Lou Gramm, the original and former singer of Foreigner, turns 75 this Friday.
He was born Louis Andrew Grammatico on May 2nd, 1950 in Rochester, New York where he still lives. And, like so many other musicians, he decided he wanted to be a musician on Sunday, February 9th, 1964.
Gramm was in the band Black Sheep when he met Foreigner founder and guitarist Mick Jones in 1974 when they opened for Spooky Tooth, which the Englishmen was a member of. Gramm gave him a copy of the band's first album, and when Jones was looking for a singer for Foreigner, he invited Gramm to audition.
Gramm sang on all of Foreigner's biggest albums, but left the band for good in 2003.
He and Jones were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013, and the band went into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year.
Having overcome drug addiction and a brain tumor, Gramm is currently touring with Foreigner on their farewell tour in Latin America where he's coming out to sing the final four songs, which he says will be the case into next year.
And Gramm, who said he was going to stop touring this year, will finally release his new album in the fall.