Foreigner: A Retrospective, 1976-1992

Foreigner A Retrospective: 1976-1992

Overview: English musician Mick Jones, formerly of Spooky Tooth, formed Foreigner in 1976 with Ian McDonald (formerly of King Crimson) and American singer Lou Gramm. He suggested the name “Foreigner” after the group had blossomed into a six-piece with three Brits and three Americans. In the short five years covered on this page, they lost three founding members and by 1981 were working as a four-piece unit. From 1977 to 1981 the band released four studio albums, all of which hit the top 5 on the Billboard album charts and sold at least five million each. Their most successful album was 4, which spent 10 weeks on top. They hit the top 40 eleven times in that same span with their biggest hit being “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” a #2 hit for 10 weeks. The Players: Lou Gramm (vocals, percussion): 1977-82 Mick Jones (guitar, keyboards, vocals): 1977-82 Ian McDonald (guitar, backing vocals, saxophone, keyboards): 1977-79 Al Greenwood (keyboards): 1977-79 Ed Gagliardi (bass): 1977-78 Dennis Elliott (drums): 1977-82 Rick Wills (bass): 1979-82 On the Web: A (official site) Facebook Wikipedia

Awards:

The Studio Albums: Hover over an album cover to see its title and year of release. Click on the album to go to its dedicated DMDB page. Compilations: R Records (1976-1982, released 1982) VB The Very Best…and Beyond (1976-1992, released 1992) Under each album snapshot, songs featured on the anthologies are noted. If the song charted, the date of the song’s release or first chart appearance and its chart peaks are noted in parentheses. Click for codes to singles charts.

Foreigner (1977): Feels Like the First Time (3/26/77, 4 US, 2 CL, 39 UK, 7 CN, 41 AU, 6 DF) R, VB Cold As Ice (7/23/77, 6 US, 1 CL, 24 UK, 9 CN, 32 AU, 3 DF) R, VB Long, Long Way from Home (12/10/77, 20 US, 7 CL, 22 CN, 70 AU, 9 DF) R

The debut album from Foreigner was an immediate success, spawning three top-10 hits and a third top-20 hit. The album sold more than five million copies and hit the top 5 on the Billboard album chart.

Double Vision (1978): Hot Blooded (7/1/78, 3 US, 2 CL, 42 UK, 3 CN, 24 AU, 1 DF) R, VB Double Vision (9/22/78, 2 US, 2 CL, 7 CN, 97 AU, 3 DF) R, VB

With two top-five hits, Foreigner wasn’t suffering from a sophomore slump. Not only did the album chart a notch higher (#3) than its predecessor, but it outsold it with more than ten million copies worldwide. A third song, “Blue Morning, Blue Day,” was a top-20 hit, but isn’t included on the Records compilation.

Head Games (1979): Head Games (11/10/79, 14 US, 6 CL, 14 CN, 8 DF) R, VB Dirty White Boy (9/8/79, 12 US, 6 CL, 14 CN, 9 DF) R, VB Rev on the Red Line (44 CL, 14 DF) VB

While Head Games still put two songs in the top 20 on the U.S. pop chart, it wasn’t quite the same lofty heights as the Double Vision album. Still, the album was a top-five hit with sales over five million.

Foreigner 4 (1981): Urgent (7/4/81, 4 US, 1 AR, 45 UK, 1 CN, 24 AU, 4 DF) R, VB Juke Box Hero (7/25/81, 26 US, 3 AR, 48 UK, 39 CN, 53 AU, 1 DF) R, VB Waiting for a Girl Like You (10/10/81, 2 US, 1 AR, 5 AC, 8 UK, 2 CN, 3 AU, 1 DF) R, VB

This was Foreigner’s most successful outing. The album spent a whopping ten weeks atop the Billboard album chart and gave them their biggest hit to date with the power ballad “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” which spent ten weeks in the runner-up spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

