Born in Rochester, New York, Lou Gramm began his music career as a teenager, performing with several local bands including St. James Infirmary (later The Infirmary), PHFFT, and Poor Heart. He later became the lead vocalist and drummer for Black Sheep, the first American band signed to Chrysalis Records. Black Sheep released the single “Stick Around” in 1973 and later signed with Capitol Records, releasing two albums: Black Sheep (1974) and Encouraging Words (1975).
The band toured extensively and opened for KISS before an accident involving their equipment truck on Christmas Eve 1975 abruptly ended their momentum.
Soon after, Gramm auditioned for a new band that would eventually become Foreigner. Renamed Lou Gramm, he quickly rose to fame as one of rock music’s most recognizable voices of the late 1970s and 1980s. His powerful vocals helped establish Foreigner as one of Billboard’s Top 100 Artists of All Time.
As lead vocalist of Foreigner, Gramm performed on legendary hits including: “Feels Like the First Time,” “Cold as Ice,” “Hot Blooded,” “Double Vision,” “Urgent,” “Juke Box Hero,” and “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
He also co-wrote many of the band’s biggest songs, including: “Waiting for a Girl Like You” and the international #1 hit “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
Foreigner’s first eight singles reached the Billboard Top 20, with four reaching the Top 10 — making them the first group since The Beatles to achieve that milestone.
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