Foreigner's Lou Gramm Says Rock Hall Pulled 'Fast One' With Induction Ceremony

11-09-2024

Lou Gramm, the legendary original frontman of Foreigner, is upset with some of the decision made about their recent induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and shared that reason that Dennis Elliott decided not to attend.

The powerhouse vocalist helped the band attain arena rock legend status with their string of classic hits and while they have been eligible for induction into the Rock Hall for a number of years, they finally received the honor this year. But Gramm is not happy that he was not allowed to perform one of the band's signature rock songs during the ceremony.

Gramm instead took the stage to duet the band's hit ballad "I Want To Know What Love Is" with Kelly Clarkson. He appeared on SiriusXM and shared his disappointment in the song selection.

Lou told host Eddie Truck (via UCR), "The thing for me is I am first and foremost a rock singer, and it's the Rock Hall of Fame. And somehow I couldn't sing a rock song at the Rock Hall of Fame when I'm being inducted? It doesn't make any sense to me, and it sticks in my craw."

According to the report, organizers told him that the decision was made due to "time restraints" but Trunk noted that it should have made no difference who was singing which song as it would have taken up the same amount of time.

"I don't think anybody else sang 'Juke Box Hero,'" Gramm added. "But I know they did 'Hot Blooded' and 'Feels Like the First Time.' ... I thought an edited version of 'I Wanna Know What Love Is' into an edited version of 'Juke Box Hero' would have been okay... but he didn't explain to me. He just said, 'No, it's not gonna work.'"

Just ahead of the ceremony, original member Dennis Elliott announced that he would not be attending. Lou explained the absence, "The reason Dennis didn't come was because he found out from management a number of days before Rick, Al and I... that we weren't gonna play."

He elaborated, "As soon as Dennis found out that we weren't performing on our night, he decided he wasn't gonna come. And we're just going, 'Dennis, come on... We're gonna play.' ... And then we found out the afternoon of the show that we weren't performing.

"We thought we were gonna be performing, and Dennis was gonna be there, and we'd have the guitar player from the new Foreigner play mixed parts and play a couple songs. And then we found out at the last minute that it was the new Foreigner who was gonna be playing and Rick and Al would be standing there singing background vocals."

Gramm was asked if he himself would have still taken part in the ceremony if he had known about the performance plans. He replied, "I don't know. I didn't know sooner... and when I found out that that's why [Elliott] didn't come, I even got more angrier - but not at him. It was almost like there was a fast one being played."