Tony Cummings and Mike Rimmer quizzed "the voice of Foreigner", LOU GRAMM
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Mike: There had been lineup changes hadn't there?
Lou: There definitely had. And I think Mike Patto was singing.
Mike: Oh, right, I wonder whether people are going to Foreigner shows right now and having similar disappointments?
Lou: I wouldn't doubt it. There are not that many recognisable faces in there.
Tony: Does it irritate you or disappoint you that there is a band out there which isn't really Foreigner as most people associate the name and do you think they really shouldn't be using the name?
Lou: I know that it's Mick's name and legally he has the right to use it but it seems to me that his big worry back in the day was that my solo albums would run the band's name into the ground. That was not a worry at all actually, as it turned out. But look what he's doing.
Mike: With the legacy and everything. But it's not unusual in rock and roll is it or in soul music? I don't know how many versions of the Drifters or the Temptations have been out there doing stuff.
Lou: Exactly. I guess that's just the way of the world, right?
Mike: It is. Had you become a Christian when "I Want To Know What Love Is" was recorded?
Lou: I wasn't actually. I didn't give my heart to the Lord till 1991.
Mike: So what was going through your heart as you were recording the song?
Lou: A lot of turmoil. And a lot of self-doubt and searching for the right thing.
Tony: But looking back on the lyric now, it's almost a prayer, isn't it?
Lou: It sure is.
But all things can be accomplished with god. You still have your wife and family. I know this. I am a single mother who raised my daughter by myself. There were tough times. I lost my entire family to cancer and i had to battle it 3 times myself. I turned myself over to god and he has allowed me to see my daughter grown and in college. So if through all this you and your wife made it through then treasure it because it is for keeps. God bless and keep you well.