Foreigner were welcomed into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame this year, but the band didn’t feel very welcomed. Drummer Dennis Elliott skipped the induction ceremony — reportedly because his wife was not invited to walk the red carpet, though there was possibly a different explanation for his absence. (Read on!) Mick Jones also missed the event, but that was due to his battle with Parkinson’s disease. Now comes word that lead singer Lou Gramm was also displeased with the ordeal.
Gramm’s previous relations with the Rock Hall have not exactly been warm. Last summer he blamed Foreigner’s decades of snubs on “a personal vendetta between the gentleman who owns Rolling Stone and Mick.” That gentleman, Jann Wenner, was removed from the Rock Hall’s board weeks later after offering up racist, sexist comments to an interviewer while promoting his book, and voila, Foreigner got in, so maybe Gramm was on to something there, though the vote to get them in may have also been related to a slew of rock-star testimonials compiled by super-producer Mark Ronson, Jones’ stepson
Gramm, alongside bandmates Al Greenwood and Rick Wills, did show up to Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse last month to be inducted and take the stage with guests including Kelly Clarkson, Demi Lovato, Sammy Hagar, Slash, and Chad Smith. But as Gramm told Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation, he was not happy with his limited time on the mic at the event, and he was extremely upset that the original Foreigner members were not invited to play instruments at the show. Lovato sang “Feels Like The First Time” and Hagar did “Hot Blooded,” leaving Gramm to only sing “I Want To Know What Love Is.” He told Trunk that he should have been able to rock o
Foreigner were welcomed into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame this year, but the band didn’t feel very welcomed. Drummer Dennis Elliott skipped the induction ceremony — reportedly because his wife was not invited to walk the red carpet, though there was possibly a different explanation for his absence. (Read on!) Mick Jones also missed the event, but that was due to his battle with Parkinson’s disease. Now comes word that lead singer Lou Gramm was also displeased with the ordeal.
Gramm’s previous relations with the Rock Hall have not exactly been warm. Last summer he blamed Foreigner’s decades of snubs on “a personal vendetta between the gentleman who owns Rolling Stone and Mick.” That gentleman, Jann Wenner, was removed from the Rock Hall’s board weeks later after offering up racist, sexist comments to an interviewer while promoting his book, and voila, Foreigner got in, so maybe Gramm was on to something there, though the vote to get them in may have also been related to a slew of rock-star testimonials compiled by super-producer Mark Ronson, Jones’ stepson.
Gramm, alongside bandmates Al Greenwood and Rick Wills, did show up to Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse last month to be inducted and take the stage with guests including Kelly Clarkson, Demi Lovato, Sammy Hagar, Slash, and Chad Smith. But as Gramm told Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation, he was not happy with his limited time on the mic at the event, and he was extremely upset that the original Foreigner members were not invited to play instruments at the show. Lovato sang “Feels Like The First Time” and Hagar did “Hot Blooded,” leaving Gramm to only sing “I Want To Know What Love Is.” He told Trunk that he should have been able to rock out a little bit at his own Rock Hall induction:
It was mentioned to me that it was time restraints. I don’t think anybody else sang “Jukebox Hero,” but I know they did “Hot Blooded” and “Feels Like The First Time.” So I thought an edited version of “I Want To Know What Love Is” into an edited version of “Jukebox Hero” would have been OK! But he didn’t explain to me, he just said, “No, it’s not going to work.”
He elaborated, “The thing for me is, I am first and foremost a rock singer, 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.” As for Elliott’s absence:
The reason Dennis didn’t come was because he found out from management, a number of days before Rick and Al and I found out, that we weren’t going to play. As soon as Dennis found out that we weren’t performing on our night, he decided he wasn’t going to come… We found out the afternoon of the show that we weren’t performing. We thought we were going to be performing and Dennis was going to be there and we’d have the guitar player from the new Foreigner play Mick’s parts and play a couple songs. And then we found out at the last minute that it was the new Foreigner who would be playing, and Rick and Al would be standing there singing background vocals.
He elaborated, “The thing for me is, I am first and foremost a rock singer, 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.” As for Elliott’s absence:
Foreigner was welcomed into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, but the band didn’t feel entirely welcomed. Drummer Dennis Elliott skipped the induction ceremony, reportedly because his wife wasn’t invited to walk the red carpet, though there may have been another reason for his absence. Mick Jones also missed the event due to his battle with Parkinson’s disease. Lead singer Lou Gramm expressed his displeasure with the process. Gramm has had a rocky history with the Rock Hall, blaming Foreigner’s repeated snubs on “a personal vendetta” between Rolling Stone’s Jann Wenner and Mick Jones. Wenner was removed from the Rock Hall’s board weeks later after making controversial comments, coinciding with Foreigner’s induction. This might suggest Gramm’s suspicions had some merit, although the decision could also have been influenced by rock-star testimonials gathered by Mark Ronson, Mick Jones’ stepson.
Gramm, along with bandmates Al Greenwood and Rick Wills, attended the induction at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse last month. They were joined by guests like Kelly Clarkson, Demi Lovato, Sammy Hagar, Slash, and Chad Smith. However, Gramm was unhappy with his limited time on stage and the decision not to allow original Foreigner members to play instruments. Lovato performed “Feels Like The First Time,” and Hagar did “Hot Blooded,” leaving Gramm to sing only “I Want To Know What Love Is.” Gramm expressed his frustration to Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation, saying he should have been able to perform more at his own induction.
Regarding Elliott’s absence, Gramm explained that Elliott decided not to attend upon learning that the original members wouldn’t perform. Elliott found out from management before the others and chose not to come. Gramm said they only discovered on the afternoon of the show that they wouldn’t be performing, expecting to play with the new Foreigner guitarist covering Mick’s parts. Instead, the new Foreigner was scheduled to perform, with Rick and Al singing background vocals. Gramm expressed his frustration, feeling misled about the arrangements.