been ups and downs and some bumpy roads,
but all in all, I'm very proud of my years
in Foreigner and what we accomplished.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Tell me do you have a favorite song that you
perform on stage, either for yourself or for the fans?
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Well, you know, to me, all those songs, they're like
my children. And I don't know if I could pick
out a favorite of all my children, but I think
I had to pick something, I probably would say Urgent
or a chupunc show.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
What was it like to be inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame last year?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
It was very very special because we had been eligible
for over twenty years and it couldn't figure out why
that we hadn't been inducted, and we did find out later.
We're just very thankful that we're inducted now and it
feels good to be a number of all.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
We got a question on our Facebook page. Was it
planned that Junior Walker played the sax solo on Urgent?
Why didn't the regular sax player do it?
Speaker 2 (02:54):
We honestly, we thought that solo would be a great
moment for a star sax player. Took him in and
be a guest musician and do that solo with his thought.
And we were in the studio and we were just
finishing the song when we were trying to put a
guitar lead to it. That sounded okay, But then we
started looking through the Village Voice and we found out
(03:15):
that Junior Walker was playing right down the street. So
we got our coats on. It was the middle of
the winter, we ran over there. It was only three
blocks away. He was just finishing his set and we
talked to his son, who was the drummer, and we
told him who we are, and he knew of us,
so he was knocked out. And we told him that
we have an R and B style song that we'd
(03:36):
like Junior to play a solo for it, and he says,
I'll talk to my pop right now. So he brought
him over and we said, we're in a time crunch.
We've got a great song that we'd love you to
play on. Is there any way you could do it
right now? He says yeah. I said yes, studios right
down the street. So him and his son came over
and he heard the song and he started playing, but
(03:58):
he wasn't ONNKO and he was playing sweet soul, you know,
like some of his later albums. He was playing sweet soul,
and we saw, Junior, that's great stuff, but we need
the early Junior Walker where you're honking and bowing hard.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
You know.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
He said, oh, I know what you mean. So then
we took another take and he started playing that way.
I think we took three takes and he says, I'm done.
I says, it's fine. We've got enough for that soul.
Thank you, Junior, and we, you know, we paid him
some money. And when we played La Coliseum, and when
that song was we were about to play it, Junior
walked up on stage with his sex and he was
(04:33):
in a looked like a zoot suit, you know, yes, yeah,
he looked outrageous. And he played the heck out of
that solo for the LA audience and he played it
just like the recording, and the people went insane.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Wow, what a great story. I'm so happy I asked
you that.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Ah ask me anything almost.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Almost one last thing. Twenty eleven, you put out a
Christian album and I just have to tell you how
much I loved it. That was my band, right, it
was the lou Graham band. Yeah. I loved Redeemed and Saved.
I listened to that over and over and over. It
was just beautiful.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Thank you very much. We really enjoyed doing that.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Tell me, what can we expect from Lou Graham Going
forward after this tour.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
I've got a new album coming out, a single coming
out in December or January, and the album comes out
in March, and it's all good rock and roll.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Do you like any of the artists today? Do you
prefer the artists of yesterday?
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Well, from the past, they Beatles, the Stones, they zombies
free and humble Pie roops groofs like that, and groups today.
There's some very talent roops today. It surprises me every
three or four months that somebody who gets released and
they're great.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
You know what do you hope people take away with
them after this concert?
Speaker 2 (05:46):
First of all, that Foreigner's music stands up test of time,
and although it's not the original Foreigner, that this band
plays just as hard and just as honest as the
real Foreigner, And it's a real thrill for me to
be singing with them.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
What does the reissue contain?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
The reissue is all the songs from foeign Or four,
and the arrangements are changing just a little bit, six
pretty close to the original arrangement. Then after we've gone
through all the whole album, then we're doing three or
four other songs that from our albums that are big hits.
There's a big booklet that comes with the album. It's
just really awesome with pictures of the original band from
(06:24):
the past. So it's really a nice speace to own.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
I'm speaking with Lou Graham, lead singer a Foreigner, been
in the business now for fifty years. You can see
Foreigner four de Luxe tour at the Toyota Oakdale Theater
December ninth. Just get your tickets at Oakdale Theater dot
com or you could win them at the River one
O five nine dot com. Thank you so much for
being here today. It was such a pleasure speaking with you.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Oh my pleasure. Thank you.
The River, one oh five nine, variety from the eighties
and more. I'm Allison de Merz. It's my pleasure to
have with me today. Lou Graham. Wow, so great to
talk with you.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Oh, thank you. Awesome. How you doing.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
I'm doing great. Been a big fan my entire adult life.
I remember the first time I heard you sing and
I was like, Wow, what a voice. And then I
got to see you and I was saying my prayers
at night and I go, please, Jesus, can I marry him?
Because you got it all. You've got the voice, you've
got the looks, you've got the stage presence. You're coming
(00:35):
here to Connecticut for the Foreigner for De Luxe tour
at the Toyota Oakdale Theater December ninth. The fans are
going crazy. We put something out on social media saying
that we were going to interview you and that you
were coming, and they're like, I got my ticket, I
got my ticket. They're losing their minds. Oh that's what
we like, right, yes, So why the tour?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Well, I think it's marking fifty years for so to
mark dedication, we've done a re recording of foreign or
four and with a few little twists to it, and
we're putting it out again and touring to support it.
