Foreigner’s Lou Gramm Declares: “Cold Day in Hell Before We Enter Rock Hall of Fame”
via jukeboxhero26 / YouTube
Original Foreigner lead singer, Lou Gramm, has voiced his frustration regarding the band’s absence from the coveted Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In a recent interview with Good Day Rochester, Gramm revealed that he believes Foreigner was deliberately overlooked, claiming that the band was blackballed from the Hall of Fame.
Gramm pointed out the close friendship between Foreigner’s guitarist, Mick Jones, and Jann Wenner, the creator of Rolling Stone magazine and a co-founder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The singer recalled,
“Their families were close, they used to run together and have dinner with the families and see each other socially a lot. They were good friends.”
Despite this relationship, Foreigner never received a nomination while their peers from the ’70s and ’80s were being inducted, leading to confusion and frustration within the band.
“When we didn’t get inducted with our peers, and most of the bands in the era that we were successful in had all gotten into the Hall of Fame, Mick and our manager went to see [Wenner],” Gramm explained. In a meeting with Wenner, they sought an explanation for Foreigner’s exclusion. However, the conversation grew heated, and as Gramm recounted, “[Wenner] said, ‘It’ll be a cold day in hell before Foreigner gets into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.'”
View this post on Instagram
Foreigner, known for hits like “Hot Blooded,” “Juke Box Hero,” and “I Want to Know What Love Is,” has been eligible for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since 2003, given the 25-year eligibility rule for acts after their first release.
Despite selling over 80 million albums, the band has never appeared on the ballot of nominees.
When asked about Foreigner’s omission, Wenner stated in a 2022 interview that the band’s name had never come up in the nominating committee. He added,
“I have nothing against Foreigner. In fact, I was very good friends with Mick Jones… but, you know, Foreigner’s name has never come up in a nominating committee to be nominated.”
Gramm’s candid revelation sheds light on the complexities and intricacies of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction process, leaving fans and the band members themselves in a state of perplexity about Foreigner’s notable absence from this prestigious musical honor.