Records Foreigner

Released: November 29, 1982 Recorded: 1977-1982 Peak: 10 US, 58 UK, -- CN, 26 AU, 11 DF Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 0.06 UK, 11.4 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: (1) Cold As Ice (2) Double Vision (3) Head Games (4) Waiting for a Girl Like You (5) Feels Like the First Time (6) Urgent (7) Dirty White Boy (8) Juke Box Hero (9) Long, Long Way from Home (10) Hot Blooded (live) Total Running Time: 39:23

Rating: 4.392 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About Records: After four top-10 albums and 11 top-40 singles in five years, Foreigner took a break, offering fans their first compilation. It was a multi-platinum, top-10 hit just like its predecessors despite offering nothing new, save a live version of “Hot Blooded.” In fact, this wasn’t just a multi-platinum seller; it was Foreigner’s third album (after Double Vision and 4) to top ten million in sales worldwide. As packed as this is with hits, it still misses a few, most notably the #15 hit “Blue Morning, Blue Day” and the #41 hit “Women.” They could have easily been added, considering the album’s sub-40-minute running length. Still, there’s no arguing with what is here. There would be many compilations to follow over the years, but this was the first and most successful.

Agent Provocateur (1984): I Want to Know What Love Is (11/13/84, 12 US, 11 CB, 12 RR, 3 AC, 85 RB, 11 AR, 13 UK, 13 CN, 15 AU, 1 DF) VB That Was Yesterday (1/19/85, 12 US, 10 CB, 10 RR, 24 AC, 4 AR, 28 UK, 24 CN, 55 AU, 1 DF) VB

Foreigner’s fifth album couldn’t possibly live up the success of their #1, multi-platinum fourth effort, but Agent Provocateur was still a top 5, platinum seller. It also gave the group their only #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

Inside Information (1987): Say You Will (12/5/87, 6 US, 8 CB, 7 RR, 41 AC, 14 AR, 71 UK, 13 CN, 6 AU, 9 DF) VB I Don’t Want to Live Without You (5 US, 8 CB, 4 RR, 11 AC, 18 AR, 18 CN, 21 AU, 9 DF) VB

This was Foreigner’s first album to miss the Billboard top 10, but it was still a million seller with two top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Very Best…and Beyond Foreigner

Released: September 22, 1992 Recorded: 1977-1992 Peak: 123 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.06 UK, 4.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: (1) Soul Doctor (2) Prisoner of Love (3) With Heaven on Our Side (4) Juke Box Hero (5) Hot Blooded (6) Cold As Ice (7) Head Games (8) Waiting for a Girl Like You (9) Urgent (10) Double Vision (11) I Want to Know What Love Is (12) Say You Will (13) That Was Yesterday (14) I Don’t Want to Live Without You (15) Rev on the Red Line (16) Dirty White Boy (17) Feels Like the First Time Total Running Time: 73:10

Rating: 3.774 out of 5.00 (average of 9 ratings)

About The Very Best…and Beyond: This collection essentially served as a super-sized version of 1982’s Records with the studio recording of “Hot Blooded” instead of a live version. “Long, Long Way from Home” is absent and “Blue Morning, Blue Day” still hasn’t made the cut on a compilation, but this set is superior to Records because of the inclusion of post-1982 hits “I Want to Know What Love Is,” “That Was Yesterday,” “Say You Will,” and “I Don’t Want to Live Without You.” This set skips over Foreigner’s 1991 Unusual Heat, which was made without Lou Gramm, and adds three fairly forgettable new songs. Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums: Soul Doctor (9/26/92, 5 AR, 48 CN, 31 DF) VB With Heaven on Our Side (12/5/92, 85 CN, 31 DF) VB Prisoner of Love VB

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Foreigner WK Wikipedia First posted 9/20/2020; last updated 7/9/2022.

Foreigner spends 10th week at #2 with “Waiting for a Girl Like You”

Waiting for a Girl Like You Foreigner

This post has been moved here.

