Lou Gramm Says He’s Retiring from Performing: ‘Travel is the Worst’

Lou Gramm has shared that he is retiring from performing.

The former Foreigner frontman said in a new interview with Lee Richey, "This is my last year ... I've been doing it, jeez, for almost 50 years. I would like to turn my attention to my family and my muscle cars and just enjoy myself knowing that when I lay down at night, it'll be in my own bed."

Gramm further noted that "travel is the worst," even though he still enjoys performing.

Gramm's former band Foreigner is also calling it a career. The band announced their farewell tour back in November 2022. At that time, Jones said in a statement, " ... While I’m sure our fans will have mixed feelings about the end of the road for the band, I know our shows are going to delight audiences everywhere."

It was then announced August 2023 that Foreigner's farewell tour would end with a Las Vegas residency at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort. Dates for the residency are as follows:

March: 22, 23, 27, 29, 30
April: 3, 5, 6
October: 25, 26, 30
November: 1, 2, 6, 8, 9

Foreigner finally received their first nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year. They've been eligible for induction since 2003. They are considered one of the Rock Hall's most notable snubs over the years.

Jones said in a statement about the Rock Hall Nomination, "I deeply appreciate the recognition from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame committee ... Getting this news today is an incredible endorsement of what we have achieved over time."

Foreigner fans can vote for the band and other nominees once a day at Vote.RockHall.com as part of the Rock Hall's Fan Vote. This year, voting will last through April 26. Unlike previous years, fans will get to vote for up to seven nominees every day. Previously, the choices were capped at five nominees.

Once voting closes, the top five vote artists in the Fan Vote will create what is called a "Fans' Ballot." It will be counted among the other ballots that various artists, historians, and music industry professionals fill out and submit.

Foreigner is a band that has helped define classic rock radio for decades. They have a catalog of hits that most bands only dream of. Those tracks helped the British-American band sell over 80 million albums worldwide.

Foreigner's success is thanks, in large part, to the songwriting team of guitarist Mick Jones and former singer Lou Gramm. While the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame finally acknowledged Foreigner with a nomination in 2024, Jones and Gramm were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013.

Foreigner has had many lineup changes over the decades, but the constant has always been Jones, who started the band in 1976. After nearly 50 years, Foreigner is saying goodbye. They kicked off their farewell tour on July 6, 2023 in Alpharetta, Ga.

When the tour was announced, Jones said in a statement, "While I'm sure our fans will have mixed feelings about the end of the road for the band, I know our shows are going to delight audiences everywhere."

In honor of their farewell tour and their incredible run, here's our ranking of Foreinger's ten best songs.

As previously stated, Foreigner finally received their first nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024. They've been eligible for induction since 2003 and are considered one of the Rock Hall's most notable snubs over the years.

Guitarist/founding member Mick Jones said in a statement about the Rock Hall Nomination, "I deeply appreciate the recognition from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame committee ... Getting this news today is an incredible endorsement of what we have achieved over time."

On April 21, it was announced Foreigner was part of the 2024 Rock Hall class. The classic rock band is being inducted in the Performer category along with Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Peter Frampton, Kool & The Gang, Ozzy Osbourne and A Tribe Called Quest.

Founder/guitarist Mick Jones told Billboard, "I think it means more to me now than perhaps 20 years ago. I’ve had a great career, and this is like the whipped cream and cherry on top."

Former Foreigner bassist Rick Wills also told Billboard, "It’s been over 20 years since we’ve been waiting for this day. I suppose we were frustrated, to be perfectly honest, but we tried to hide it as best we could because we didn’t want to appear like we were sad people. (laughs)."

The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 19 at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. As previously reported, the 2024 ceremony will live stream on Disney+. An edited special will air on ABC at a later date, which will be available on Hulu the next day.

The Rock Hall noted in a press release, "Four out of the eight inductees in the Performer category were on the ballot for the first time, including Cher, Foreigner, Kool & the Gang and Peter Frampton." However, it should also be noted that Ozzy Osbourne was on the ballot for the first time as a solo artist, despite being eligible since 2005.

A little bit cheeky and whole lot of fun, "Dirty White Boy" was the lead single off of Foreigner's third studio album, Head Games. Guitarist Mick Jones told SongFacts that the song was loosely inspired by Elvis Presley. He said, "To me, he always was that dirty white boy who changed the shape of music completely. It was talking about the kind of heritage that he left, and I think that had an effect on all the musicians that came after, like Mick Jagger - he was also a dirty white boy."

Mick Jones' piano intro is so effective on this track. Just playing the first two or three notes makes most listeners recognize this hit right away. However, Mick Jones told Classic Rock, "I must admit though that I was surprised when it went into the Top 10 in America. But then we were a new band, and everything was exciting and surprising at the time."

Man...Foreigner can't seem to catch a romantic break on this one! Whoever inspired "Head Games" must have done a real number on Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. But that chorus is one earworm we just can't quit. (Seriously, just try!)

Foreigner wasn't wasting any time on 4. Out the gate, its lead single, "Urgent," set the tone for this classic album, which is the band's only album to top the Billboard charts. Fun fact: Thomas Dolby, who released "She Blinded Me with Science" the following year, plays synthesizers on this track. Here's hoping that nugget will earn you a free drink at a trivia night in the future.

No, this jam isn't about seeing double due to intoxication. Singer Lou Gramm said a game between the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers actually inspired the song. During the game, Rangers goalie John Davidson was knocked out by an elbow from the Flyers left winger Dave Schultz. Gramm was watching the game on a small TV at the recording studio, and the announcer said Davidson wasn't returning to the game due to experiencing double vision.

"I Want to Know What Love Is" is an iconic power ballad. (In fact, we ranked it at number 11 on our list of the '[inlink id="best-power-ballads" text="50 Best Power Ballads of All Time"].') The track is notable for being Foreigner's lone number-one hit when it was released in 1984 as the lead single off of Agent Provocateur. It also has one of the best choruses to scream-sing of all time.

Lou Gramm, obviously, doesn't need help in the vocal department. However, there's truly something special about the harmony in the chorus thanks to backing vocals from Mick Jones, Ian McDonald, Ed Gagliardi and Ian Lloyd. Al Greenwood's keyboards are a secret weapon that adds another layer to this surprisingly moody track. "Blue Morning, Blue Day" is somehow both a hit and underrated in that regard.

The riff on "Hot Blooded" is such a monster hook it makes you forget Foreigner rhymes "mind" with "mind" in the first verse. ("You don't have to read my mind/To know what I have in mind.") Nitpicking the lyrics aside, the pressure Foreigner was under to follow up their hit debut must have been intense. However, they more than delivered with "Hot Blooded," the lead single off of Double Vision, which topped out at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

Some of the biggest rock stars of all time likely have "Juke Box Hero"-esque origin stories. This is just one of the reasons this track never fails to hit you "right in the feels." It never loses its grandness, even after repeated listens. If there's a hallmark for an iconic track, it's that.

As far as debut singles go, "Feels Like the First Time" is one of the best. And yet, it may be the most underrated in the grand scheme of classic rock. Foreigner gets a lot of love from its fans, but they never really got their due. Perhaps, to paraphrase the Adam Sandler comedy Big Daddy, they only caught a bad rap because most critics are cynical a--holes.

There's no debating it, though; "Feels Like the First Time" is an undeniable classic. If you need a reminder, just listen to the track below and judge for yourself.