Authentic Foreigner singer Lou Gramm claims his former band was blackballed from the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame.
In a latest interview with Good Day Rochester, Gramm famous that Foreigner’s guitarist, Mick Jones, was at one level shut mates with Jann Wenner, creator of Rolling Stone journal and a co-founder of the Corridor of Fame.
“Their households had been shut, they used to run collectively and have dinner with the households and see one another socially lots. They had been good mates,” the singer recalled. In order Foreigner watched bands from the ‘70s and ‘80s getting inducted, whereas they by no means even acquired a nomination, confusion set in.
“Once we did not get inducted with our friends, and a lot of the bands within the period that we had been profitable in had all gotten into the Corridor of Fame, Mick and our supervisor went to see [Wenner],” Gram recalled. “That they had an appointment, they usually went to see him and requested him if there was one thing we had performed or stated or one thing that insulted him. They could not perceive why we weren’t introduced up for induction.”
READ MORE: 135 Artists Not within the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame
Gramm admitted he wasn’t current for the assembly with Wenner, however relayed what he was informed concerning the dialog.
“It bought actual heated,” Gramm stated. “And when our supervisor and Mick bought as much as depart, [Wenner] stated, ‘It will be a chilly day in hell earlier than Foreigner will get into the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame.'”
Foreigner Has Been Corridor of Fame Eligible Since 2003
Acts turn out to be eligible for the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame 25 years after their first launch. Regardless of promoting greater than 80 million albums and scoring such notable hits as “Scorching Blooded,” “Juke Field Hero” and “I Wish to Know What Love Is,” Foreigner has by no means appeared on the poll of nominees.
READ MORE: The Enduring Legacy of Foreigner’s ‘I Wish to Know What Love Is’
In a 2022 interview with Marc Maron, Wenner was requested if his personal private grudges had been mirrored within the Corridor’s omissions.
“There may be discuss of that, however I don’t management that. I’m not on the nominating committee,” he responded. Requested particularly about Foreigner, Wenner stated he had “nothing in opposition to Foreigner. In reality, I used to be excellent mates with Mick Jones … however, you understand, Foreigner’s title has by no means come up in a nominating committee to be nominated.”
Foreigner Albums Ranked
It is exhausting to think about rock radio with out the string of hit singles Foreigner peeled off within the ’70s and ’80s.
Gallery Credit score: Jeff Giles