Foreigner 4 spends 1st of 10 weeks at #1

Foreigner 4 Foreigner

Released: July 2, 1981 Peak: 110 US, 5 UK, 2 CN, 3 AU, 18 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 0.1 UK, 11.6 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Click on a song title for more details. Night Life [3:48] Juke Box Hero [4:18] Break It Up [4:11] Waiting for a Girl Like You [4:49] Luanne [3:25] Urgent [4:29] I’m Gonna Win [4:51] Woman in Black [4:42] Girl on the Moon [3:49] Don’t Let Go [3:58] Total Running Time: 42:10 The Players: Lou Gramm (vocals, percussion) Mick Jones (guitar, keyboards, vocals) Dennis Elliott (drums) Rick Wills (bass)

Rating: 4.268 out of 5.00 (average of 19 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

A Career Peak “Over the course of their first three late-‘70s albums, Foreigner had firmly established themselves (along with Journey, REO Speedwagon, and Styx) as one of the top AOR bands of the era. But the band was still looking for that grand slam of a record which would push them to the very top of the heap. 1981’s 4 would be that album.” AM To this day, it “remains Foreigner’s career peak.” AM Mutt Lange “Guitarist and all-around mastermind Mick Jones found both the catalyst to achieve this and his perfect musical soul mate” AM “in producer Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange — fresh off his massive success with AC/DC’s Back in Black.” AM “Lange’s legendary, obsessive attention to detail and Jones’ highly disciplined guitar heroics (which he never allowed to get in the way of a great song) resulted in a collaboration of unprecedented, sparkling efficiency where not a single note is wasted.” AM The Players “Vocalist Lou Gramm does his part, delivering a dazzling performance which confirmed his status as one of the finest voices of his generation.” AM “With the departures of second guitarist Ian McDonald and keyboardist Al Greenwood, Foreigner became a quartet for the first time” CD and all the album’s songs were written by Jones and/or Gramm. WK Session musicians were also brought in, among them Thomas Dolby, WK who went on to have a top 5 hit with “She Blinded Me with Science,” and Junior Walker. He played the “signature saxophone solo” AM on “the surprisingly funky Urgent [which] proved to be one of the band's most memorable and uncharacteristic smash hits.” AM The Album Cover and Title Also of note – the original album title and cover. The originally titled Silent Partners was to sport a cover from “renowned art studio Hipgnosis.” WK The band rejected “a black & white image of a young man in bed with a pair of binoculars looming overhead,” WK deeming it “too homosexual.” WK Bob Defrin designed the new cover, “modeled after an old fashioned film leader.” WK Reissues A 2002 reissue added two “nearly unplugged” versions of “Juke Box Hero” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You” recorded in 1999. In 2025, a four-disc deluxe edition of the album was released with 59 songs. One disc contained the original album remixed. Two more discs were comprised of demos and alternative versions and the previously unreleased “Fool if You Love Him,” “Love You So Much Better,” “Knockout Power,” and “Jealous Lover.” The fourth disc was made up of live performances from 1981-82. The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Night Life Foreigner

Writer(s): Mick Jones, Lou Gramm Released: 4 (1981) Peak: 27 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 5.23 streaming About the Song: Night Life, Woman in Black, Don’t Let Go, and “the 50’s-tinged Luanne” AM are all “energetic, nearly flawless melodic rockers.” AM

