LOU GRAMM: '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.'

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's comment that "rock is dead.". Lou 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, Lou concurred. "Yes. You're right about that," Gramm said. "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.

The "rock is dead" argument has popped up again and again throughout the years, including in 2018 after MAROON 5 lead singer Adam Levine told Variety magazine that "rock music is nowhere, really. I don't know where it is," he said. "If it's around, no one's invited me to the party. All of the innovation and the incredible things happening in music are in hip-hop. It's better than everything else. Hip-hop is weird and avant-garde and flawed and real, and that's why people love it."

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.

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 FOREIGNER's greatest recordings, including "Feels Like The First Time", "Cold As Ice", "Hot Blooded", "Double Vision", "Juke Box Hero", "Urgent" and the worldwide No. 1 smash "I Want To Know What Love Is".

Gramm joined Mick Jones in the original FOREIGNER lineup in 1976 and was there as the band embarked on an extraordinary run of multi-platinum albums and chart-topping hits. Beginning with FOREIGNER's self-titled debut in 1977, Gramm's soaring voice became one of the most recognizable in rock music. His performances on landmark albums including "Foreigner", "Double Vision", "Head Games", "4" and "Agent Provocateur" helped establish FOREIGNER as one of the biggest and most enduring rock bands of its generation.

Photo: Krishta Abruzzini (courtesy of Shore Fire Media)