Complete List Of Lou Gramm Songs From A to Z

Feature Photo by Thudfinger, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The voice that carried Foreigner from club-level ambition to arena headliner status belonged to Lou Gramm, a Rochester, New York, singer who became the band’s co-founder and original frontman and remained closely tied to its core identity across multiple eras. Known professionally as Lou Gramm, he performed lead vocals on Foreigner’s best-known singles and co-wrote most of the band’s hits with Mick Jones during the group’s commercial peak, a partnership that later earned them induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013.

Before Foreigner, Gramm built his first serious profile as the frontman of Black Sheep, a band that became the first American act signed to Chrysalis and released its first single, “Stick Around,” in 1974. After that initial breakthrough, Black Sheep signed with Capitol Records and released two albums in 1975, Black Sheep and Encouraging Words. A tour slot opening for Kiss ended abruptly on Christmas Eve 1975 when an accident involving the band’s equipment truck halted their ability to support those releases on the road, and Black Sheep soon disbanded.

A year earlier, Gramm had met Mick Jones when Jones was in Rochester performing with Spooky Tooth, and Gramm gave him a copy of Black Sheep’s first album. In early 1976, Jones, assembling a new band and looking for a lead singer, invited Gramm to audition in New York. Gramm got the job, shortened his name from Lou Grammatico to Lou Gramm, and the early version of the band, first known as Trigger, soon took the name Foreigner. From there, Gramm’s run with the band extended from 1976 to 1990, then again from 1992 to 2003, periods that included a string of major hit singles where he handled lead vocals, including “Urgent,” “Juke Box Hero,” “Break It Up,” “Say You Will,” and “I Don’t Want to Live Without You.” His co-writing with Jones also included “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” which spent ten weeks at number two on the US Hot 100 in 1981 and 1982, and “I Want to Know What Love Is,” which reached number one in eight countries.

Alongside the band’s success, Gramm launched a solo career that produced his biggest charting singles under his own name. His first solo album, Ready or Not, was released on January 29, 1987, and its lead single, “Midnight Blue,” reached the top five on the US Hot 100 and topped the Mainstream Rock chart. He also contributed “Lost in the Shadows” to the soundtrack for The Lost Boys. His second solo album, Long Hard Look, released October 16, 1989, included “Just Between You and Me,” a top ten US hit, and “True Blue Love,” another Hot 100 entry, and it also featured “Hangin’ on My Hip,” which was used in the film Navy SEALs.

Creative differences with Jones led Gramm to leave Foreigner in May 1990, and he pivoted into a new project with Shadow King, formed with Bruce Turgon, a close friend and former Black Sheep bassist. Shadow King released a self-titled album in 1991 through Atlantic Records, and Gramm also contributed “One Dream” to Highlander II: The Quickening. Gramm rejoined Foreigner in May 1992, and in 1994, the band released Mr. Moonlight. In 1997, he provided vocals for Petra’s album Petra Praise 2 We Need Jesus, and that same year he was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor and underwent surgery, then returned to touring with Foreigner by 1998.

After departing Foreigner again in early 2003, Gramm continued to release music and reshape his public profile in ways that extended beyond touring cycles. The Lou Gramm Band released a Christian rock album, Lou Gramm Band, on June 2, 2009. In May 2013, he published an autobiography, Juke Box Hero: My Five Decades in Rock ’n’ Roll. He joined Foreigner on stage for an encore set at Jones Beach Theatre on July 20, 2017, and announced on December 29, 2018 in Schenectady, New York that he was retiring from touring, while also stating he planned to continue studio work and occasional live performances. Those appearances included The Lopen, a celebrity concert produced by Howard Perl Entertainment to benefit children at Akron Children’s Hospital. In 2019, he toured on a bill with Asia Featuring John Payne, who also served as his backing group, and he sang lead vocals on “Sometimes” from Alan Parsons’ 2019 album The Secret.

In 2024, Gramm was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Foreigner alongside Mick Jones, Ian McDonald, Al Greenwood, Dennis Elliott, Ed Gagliardi, and Rick Wills, a capstone moment that followed the 2013 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction. That same period also brought renewed public attention to his reputation as a vocalist, with Circus magazine in 1978 commenting on his voice at the time of Foreigner’s Hot Blooded, Variety describing him as one of rock and roll’s premier vocalists, and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull praising his precision and diction. Gramm’s current timeline also includes continued activity, with selected farewell tour dates with Foreigner in 2025, and a 2026 single, “Young Love,” released ahead of a new album titled Released, positioned as his first full length album since Long Hard Look.

Complete List Of Lou Gramm Songs From A to Z

Angel with a Dirty Face – Long Hard Look – 1989
Arrow thru Your Heart – Ready or Not – 1987
Baptized By Fire – The Lou Gramm Band – 2009
Broken Dreams – Long Hard Look – 1989
Chain of Love – Ready or Not – 1987
Day One – Long Hard Look – 1989
Hangin’ on My Hip – Long Hard Look – 1989
Heartache – Ready or Not – 1987
(I Wanna) Testify – The Lou Gramm Band – 2009
I’ll Come Running – Long Hard Look – 1989
I’ll Know When It’s Over – Long Hard Look – 1989
If I Don’t Have You – Ready or Not – 1987
It’s Not Too Late – The Lou Gramm Band – 2009
Just Between You and Me – Long Hard Look – 1989
Lost In The Shadows – The Lost Boys Soundtrack – 1987
Lover Come Back – Ready or Not – 1987
Made To Be Broken – The Lou Gramm Band – 2009
Midnight Blue – Ready or Not – 1987
Rattle Yer Bones – The Lou Gramm Band – 2009
Ready or Not – Ready or Not – 1987
Redeemer – The Lou Gramm Band – 2009
She’s Got to Know – Ready or Not – 1987
Single Vision – The Lou Gramm Band – 2009
So Great – The Lou Gramm Band – 2009
That’s The Way God Planned It – The Lou Gramm Band – 2009
Time – Ready or Not – 1987
Tin Soldier – Long Hard Look – 1989
True Blue Love – Long Hard Look – 1989
Until I Make You Mine – Ready or Not – 1987
Warmest Rising Sun – Long Hard Look – 1989
Willing To Forgive – The Lou Gramm Band – 2009
You Saved Me – The Lou Gramm Band – 2009

Albums

Ready or Not (1987): 10 songs

Long Hard Look (1989): 10 songs

The Lou Gramm Band (2009): 11 songs

The Lost Boys Soundtrack (1987): 1 song

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