Though he says he’d given up on Foreigner ever getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, original Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm has been excitedly watching the public voting, where Foreigner has been solidly in the Top 3 since it opened during early February. Gramm tells us he’s been particularly gratified by the active campaign led by hitmaking producer Mark Ronson, who’s Foreigner founder Mick Jones‘ son-in-law and has recruited musical friends such as Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Slash, Jack Black, the Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith and others expressing disbelief that the group isn’t in the Rock Hall yet: 

“I think he’s a pretty creative guy, and it’s pretty good. There hasn’t been anything boisterous or outlandish. It’s just kind of, it’s telling the story the way he sees it, from his vantage point with his stepdad and stuff. It makes sense.”

Gramm adds that he was particularly stoked by McCartney’s video, in which he says “Foreigner? Not in the Hall of Fame? What the f***?” Gramm has said that if Foreigner is selected he fully intends to attend the ceremony in Cleveland during the fall and to perform. 

Gramm was with Foreigner from 1976-1989 and 1992-1993, serving as Mick Jones’ principal songwriting partner. The two were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013, the same year Gramm published his memoir “Juke Box Hero — My Five Decades in Rock ‘n’ Roll.” 

Gramm continues to perform with his Lou Gramm Allstars and will be part of Poison frontman Bret Michael’s Parti-Gras 2.0 tour this summer.