It's not with any of the original members. It's with
the Nuke Corner and I've played with them a number
of times over the past few years and they're an
excellent band.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
So what can we expect at this concert?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Well, I think the songs are going to be pretty
much like the record, elaborated on a little bit, you know,
just to make them a little looser and a lot
more fun to play. And so we're going to be
doing the whole album top to bottom, and then we're
going to do some of the other big hits.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
What's it like for you to have fifty years You
were a young man, your parents were musical. Did you
ever think you would become this amazing rock star?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Do you know that when I joined the Foreigner the
life of a rock band was usually round four to
five years, except groups like led Zeppelin and stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
You know, But here you are fifty years later and
looking back, what's it been like for you?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Oh, there's been ups and downs and some bumpy roads,
but all in all, I'm very proud of my years
in Foreigner and what we accomplished.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Tell me do you have a favorite song that you
perform on stage, either for yourself or for the fans?
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Well, you know, to me, all those songs, they're like
my children. And I don't know if I could pick
out a favorite of all my children, but I think
I had to pick something, I probably would say Urgent
or a chupunc show.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
What was it like to be inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame last year?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
It was very very special because we had been eligible
for over twenty years and it couldn't figure out why
that we hadn't been inducted, and we did find out later.
We're just very thankful that we're inducted now and it
feels good to be a number of all.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
We got a question on our Facebook page. Was it
planned that Junior Walker played the sax solo on Urgent?
Why didn't the regular sax player do it?
Speaker 2 (02:54):
We honestly, we thought that solo would be a great
moment for a star sax player. Took him in and
be a guest musician and do that solo with his thought.
And we were in the studio and we were just
finishing the song when we were trying to put a
guitar lead to it. That sounded okay, But then we
started looking through the Village Voice and we found out
(03:15):
that Junior Walker was playing right down the street. So
we got our coats on. It was the middle of
the winter, we ran over there. It was only three
blocks away. He was just finishing his set and we
talked to his son, who was the drummer, and we
told him who we are, and he knew of us,
so he was knocked out. And we told him that
we have an R and B style song that we'd
(03:36):
like Junior to play a solo for it, and he says,
I'll talk to my pop right now. So he brought
him over and we said, we're in a time crunch.
We've got a great song that we'd love you to
play on. Is there any way you could do it
right now? He says yeah. I said yes, studios right
down the street. So him and his son came over
and he heard the song and he started playing, but
(03:58):
he wasn't ONNKO and he was playing sweet soul, you know,
like some of his later albums. He was playing sweet soul,
and we saw, Junior, that's great stuff, but we need
the early Junior Walker where you're honking and bowing hard.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
You know.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
He said, oh, I know what you mean. So then
we took another take and he started playing that way.
I think we took three takes and he says, I'm done.
I says, it's fine. We've got enough for that soul.
Thank you, Junior, and we, you know, we paid him
some money. And when we played La Coliseum, and when
that song was we were about to play it, Junior
walked up on stage with his sex and he was
(04:33):
in a looked like a zoot suit, you know, yes, yeah,
he looked outrageous. And he played the heck out of
that solo for the LA audience and he played it
just like the recording, and the people went insane.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Wow, what a great story. I'm so happy I asked
you that.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Ah ask me anything almost.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Almost one last thing. Twenty eleven, you put out a
Christian album and I just have to tell you how
much I loved it. That was my band, right, it
was the lou Graham band. Yeah. I loved Redeemed and Saved.
I listened to that over and over and over. It
was just beautiful.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Thank you very much. We really enjoyed doing that.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Tell me, what can we expect from Lou Graham Going
forward after this tour.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
I've got a new album coming out, a single coming
out in December or January, and the album comes out
in March, and it's all good rock and roll.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Do you like any of the artists today? Do you
prefer the artists of yesterday?
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Well, from the past, they Beatles, the Stones, they zombies
free and humble Pie roops groofs like that, and groups today.
There's some very talent roops today. It surprises me every
three or four months that somebody who gets released and
they're great.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
You know what do you hope people take away with
them after this concert?
Speaker 2 (05:46):
First of all, that Foreigner's music stands up test of time,
and although it's not the original Foreigner, that this band
plays just as hard and just as honest as the
real Foreigner, And it's a real thrill for me to
be singing with them.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
What does the reissue contain?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
The reissue is all the songs from foeign Or four,
and the arrangements are changing just a little bit, six
pretty close to the original arrangement. Then after we've gone
through all the whole album, then we're doing three or
four other songs that from our albums that are big hits.
There's a big booklet that comes with the album. It's
just really awesome with pictures of the original band from
(06:24):
the past. So it's really a nice speace to own.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
I'm speaking with Lou Graham, lead singer a Foreigner, been
in the business now for fifty years. You can see
Foreigner four de Luxe tour at the Toyota Oakdale Theater
December ninth. Just get your tickets at Oakdale Theater dot
com or you could win them at the River one
O five nine dot com. Thank you so much for
being here today. It was such a pleasure speaking with you.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Oh my pleasure. Thank you.
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