In a new interview with Barry Robinson of Classic Album Review, original Foreigner singer Lou Gramm was asked to weigh in on KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons‘ comment that “rock is dead.”.
Gramm said (as transcribed by blabbermouth.net), ”Well, the rock that’s in the charts right now is not of my liking. I don’t even know if I would call it rock. It’s just… I don’t even know what to call it, but it’s just more commercial and middle of the road and poppy — very poppy. And I think it’ll take almost a miracle to get real rock back on the radio, like it was years ago. I mean, [Foreigner‘s classic track] Hot Blooded and songs like that would never be played now — ever.”
After Robinson noted that “we’ve gone wrong somewhere” in terms of where rock radio stands at the moment, Gramm concurred. “Yes. You’re right about that and I’m hoping that it can be steered back to something that will at least accommodate the good rock musicians and songwriters.”
While rock and roll had been king of the music world for decades, in the past few years, it’s been unseated by the growing popularity of hip-hop. This has caused many pundits to proclaim the genre “dead” from an industry perspective, noting that it has been eclipsed in all measures by pop, hip-hop, and EDM.
Simmons told Esquire magazine in September 2014 — in an interview conducted by his son Nick — that “rock did not die of old age. It was murdered. Some brilliance, somewhere, was going to be expressed and now it won’t because it’s that much harder to earn a living playing and writing songs. No one will pay you to do it.”
Simmons went on to elaborate that as a result of file-sharing and other issues, record label support for rock music was not available like it was when KISS was coming up, concluding, “It’s finally dead. Rock is finally dead.”
A number of hard rock and heavy metal musicians have weighed in on the topic in a variety of interviews over the last decade, with some digging a little deeper into Simmons‘s full remarks and others just glossing over the headline.
Gramm and fellow Foreigner original member Al Greenwood will play select shows with the band’s current lineup in 2027. Gramm will join Foreigner aboard the Rock Legends Cruise, departing from Miami February 21, 2027, followed by six performances at The Venetian in Las Vegas in March. Greenwood will join FOREIGNER for five select shows in Georgia and California this September and October before returning to the stage with the band for “Foreigner’s 50th Anniversary Tour Of New York” in spring 2027, further details, here.
As a founding member and the original lead singer of Foreigner, Lou Gramm played a defining role in creating the unmistakable sound that propelled the band to international superstardom. His powerful, distinctive vocals are at the heart of many of the band’s greatest recordings, including Hot Blooded, Feels Like The First Time, Cold As Ice, Double Vision, Juke Box Hero, Urgent and the worldwide No. 1 smash I Want To Know What Love Is.
One Response
I would refer to the genre, sadly, as being neutered, with the castration taking place decades ago.