Juke Box Hero Foreigner

Writer(s): Lou Gramm, Mick Jones (see lyrics here) Released: single (UK, 10/2/1981), single (US, 1/27/1982), 4 (1981) B-side: “I’m Gonna Win” First Charted: 7/25/1981 Peak: 26 BB, 34 CB, 18 GR, 23 HR, 2 CL, 3 AR, 48 UK, 39 CN, 53 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 33.0 video, 259.97 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “Juke Box Hero” has an interesting chart history. It first entered Billboard’s album-rock chart in July 1981 soon after the Foreigner 4 album was released. However, it wasn’t released as a single until October – and then in the UK. In the United States, the song wasn’t released as a single until January 1982, the third single from the 4 album. Ultimate Classic Rock critic Matt Wardlaw ranks it as Foreigner’s all-time greatest song. WK “The band somehow managed to create both a mainstream hit single and a highly unique-sounding track, alternating heavy metal guitar riffing, chorused vocals, and one of the ultimate ‘wanna be a rock star’ lyrics.” AM It is about a boy who can’t buy a ticket for a sold-out concert. While listening from outside the venue, he is inspired to buy a guitar and learn to play. This ignites his dream of musical stardom, but then he struggles to stay atop the charts as a “Juke Box Hero.” Outside the stage door at one of his concerts, he meets a fan who reminds him of himself and his own beginnings. WK Foreigner guitarist and songwriter Mick Jones said it was inspired by a real-life incident. He recalled going to an arena, he thought in Cincinnati, for a sound check. There were a bunch of fans waiting at the door when they arrived, but just one – waiting in the rain – when they came back for the show some five hours later. They took him backstage “And this kid was just mesmerized with everything…I just imagined what was going through his mind. And I’'d been toying with this title, ‘Juke Box Hero,’ I thought it was almost a satire on what we did and how it was perceived from an audience level.” SF Lou Gramm has said this is one of his favorite songs to perform, but also the hardest to sing live. SF Gramm, who had been a drummer before he became a singer, says he starts with the beat when writing songs. The “menacing beat” which opens “Juke Box Hero” and “builds to combustion is his influence.” SF Gramm had originally been working on a song called “Take One Guitar” and it was combined with the portion of “Juke Box Hero” which Jones had developed. WK

Break It Up Foreigner

Writer(s): Mick Jones Released: single (April 1982), 4 (1981) B-side: “Head Games” (live) Peak: 26 BB, 46 CB, 33 GR, 30 CL, 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 8.48 streaming About the Song: A

Waiting for a Girl Like You Foreigner

Writer(s): Lou Gramm, Mick Jones (see lyrics here) Released: single (US, 10/2/1981), single (UK, 12/4/1981), 4 (1981) B-side: “I’m Gonna Win” First Charted: 9/25/1981 Peak: 2 BB, 2 CB, 15 GR, 2 HR, 16 RR, 5 AC, 11 AR, 8 UK, 2 CN, 3 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, -- UK, 2.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 53.4 video, 394.29 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: Foreigner’s “Waiting for a Girl Like You” had the misfortune of getting stuck in the runner-up slot behind one of the biggest hits of the 1980s, Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical.” True to its title, however, the power ballad patiently waited – for nine weeks. However, when “Physical” finally succumbed on January 30, 1982, the unthinkable happened. Hall & Oates’ “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” leapfrogged over “Girl” and Foreigner was still stuck at #2. The song never ascended to the pole position of the Billboard Hot 100, but set a record for spending 10 weeks just outside the top. The record still stands today, although in 2002-03, Missy Elliott’s “Work It” tied Foreigner by spending 10 weeks behind Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.” “Waiting for a Girl Like You” was part of a trend in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Bands like Foreigner, Journey, REO Speedwagon, and Styx made their names on album rock radio during the ‘70s, but each found themselves with the biggest hits of their careers with hits from 1979 to 1982. REO Speedwagon and Styx reached the top with “Keep on Loving You” and “Babe” respectively, while Foreigner’s “Waiting” and Journey’s “Open Arms” peaked at #2. In 1985, REO returned to the top with “Can’t Fight This Feeling” and Foreigner finally reached the top with “I Want to Know What Love Is.” Lou Gramm said that while the band were recording the song, a mysterious woman showed up in the control room. She inspired him to sing “Girl” better than he ever had, but then disappeared and he never found out who she was. WK Of course, Gramm had already found the girl he was waiting for anyway – his wife. SF Guitarist Mick Jones shared how the song brought a lot of people together and was played at a lot of people’s wedding. SF The opening synthesizer bit was played by Thomas Dolby, who had a #5 hit in 1983 with “She Blinded Me with Science.” SF

