8EEZ Playlist: Foreigner

Hello, I've been waiting for a reader like you. Nyuk, nyuk!

My buddy Oates and I have received many a positive response for this blog series and we appreciate the feedback and certainly hope to be entertaining you with more artists' playlists — lord knows, there's absolutely no shortage!

Okay, so the spotlight is on a favorite group of mine. They're a band that formed in New York City that had the distinction of having members from both sides of the Atlantic. Their music was a pastiche of hard rock, progressive rock, arena rock...well, they were just a plain ol' great rock band.

Formed in 1976, founding member Mick Jones (a Brit from Somerset, England) along with five members including then-lead singer Lou Gramm (US-born, Rochester, NY born and bred) cut what would be their first album. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1977 and spawned two big hits, "Feels Like The First Time" and "Cold as Ice." Electric guitar-driven with hooks that were enough to claw through actual meat, they would find instant fame. Two albums released and more hits followed, including a Number 2 smash "Double Vision" and legions of fans, both stateside and in England.

In 1981, their album 4 would be their most commercially and critically successful effort to date. It would have two signature smash hits, "Urgent" and "Waiting For a Girl Like You" a tender rock ballad that became their biggest, monster hit at the time, though it would have the strange distinction of being the most successful Number 2 song in rock/pop chart history. Held that fort for ten straight weeks right behind Olivia Newton-John's "Physical." I guess the country was more interested in aerobicizing than serenading that girl they've always waited for.

But, in 1984, a miracle happened. Jones wrote a song he intended for his group to record with the legendary Aretha Franklin. Somehow, it never materialized, but the song was recorded with the New Jersey Mass Choir and stage star Jennifer Holliday. The song? "I Want to Know What Love Is" — and it became their first and ONLY Number 1 hit.

Gramm would record his first solo album in 1987 and record and release their last official album together: Inside Information. It gave them two more smash hits, "Say You Will" and "I Don't Want to Live Without You" but the magic began to fizzle and soon Gramm left the group for good. The lineup has since changed, but the music lives on and they still tour today. Gramm did reunite briefly to mark their 40th anniversary as a group.

Oates has the first 'list, of course...

Cherry's Picks

5. "Say You Will" (1988)

The nearing-the-end of their run as a band. This rock ballad showed Gramm in fine form vocally, despite the rather standard I-need-to-know-you-love-me lyrics. They would follow it up with "I Don't Want to Live Without You"...again, many may have confused it with Chicago's similarly-titled "I Don't Want to Live Without Your Love."

4. "Waiting for a Girl Like You" (1981)

Their signatura ballad that was a radio mainstay for nearly half a year (maybe longer). It gave the hard rocking boys a much sweeter image with the ladies and the men who wanted to get on their good graces.

3. "Jukebox Hero" (1981)

Balls-to-wall-rocker about...what else? Rockin' out!

2. "I Want to Know What Love Is" (1985)

Their other signature ballad. Somehow, the idea of rockers showing their gentler sides became quite the trend! Journey, Def Leppard, Poison, even Guns N' Roses would follow the trend as well. The infusion of gospel was, however, a rare touch almost never used by a rock band. The female vocalist was stage star Jennifer Holliday, who won the Tony for her role as Effie in Dreamgirls — long before Jennifer Hudson (another Jennifer who would break into the big time with the same role, winning an Oscar) would become the second most famous Effie. The choir was the New Jersey Mass Choir.

1. "Feels Like the First Time" (1977)

Their debut which signaled their arrival. Had to be the ultimate back-in-the-car-seat anthem for many awkward teenager back in that day!

My Picks

5. "Cold as Ice" (1977)

Their follow-up to "Feels Like the First Time" was another in-your-face rocker, but a slower vibe and a more direct anti-love song about some frigid, er, rhymes with..."not nice girl."

4. "Feels Like the First Time" (1977)

A staple of my mp3 playlist for years, both the 70s and 80s. If the song hadn't tipped you off about what its about, it's simple — sex as if you've just lost your virginity for the "first time!"

3. "I Want to Know What Love Is" (1985)

Also on my list. It was reportedly written by Mick Jones during a moment of reflection and questioning. The song was written and a few inquiries made to see if Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, would record it with the group. Denied flat, but the group pressed on. It would be their first and only Number 1 hit, surpassing what could've been their only smash in "Waiting for a Girl Like You." Speaking of which...

2. "Waiting for a Girl Like You" (1981)

Still, a tender ballad about finding true love. Olivia may have had her "horizontally" moment, but the Foreigner boys would still make its dent in the hearts and minds of young love in 1981!

1. "Urgent" (1981)

Dance and rock have been a staple for years; The Eagles, The Knack, and even Donna Summer are all credited for getting even the most die-hard disco-ers on the dance floor. Michael Jackson would continue the trend with his dance/rock classic "Beat It" in 1983, but two years earlier, Foreigner added a thumping backbeat, slick keyboards, hard guitar licks, and the icing on the cake — iconic sax player Junior Walker for the bridge solos and voila! A dance/rock classic was born! Still, my favorite Foreigner jam to date!

And I'm spent! Next up...before Justin Bieber, a Canadian pinup made us swoon with his nightly sunglasses!