Luanne Foreigner

Writer(s): Mick Jones, Lou Gramm Released: single (July 1982), 4 (1981) B-side: “Hot Blooded” (live) Peak: 75 BB, 44 CL, 26 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.57 streaming About the Song: Nightlife, Woman in Black, Don’t Let Go, and “the 50’s-tinged Luanne” AM are all “energetic, nearly flawless melodic rockers.” AM

Urgent Foreigner

Writer(s): Mick Jones (see lyrics here) Released: single (6/22/1981), 4 (1981) B-side: “Girl on the Moon” Peak: 4 BB, 5 CB, 3 GR, 3 HR, 9 RR, 3 CL, 14 AR, 45 UK, 12 UK, 24 AU, 3 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 36.0 video, 107.50 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: Through three albums, Foreigner had established themselves as one of the biggest rock bands in the world. All three releases reached the top five of the Billboard album charts and have been certified for sales of at least five million. They’d landed eight songs in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100; half of those reached the top 10. Could they get any bigger? Yes. With their fourth album, simply titled 4, Foreigner hired producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who is no slouch when it comes to blockbuster albums. He’d already done AC/DC’s Back in Black and would go on to do monster albums by Def Leppard (Pyromania, Hysteria) and Shania Twain (Come on Over). The band leapt into the stratosphere with an album that has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and spent ten weeks atop the Billboard album chart. The album also gave the world one of the greatest power ballads of all time in “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” which spent an astonishing ten weeks at #2. That, however, was not the album’s first single. “Urgent” was released a few weeks prior to the album and scaled the charts all the way to the #4 slot. Billboard’s Gary Graff rated it Foreigner’s all-time greatest song. WK Interestingly, the then-unknown Thomas Dolby (who would later have a top-5 new-wave hit with “She Blinded Me with Science”) played synthesizer on the track. A demo of his song “Urges” where he sings “urges, urges…” was incorporated into Foreigner’s song with the lyric “urgent, urgent…” WK The song also features Motown artist Junior Walker on saxophone. WK The group wanted a sax solo in his style for the R&B-flavorted song. They read that Walker was performing that night just blocks from the recording studio. SF

I’m Gonna Win Foreigner

Writer(s): Mick Jones Released: B-side of “Waiting for a Girl Like You” (US, 10/2/1981), B-side of “Juke Box Hero” (UK, 10/2/1981), 4 (1981) Peak: 33 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.91 streaming About the Song: A

Woman in Black Foreigner

Writer(s): Mick Jones Released: 4 (1981) Peak: 27 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.23 streaming About the Song: Nightlife, Woman in Black, Don’t Let Go, and “the 50’s-tinged Luanne” AM are all “energetic, nearly flawless melodic rockers.” AM

Girl on the Moon Foreigner

Writer(s): Mick Jones, Lou Gramm Released: B-side of “Urgent” (6/22/1981), 4 (1981) Peak: 18 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 11.37 streaming About the Song: Foreigner “reached unparalleled heights with ‘Waiting for a Girl Like You,’” AM “one of the decade’s most successful cross-genre tear-jerkers.” AM However, the album also featured another “very lovely ballad, ‘Girl on the Moon.’” AM

Don’t Let Go Foreigner

Writer(s): Mick Jones, Lou Gramm Released: 4 (1981) Peak: 30 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.91 streaming About the Song: Nightlife, Woman in Black, Don’t Let Go, and “the 50’s-tinged Luanne” AM are all “energetic, nearly flawless melodic rockers.” AM

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Ed Rivadavia CD CDUniverse.com review SF Songfacts page for “Urgent” SF Songfacts page for “Juke Box Hero” SF Songfacts page for “Waiting for a Girl Like You” WK Wikipedia page for 4 WK Wikipedia page for “Urgent” WK Wikipedia page for “Juke Box Hero” WK Wikipedia page for “Waiting for a Girl Like You” Related DMDB Pages: First posted 6/27/2012; last updated 10/1/2025.